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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

A Curious Rhythmic Detail in Tomorrow’s Jubilus

Dr. Charles Weaver · May 7, 2022

HOSE MUSICIANS who sing for Masses following the 1974 Graduale Romanum will sing Alleluia Ego sum Pastor bonus tomorrow, for Good Shepherd Sunday. This alleluia was not sung this year by those choirs following the 1962 calendar, since the Sunday was replaced by the feast of St. Joseph the Worker. In some of its melismata, this melody has a recurring feature that is extremely rare: a horizontal episema over a non-ictic note, shown in the boxes below:

Click here if you cannot see the image.

Doesn’t this seem like a needless complication of a simple melody? You may have good reason to ignore the Solesmes markings. These various dots and lines form no part of the official Editio Vaticana, and they are out of favor among semiologists and mensuralists as well. What is the point of all these ictus and episemata then? If you want to know why I think the Solesmes theory is worth your consideration, you should come to the Sacred Music Symposium. For the moment, let’s just assume that your choir is trying to follow the Solesmes system (since many people still sing from these editions). What are we to make of this strange notation? In this post, I will try to give a musically satisfying answer to this question.

Most of the time, the horizontal episema aligns with the rhythmic ictus. It seems natural that the F of the last clivis get both the length (as indicated by the episema) and the rhythmic ictus, to avoid a sense of syncopation. In that case, both notes of the clivis would be ictic and long, so why is the music written the way it is, rather than as shown below?

Let’s analyze this alternative version from the perspective of rhythm. This passage consists of three neumes, each of which contains multiple composite pulses or beats. Remember that these “beats,” which the Solesmes method marks with the ictus, have nothing of emphasis about them, but are merely a way to organize the melody mentally. The beats (and the ictus) should never be heard by the listener. The first neume is a pes subbipunctis containing three triplex composite pulses (arsis–thesis–thesis). The second is a scandicus subbipunctis containing a duplex composite pulse followed by a triplex composite pulse. The second ictus falls naturally on the virga that is the melodic climax of this neume. The third neume is a clivis, in which both notes receive the dot of the mora vocis. The first and third neumes are rhythmic neumes (that is, they are self-contained, with final notes featuring the mora vocis), while the second neume links to the third by juxtaposition. This version is simpler and in fact more in line with the official rhythm of the Editio Vaticana, but it also gives (to my ear) too much weight to the final cadence. Dom Mocquereau suggests that such cadences (two double-length notes on a podatus or clivis) are reserved for larger phrase units, but they do occasionally occur in small phrases: see Alleluia Non vos relinquam.

The Solesmes version of this passage has a bit more nuance and interest. To see what I mean, consider the melody as given in the Solesmes books, but this time imagine it without the horizontal episema:

Mocquereau marks the ictus on the last diamond-shaped note because of a notation in the St. Gall manuscripts, since in at least one source of this figure this note is shown as a tractulus rather than a punctum. Such an interpretation will surely run afoul of the work of more recent semiologists. Let’s ignore the question of historicity for the moment and just consider the text in front of us. The effect of this ictus mark is to change the way the second neume connects to the third. Now these neumes are joined by linking rather than mere juxtaposition, and they form a larger compound rhythm (arsis–arsis–thesis–thesis). This is a very satisfying group to sing, with a slight acceleration toward the climactic virga and a gentle relaxation thereafter.

Once you are used to singing it this way, add the episema back in, remembering that it does not amount to a doubling of the note value, but gives a certain shade of nuance or emphasis to this note.

Now the F at the beginning of the last clivis does not feel like the goal of the melody, as it invariably did in our alternative version. Rather, its off-ictic character means that it has a certain slight liveliness, but its off-beat placement means that it is merely a slight interruption of the modal melodic motion from E to D. It is like a somewhat emphasized escape tone, to put it in modern terms.

None of this analysis is necessary to singing this chant beautifully. But if you choose to adopt the Solesmes approach, such detailed work can only improve your singing of it, as it makes us attend to the shape of the phrase as a whole. We do not want to fall into the fault of blindly doubling every episema, treating all the long notes as the same. To me, this kind of nuance is particularly fruitful, especially when we remember to put it in spiritual terms. The schola will sing this little rhythmic figure some eight times over the course of the chant (alleluia, twice in the verse, repetition of alleluia), and in each case the figure occurs in a part of the melody that lies beyond words, in the pure “singing with jubilation” that is the hallmark of the alleluiatic verses. Without the word accent to guide us, this quirky Solesmes rhythm gives us something on which to hang our jubilation.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Dom Mocquereau, Solesmes Abbey Rhythm Last Updated: May 26, 2022

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About Dr. Charles Weaver

Dr. Charles Weaver is on the faculty of the Juilliard School, and serves as director of music for St. Mary’s Church. He lives in Connecticut with his wife and four children.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
    The 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM was a transitional missal. It was on its way to becoming the 1970 version, but wasn’t there yet. It eliminated certain duplications, downplayed the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, expanded the role of laymen, minimized the Last Gospel, made many items optional, and so forth. Father Valentine Young spotted many typos in the 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM, especially incorrect accents. The Offertory Antiphon for this coming Sunday (OF kalendar) contains an error, citing the wrong verse from Psalm 118. It should be 118:107b, not 118:154. If you read verse 154, you’ll understand how that error crept in. [In this particular case, the error pre-dates the 1962 Missal, since the 1940s hand-missal by Father Lasance also gets it wrong.]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 26 October 2025, which is the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). 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 top-notch feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Little Encouragement?
    In the Gospel, our Savior tells about 10 lepers who were healed. Only one went back to give thanks. Precious few express gratitude, yet many have endless energy to complain. For that reason, I deeply appreciate receiving messages like the following, which arrived a few days ago (about the parish where I direct in Michigan): “Last Sunday, a couple I knew from Grand Rapids was at Mass at 10:00 a.m. I got a chance to talk to them after Mass. I wanted to let you know what they said about the choir. They were absolutely floored by our sound!!!!! They both said they could continuously listen to our choir and the beauty of it. They asked me: “Do you always sound like that?” And they were also very surprised at how packed the church was. They said it was nice for them to be in such a full church. I just thought you would be interested to know their thoughts about our choir.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
    Looking through a Roman Catholic Hymnal published in 1859 by Father Guido Maria Dreves (d. 1909), I stumbled upon this very beautiful tune (PDF file). I feel it would be absolutely perfect to set the “Our Father” in German to music. Thoughts?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“We being many are one bread and one body, All who share the one bread and one cup. Vs. Thou hast prepared of thy sweetness for the poor, O God, who makest us to dwell in one mind in thy house. All who share the one bread and one cup.”

— Responsory (Matins for Corpus Christi) transl. by Fortescue

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