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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

Sneaky “Salicus” Statements by Solesmes

Jeff Ostrowski · March 18, 2023

HE WORLD-FAMOUS 1961 edition of the LIBER USUALIS—having first reproduced the PREFACE of the official edition—makes this statement: “The place of honour in this Solesmes Edition of the Vatican Official text is given to the Vatican Preface. Its wise counsels and general Principles of interpretation are embodied, elucidated, and enlarged upon in the RULES given further on.” It gives me no pleasure to say it—and makes me rather uncomfortable—but this is a deceptive statement.

Deceptive Statement • Their rules do not “embody, elucidate, and enlarge upon” the Editio Vaticana rules. Rather, the monks of Solesmes obfuscate and contradict the Editio Vaticana rules. Let us consider the SALICUS. According to the official edition, the SALICUS is distinguished from the SCANDICUS by a (very narrow) blank space after the first note. The following is taken from the official edition:

Please note: It’s almost impossible to recognize a SALICUS in editions which are printed in tiny fonts. On the other hand, the SALICUS is incredibly rare the official edition.

At first, Dom Mocquereau adopted this “blank space” to differentiate the SALICUS from the SCANDICUS. Here is what Dom Mocquereau wrote in December of 1905, when they first released the “Solesmes version” of the Editio Vaticana KYRIALE:

The English version by Dom Mocquereau—which also appeared in December of 1905—says:

Observe the difference in the old notation between the SALICUS and the SCANDICUS. The first note of the SALICUS is separated from the next note, which means that the ictus is on the second note, not on the first, as in the SCANDICUS.
Prior André Mocquereau (December 1905)

To banish all doubt, Dom Mocquereau added a little note right before he signed his PREFACE:

N.B. Blank spaces in this edition never indicate morae vocis, but only the separation of groups, except the space after the first note of a SALICUS, whereby it is distinguished from the SCANDICUS.
Prior André Mocquereau (December 1905)

Deception Enters In • However, the Solesmes monks got in trouble with the Vatican for modifying the official edition. In an attempt to get in less trouble, Dom Mocquereau decided to ‘detach’ his rhythmical signs from the notes. But this caused a crisis when it came to the SALICUS, so Dom Mocquereau decided that—as far as he was concerned—the SALICUS would henceforth be differentiated by a vertical episema (“tick mark”). The 1961 LIBER USUALIS suggests that Dom Mocquereau would have preferred to use a horizontal episema—but that proved “too difficult to write,” as they explain in the introduction:

But Wait … There’s More! • Are you confused yet? Even more deception enters in. When the Solesmes monks printed their “rules” in 1921, they pretended there was extra “blank space” in the example they gave. In other words, they pretend like they are merely clarifying what is already a SALICUS in the official edition.

What they are doing is introducing a SALICUS where none exists. Indeed, they do this hundreds of times. The SALICUS is extremely rare in the official edition, but one would never know that if one uses Dom Mocquereau’s editions:

A Bizarre Aberration • We have seen how the 1961 LIBER USUALIS (most likely written by Dom Gajard) claimed that Dom Mocquereau would have preferred to have a horizontal episema for the SALICUS “but it was too difficult to write.” If one looks at the 2 February ALLELUIA, one will see this statement contradicted:

*  PDF Download • ALLELUIA (2 February)

Specifically, one sees horizontal episemata which constitute an anomaly:

I have often remarked that the Abbey of Solesmes never changed any of the ICTUS markings that Dom Mocquereau added in 1908, even in their most recent ICTUS publications (such as the 2014 Gregorian Missal). But if one examines that 2 February ALLELUIA, one notices that later on they added several instances of the SALICUS which Dom Mocquereau had not.

Patrick’s Assertion • In a recent article, my colleague Patrick Williams made the following assertion about your humble correspondent:

Below are the precise words of the document issued under Pope Pius XII (3 September 1958):

The signs, called rhythmica, which have been privately introduced into Gregorian chant, are permitted, provided that the force and meaning of the notes found in the Vatican books of liturgical chant are preserved.

Clear As Day • Is there anyone who would be willing to claim (publicly) that Dom Mocquereau’s modifications “preserve the force and meaning” of the notes of the official edition? Can this be maintained, for example, when it comes to the billions of illicit elongations in the February 2nd ALLELUIA we examined above? Oh, surely not!

To put it another way, making every other note twice as long (or three times as long) is clearly not preserving the “force and meaning” of the notes. Notes have a meaning. Were that not so, somebody could publish an edition like this:

Such an edition would certainly reproduce correctly the pitch of each note; but it would not have been viewed as “preserving the the force and meaning” of the notes of the official edition.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: 1962 Liber Usualis Solesmes, blank space salicus scandicus, Gregorian Rhythm Wars, horizontal episema, vertical episema Last Updated: March 19, 2023

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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

    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

“It is the choir that can make the most valuable contribution to the liturgy; it is through the choir that significant numbers of the congregation can make a significant and valuable offering in the community’s act of worship. The choir links directly academic excellence, artistic creation, disciplined attention and self expression in the making of something fitting for the worship of God.”

— Father Daniel Higgins, Choirmaster at Saint Edmund’s College, Ware

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