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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 • “Salve Regina” (32 Versions)

Jeff Ostrowski · August 8, 2022

EFORE I BEGIN, I should remind readers that this article will make more sense if you watch the 75-minute video I recently posted, which talks about the “blank spaces” in the Chruch’s official edition of Gregorian Chant, as well as the “French Vs. German Trochee.” (Specifically, you’ll want to review the chapter which explains “Trochee trouble.”) Since we’ll be discussing the Salve Regina, let me post two versions before we proceed:

*  PDF Download • SALVE REGINA (French)
—The “normal” way it’s sung • Rhythmic markings by Dom Mocquereau.

*  PDF Download • SALVE REGINA (Germanic)
—The “pure” Editio Vaticana way to sing it.

By the way, if you don’t think Trochee Trouble matters … think again! The French and Germans can’t even agree on how to sing a simple hymn like Ave Maris Stella. Look at the way it’s sung in Teutonic countries.

Most Popular Chant? • What is the most popular piece of plainsong? Many would answer: “The simple version of the Salve Regina.” But where does this piece come from? What is its provenance? I sent this query to Professor Charles Weaver—an expert in Gregorian Chant—and he gave me a few leads, which I deeply appreciate. The famous People’s Mass Book (World Library of Sacred Music, 1964) claims the tune was written by “P. Bourget” and published in Paris circa 1634AD. The following versions will help us understand more:

*  PDF Download • “Simple” Salve Regina (1634AD)

*  PDF Download • “Simple” Salve Regina (1753AD)

*  “Sálve Regína” Offices de l’Eglise (Reims-Cambrai, 1887)
*  “Sálve Regína” Antiphonale (Pustet, 1892)
*  “Sálve Regína” Liber Usualis (Pothier, 1896)
*  “Sálve Regína” Cantus Varii (Pothier, 1902)
*  “Sálve Regína” Manuale Missæ (Mocquereau, 1902)
*  “Sálve Regína” Liber Usualis (Mocquereau, 1903)
*  “Sálve Regína” Five Lines (Mocquereau, 1921)
*  “Sálve Regína” Modern Notation (Mocquereau, 1924)
*  “Sálve Regína” Kleines Vesperbuch (Schwann, 1928)
*  “Sálve Regína” Antiphonale (Mocquereau, 1949)
*  “Sálve Regína” Msgr. Charles E. Spence (Mocquereau, 1953)
*  “Sálve Regína” Mass & Vespers (Mocquereau, 1957)
*  “Sálve Regína” Vespers Book (Bloomfield, 2021)
*  “Sálve Regína” Graduale Simplex (Vatican Press, 1975)

The earliest instance I can find in the so-called “restored” books would be the 1895 LIBER RESPONSORIALIS:

*  PDF Download • “Sálve Regína” (Liber Responsorialis, 1895)

Out Of Favor • The “simple” version seems to have fallen out of favor from about 1905 until the 1920s. It seems the Editio Vaticana versions (Dom Mocquereau, Dom Pothier, Schwann, Mechlin, Pustet, Styria, and so on) were trying to promote the authentic version, rather than the “simple” version, which dates from the 17th century. Professor Weaver has pointed out that the Pustet version says the “simple” version is in Mode 11 … which is somewhat hilarious. Shades of Glareanus! I am not sure when the first edition of Dom Mocquereau’s Liber Usualis (using the Vatican Edition) appeared, but I suspect it was circa 1924. The INTRODUCTION to the Liber Usualis uses the “simple” version to illustrate how to place the ictus in syllabic chant.

Update (16 December 2022): Actually, the “simple” SALVE REGINA was printed by Father Weinmann as early as 1915.

Seventeen (17) Accompaniments • I am not convinced the “simple” version was ever officially part of the Editio Vaticana, although its inclusion by the Schwann 1928 VESPERALE (see above) militates against this notion. If readers can assist in this regard, please do! As far as I know, nobody ever composed an organ accompaniment for the “simple” version, except those who follow the rhythm of Dom Mocquereau. You can download seventeen (17) organ accompaniments to the “simple” version, all of them following Dom Mocquereau.

Trochee Trouble:

Can You See Them? • How good are your eyes? Can you spot the “trochee trouble” vis-à-vis how the Germans sing this piece? (Remember, there is no “correct” way to treat trochees in the official edition.) I have attempted to highlight them for you by means of various colored boxes:

Consider this Catholic organ book (1952) published Berlin:

More To Come • We will be talking a lot about “trochee trouble” over the next year. On the one hand, it doesn’t make much sense that someone has to purchase a modern notation edition to figure out how to sing the trochees. In 1904, Dom Raphael Molitor of Beuron Abbey—citing a statement by Dr. Peter Wagner, a member of the Vatican Commission on Gregorian Chant—wrote about this subject as follows:

In other places, owing to the varying width of the space between the note-groups, it remains doubtful whether the editor really desired a mora vocis or not. He seems to have felt this uncertainty himself when he wrote on p. VIII: De his omnibus rebus utile erit, transcriptionem in notas musicas modernas hujus libelli consulere (“On all these matters, it will be useful to consult the transcription into modern musical notes of this book”). But what singer will purchase a [book] when he finds he must purchase a second book as a key to the first? Even a choirmaster would scarcely do so.

On the other hand, consider how the monks of Solesmes sing this antiphon:

Gray Area • In that video, did you notice how the monks of Solesmes Abbey treat the trochees of Dom Mocquereau? (Many other examples could be cited; perhaps if I can find the time I can provide more examples.) The Solesmes recording of CREDO I is a good example, but there are others. Abbat Pothier—as I’m sure you’ve observed in the scores which adhere to the “pure” Editio Vaticana—does not have any dots or dashes to show elongated notes. Rather, he gives freedom to each individual choirmaster. Was that smart or foolish? In some ways, it seems foolish. However, the Latin tonic accent must be treated with subtlety and delicacy. As I mentioned, we will be talking about this a lot in the coming months. I encourage readers to weigh in!

Trochee Trouble • There can be no doubt that “Trochee Trouble” is a serious issue. For example, notice how the following examples of the “German School” are not consistent when it comes to the Mode V psalm tone (a truly basic item!):

What We’re Used To • Once you sing something a certain way, it can be very hard to change. For example, consider the way the Germans sing the “Pange Lingua” of Saint Thomas Aquinas:

Addendum • Here’s how the “authentic” Salve Regina looks in an ancient medieval manuscript:

As far as I can tell, during medieval times the prayer always omitted the word “Mater.” But in our times, we say: Salve, Regina, Mater misericordiæ…

Here is the “authentic” (Mode I) version of the SALVE REGINA, as found in the Vatican Edition:

*  PDF Download • SALVE REGINA (Authentic)
—Mode I • Editio Vaticana.

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

Filed Under: Articles, Featured Tagged With: Dr Peter Wagner Gregorian, French Vs German Trochee, Mora Vocis, salve regina, Salve Regina Organ Accompaniment, Trochee Trouble Last Updated: July 18, 2025

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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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President’s Corner

    “Music List” • 28th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 12 October 2025, which is the 28th 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 dazzling feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF Download • “Offertory” for this Sunday
    This coming Sunday, 12 October 2025, is the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). Its OFFERTORY ANTIPHON (PDF) is gorgeous, and comes from the book of Esther, as did the ENTRANCE CHANT last Sunday. Depending on a variety of factors, various hand-missals (all with Imprimatur) translate this passage differently. For instance, “príncipis” can be rendered: King; Prince; Lion; or Fierce lord. None is “more correct” than another. It depends on what each translator wants to emphasize and which source text is chosen. All these pieces of plainsong are conveniently stored at the blue-ribbon feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Why A “Fugue” Here?
    I believe I know why this plainsong harmonizer created a tiny fugue as the INTRODUCTION to his accompaniment. Take a look (PDF example) and tell me your thoughts about what he did on the feast of the Flight of Our Lord Jesus Christ into Egypt (17 February). And now I must go because “tempus fugit” as they say!
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    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
    “Canonic” • Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Fifty years ago, Dr. Theodore Marier made available this clever arrangement (PDF) of “Come down, O love divine” by P. R. Dietterich. The melody was composed in 1906 by Ralph Vaughan Williams (d. 1958) and named in honor of of his birthplace: DOWN AMPNEY. The arrangement isn’t a strict canon, but it does remind one of a canon since the pipe organ employs “points of imitation.” The melody and text are #709 in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“No one can reasonably find in the dispositions of Vatican II anything out of order, or any extreme opinions or tendencies which restrict the function of sacred music exclusively to the congregational singing of the faithful or on the other hand which replace or eliminate the singing of the congregation entirely by the singing of the choir.”

— Most Rev’d Archbishop D.M.M. y Gómez, Primate of Mexico (at that time, the world’s largest archdiocese)

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