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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

PDF Download • Several Useful Plainsong Books

Jeff Ostrowski · November 19, 2020

HEN WE SPOKE about Palestrina’s marvelous setting of Kyrie II (“fons bonitatis”), I mentioned a book published by Solesmes Abbey called “Cantus Varii.” In the past, I have also had occasion to mention another special book by Solesmes Abbey from 1928: Cantus Varii. These are books that essentially contain “random bits” of Gregorian chant. They’re marvelous books. The 1957 Cantus Selecti is particularly interesting because towards the end, information is provided vis-à-vis the provenance of these pieces.

I thought readers might appreciate these links:

*  PDF Download • “Variae Preces” (1892)
—Variæ preces ex liturgia tum hodierna tum antiqua collectae aut usu receptae.
—You can also download the 1889 edition.

*  PDF Download • “Cantus Varii” (1902)
—This book includes a supplement from 1895.

*  PDF Download • “Cantus Varii” (1928)
—Cantus Varii Ad Benedictionem SS. Sacramenti.

*  PDF Download • “Cantus Selecti” (1957)
—The final pages contain information about the provenance of these chants.

*  PDF Download • “Liber Cantualis” (1978)
—By the “Consociatio Internationalis Musicae Sacrae.”

These books contain hundreds of wonderful plainsong—much of it sublime. By the way, “Salve Turba”, number 181 from Cantus Selecti (1957), doesn’t have any ictus markings, and I am not really sure why that is.

What I find fascinating are the final pages of the “Variæ Preces” (1892) because they give an explanation in French, not Latin of the melismatic mora vocis:

We have been speaking of “random bits and pieces”—and now I offer you another somewhat random thought. Monsignor Schmitt wrote that Bach’s C Minor Passacaglia is based upon the Communion antiphon “Acceptabis sacrifícium.” His observation is quite clever:

…but surely this is a coincidence, no? As one of my professors used to say: “There are only seven notes.” (Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti) His point was that tons of melodies sound like other melodies because there are only seven notes. Moreover, Bach would probably have seen a corrupted edition of plainsong, such as that of Guillaume-Gabriel Nivers—and I doubt the pitches are the same as the Editio Vaticana.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

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Filed Under: Articles, Featured, PDF Download Tagged With: Cantus Selecti, Cantus Varii, Gregorian Chant, melismatic morae vocis Last Updated: October 16, 2022

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About Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “Music List” • 17th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (27 July 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Communion • “Ask & You Shall Receive”
    All of the chants for 27 July 2025 have been added to the feasts website, as usual under a convenient “drop down” menu. The COMMUNION ANTIPHON (both text and melody) are exceedingly beautiful and ancient.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Jeff’s Mother Joins Our Fundraiser
    To assist our fundraiser, Mrs. Kathleen Ostrowski has drawn several beautiful sketches which she offers to all our readers free of charge. If you have a moment, I invite you download them at this link.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

“I have, on the other hand, retained several more or less traditional tunes, absolutely valueless and without merit from a musical point of view, but which seem to have become a necessity if a book is to appeal—as I hope this one will—to the varied needs of various churches.”

— A. Edmonds Tozer (1905)

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