HOSE WHO SING the Vatican Edition according to the “official rhythm” will see that this is the most natural rendering. After all, the commission which created the official rhythm wanted it to be sung a particular way. On 18 February 1910, the PREFECT of the Congregation of Sacred Rites wrote a letter saying: “the rhythmical form of the melodies […] is inseparable from the edition itself.” But Dom Mocquereau eliminated elongations which should be there (and added elongations which don’t belong). Not infrequently, Mocquereau’s modifications greatly alter the melody—and a perfect illustration is ALLELUIA: Éripe me, which comes from the 9th Sunday after Pentecost. Play through the examples, and you’ll agree the melody was distorted by Mocquereau.
“What Does It Sound Like?” • On the other hand, one can point to large swaths of the repertoire which Dom Mocquereau seemed hesitant to modify. For example, listen to the following INTROIT, recorded last Sunday by our (100% volunteer) parish choir. It was sung according to the official rhythm and required a grand total of 15 minutes rehearsal time:
Trochee Trouble • The official edition provides a certain amount of freedom for choirmasters when it comes to trochee endings. We have discussed this at length: cf. Trochee Trouble. For Mode 6 psalmody, Germans elongate the final Trochee. Below is an example of how that sounds. I have to admit, the German way is quite lovely—or is that merely because I’m not used to it?
* Mp3 Download • “Jácob” + “ámen” (Trochee)
—A live example recorded by the same (volunteer) choir a week later.
Exciting PDF Files! • Please feel free to download three (3) professionally-scanned editions of the KYRIALE. These are tremendously important from the standpoint of music history. They adhere to the official rhythm—the so-called “pure” Editio Vaticana.
* PDF Download • 1905 Lecoffre KYRIALE (95 pages)
—“ORDINARIUM MISSAE” • The official edition (Editio Vaticana) • Professionally-Scanned.
—Printed before the Vatican “cracked down” on white spaces.
* PDF Download • 1905 Schwann KYRIALE (99 pages)
—“ORDINARIUM MISSAE” • The official edition (Editio Vaticana) • Professionally-Scanned.
—Printed with superb attentiveness.
* PDF Download • 1914 Max Springer’s KYRIALE (147 pages)
—“ORDINARIUM MISSAE” • The official edition (Editio Vaticana) • Professionally-Scanned.
—This version uses modern notation.
Jeff Repeating Himself • The entire KYRIALE contains only a handful of MMVs (Melismatic Morae Vocis), and I’ve repeated this statement frequently. Practically speaking, due to the paucity of MMVs, the KYRIALE editions by Dom Mocquereau are—in many ways—identical to the official rhythm. Katharine Ellis cited evidence suggesting that Prior André Mocquereau may have had a financial incentive to “put as many rhythmic signs as possible in the Graduale and in the Antiphonale,” but more research needs to be done in this area to ascertain the truth. My colleague, Professor Weaver, is writing a doctoral dissertation on Dom Mocquereau’s rhythmic theories, and it will be interesting to read what he has to say vis-à-vis some of the letters Katharine Ellis dug up.
Example From Kyrie IV • Notice I said “only a handful of MMVs.” I did not claim the KYRIALE was completely devoid of MMVs. Therefore, let’s examine an MMV from Kýrie Cunctípotens Génitor Deus (Mass IV). Towards the end of the piece, we observe a pattern which clearly 1 contains a white space equal to a notehead. That indicates where the mora vocis (“elongation”) belongs. The 1905 Schwann edition does it perfectly:
The 1905 Styria edition also indicates the MMV perfectly:
The Nóva órgani harmónia (Lemmensinstituut, 1940s) marks the MMV perfectly:
The 1909 Schwann edition in modern notation marks the MMV perfectly:
The 1914 edition in modern notation by Max Springer indicates the MMV, although in a slightly ‘funky’ way:
The 1906 organ accompaniment by Monsignor Nekes manifests no difficulty marking the MMV:
Nor does Father Mathias have any difficulty marking the MMV:
I’ve often remarked that Dr. Peter Wagner’s organ accompaniments are an abomination. Not only are the harmonies awful, but he’s quite careless when it comes to the MMVs. Once again, we see an inexplicable treatment of the Editio Vaticana MMV by Dr. Peter Wagner:
For the record, you can examine the version by Dr. Wagner published in 1904 (before the Editio Vaticana was released):
The Editio Vaticana was based on the Liber Gradualis published in 1883 by Dom Pothier at the monastery of Solesmes. For the sake of curiosity, we can examine the 1883 version and see that Abbat Pothier seems to have intended an MMV at that time—although we also remember that his “white spaces” in 1883 were the subject of criticism, in terms of how they tended to be ambiguous:
We see that Dom Mocquereau had an elongation at the same spot in his 1903 Liber Usualis, released just two years (!) before the Editio Vaticana was published:
“Mr. Contrary” • Dom Mocquereau—when he added his rhythmic markings to the Editio Vaticana KYRIALE—“disregards” or “ignores” or “eliminates” this MMV. I don’t see why he found it so difficult to place an MMV where it belongs, as he had done in 1903. To me, it almost seems as if his intention was to foment confusion:
If someone doubts whether Dom Mocquereau intended to contradict the official rhythm, let him examine the 1905 Solesmes edition of the KYRIALE. Writing in December of 1905, Dom Mocquereau explicitly says: “Blank spaces in this edition never indicate morae vocis.” Indeed, that’s the only time I know of Dom Mocquereau ever signing his name to any of the Solesmes edition prefaces. When the Congregation for Sacred Rites discovered the rhythmic alterations, they withdrew their approbation, but said books which had already been printed could remain in circulation.
To Be Continued • A hundred years ago, I can understand why somebody would avoid the Mechlin edition or the Pustet edition. Both were printed using very small fonts, and the MMV were difficult to locate. But in the year 2022, our technology can easily solve that issue. I have been asking my colleagues what they find so terrible about the official rhythm. So far, I have not received an answer. Why not sing the Editio Vaticana as it was intended to be sung? I will continue to seek an answer to this question!
1 Several printers had difficulty understanding how to print the instances of MMV (Melismatic Mora Vocis) when the inaugural section of the Editio Vaticana was released in 1905. For example, if you download the 1905 edition by Lecoffre, you will notice its editor erroneously forgot to include the MMV we’re discussing. The Vatican printer, Mr. Scotti, therefore sent out this letter on 6 September 1906. The letter clarified the obligatory MMVs.
