ATHER DOMINIC JOHNER (d. 1955), a student of Dom Raphael Molitor, studied briefly with the monks from Solesmes in Appuldurcombe (Isle of Wight) circa 1904. His religious name is a little confusing because it was “DOMINICUS”—so he could be called Dom Dom. Johner. His name before religious life was also confusing—“Franz-Xaver Karl”—because he could be called Fr. Fr. Johner. In any event, here’s what Dom Johner wrote about the Offertory for the Immaculate Conception: “We have here the rare instance where a new melody has been composed for the Mass text of a later feast. The melody was written by the Benedictine Dom Fonteinne and adapted by his confrère Dom Pothier. Fervor, delicacy, and sublimity combine to effect an harmonious whole. Comparison of today’s Ave Maria with that of the fourth Sunday in Advent will be very instructive. The final phrase of that composition is lacking here. The fact that mulieribus there is not final—as it is in the present case—would make the use of its melody for today impossible. This may also have occasioned the new composition for this feast.”
Watch Out! It’s not identical to the Offertory for the 4th Sunday of Advent:
* PDF Download • COMPARISON CHART
—“Ave Maria” (4th Sunday of Advent) vs. “Ave Maria” (Immac. Concep.).
The Proprium Missae for the feast of the Immaculate Conception had no consistency until 1883, when Dom Joseph Pothier adapted the melodies we know today from the Gregorian repertoire. The Offertory he took from Dom Fonteinne, Dom Guéranger’s precentor who also served as choirmaster at Solesmes Abbey before Dom Pothier. 1 Dom Fonteinne composed many Neo-Gregorian melodies, and some are still sung today, such as his “Stabat Mater,” which was included in the Editio Vaticana. In the Ordinary Form, we are used to feasts with numerous “options” for the Propers; can we see the beginning of this in the Proprium Missae for the Immaculate Conception? Prior to the publication of the Editio Vaticana in 1908, the texts for the Immaculate Conception had no consistency and the melodies were completely different, in different modes even!
Offertory • “Beata es, Virgo Maria”
Consider the Offertory for the feast of the Immaculate Conception as found in Le Graduel Romain published in the year 1800, nine years before Napoleon Bonaparte kidnapped Pope Pius VII. Notice the text (“Beata es, Virgo Maria”) is not the same as the Editio Vaticana text:
Offertory • “Concupiscet Rex Decorem”
If we go back a little further, to the Graduel De Paris, Noté Pour Les Festes Et Les Dimanches (1738AD), we see the text for the Immaculate Conception (“Concupiscet Rex Decorem”) is different:
Offertory • “Beata es, Virgo Maria”
Going to 1825AD, we see the familiar text (“Beata es, Virgo Maria”) from 1800AD, but the melody in the Graduel Romain (Tarascon, 1825) is not exactly the same:
Offertory • “Misit Deus Misericordiam Suam”
When we examine Father Michael Hermesdorff’s Graduale, published in the year 1863, we see that the Offertory text for the Immaculate Conception (“Misit Deus Misericordiam Suam”) doesn’t match any of the others!
Offertory • “Ave Maria”
In the year 1865, Friedrich Pustet published the Graduale Romanum Cantum Gregorianum Ad Missale Romanum Et Proprium Coloniense Continens, and the Offertory for the feast of the Immaculate Conception (“Ave Maria”) matches what we have today in the Editio Vaticana of 1908:
Offertory • “Beata es, Virgo Maria”
Let’s head over to Paris, now, and see what the Offertory for the Immaculate Conception is according to the Graduel Romain: Nouvelle Edition (Jacques Lecoffre, 1871). The melody and text are familiar from the examples above:
Offertory • “Ave Maria”
Another publication appeared in the same year: Graduale De Tempore Et De Sanctis: Juxta Ritum Sacrosanctae Romanae Ecclesiae Cum Cantu Pauli V. Pont. Max. Jussu Reformato (Friderici Pustet, 1871). We see the familiar “Ave Maria” text, taken from the 4th Sunday of Advent but with the ending chopped off:
Pustet reprinted—but with a different typeface—his Graduale in 1896, and you can see that nothing was changed:
Offertory • “Ave Maria”
The famous Reims-Cambrai Edition of the Graduale (1887) did exactly what Pustet did. That is to say, the Reims-Cambrai took the Offertory from the 4th Sunday of Advent and chopped off the ending. By the way, the ending was “chopped off” so it would match the Gospel reading, as you can see here:
Offertory • “Ave Maria”
Dom Pother chose a different route: viz. adapting an “Ave Maria” composed by Dom Fonteinne. This he included in his Liber Gradualis of 1883:
In all subsequent Solesmes publications, this version was included. For example, here is the Liber Usualis from 1896:
Offertory • “Ave Maria”
The official edition of the Church (“Vatican Edition”) was published in 1908: the mighty Editio Vaticana. Dom Fonteinne’s Offertory for the Immaculate Conception was included, as you can see in this 1957 reprint of the Vatican Edition, with rhythmic signs added by the monks of Solesmes:
Offertory • “Ave Maria”
Following the Second Vatican Council, the Roman Gradual generally speaking avoided Neo-Gregorian compositions, but they broke their rule for the feast of the Immaculate Conception, as we can see in the Gregorian Missal (Solesmes, 1990):
The reformers justified these Neo-Gregorian compositions as follows:
Translated into English, that means:
In putting aside the later Neo-Gregorian imitations, especially those found in the feasts of saints, only the authentic Gregorian melodies are retained, although it is always permitted for those who prefer them to sing those Neo-Gregorian compositions, since none of them has been deleted from the GRADUALE ROMANUM. Indeed, a number of them have been accepted for universal use (e.g., the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the feast of Christ the King, and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary). No others have been substituted, but in other instances chants have been chosen from an authentic repertory and the same texts used whenever possible.
NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:
1 If you want to learn more about Dom Fonteinne cf. page 16-18 in The Restoration of Gregorian Chant: Solesmes and the Vatican Edition (Dom Pierre Combe, Dr. Theodore Marier, Dr. Robert Skeris, 2003).
