HAVE NO IDEA whether anyone out there will care about my discovery, but I’ve decided to share it anyway. When it comes to the art of typesetting Gregorian chant, the most difficult part involves determining each line break. One can save tons and tons of time by copying (plagiarizing?) another book that’s already been finished. I consider the beautiful Gregorian books published in the 19th century to be true works of art, and would love to learn more about how they were produced. It would take me months to create a “plate” for even one page—can you imagine producing thousands of pages each week?
A Brief Digression • It would be hard enough to produce Gregorian chant books in Latin. Did you know the Native American Catholics were allowed to sing at the Catholic High Mass using (their) vernacular languages such as Huron, Iroquois, and Algonquin? In the color-page section, the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal provides beautiful examples of such scores. As far as we can tell, this permission was first given in the 17th century. In the 19th century, thousands of pages of “Native American Plainsong” were printed. It surely required an astounding amount of work. For example, consider the following page (with an 8 August 1860 IMPRIMATUR from the bishop of Montreal):
Jeff’s Discovery! • I have discovered books which replicate the line breaks from other books. It’s kind of sneaky in a way, because they are “piggybacking” on the grueling work done by others. Consider the 1909 edition of the GRADUALE ROMANUM by Father Franz Xaver Mathias, who in 1913 founded The Saint Leo Institute for Sacred Music. Corpus Christi Watershed has scanned and uploaded that entire book, so feel free to examine every single page if you doubt what I’m saying. Below is the Communion antiphon for the 19th Sunday after Pentecost:
Springer Copied • Max Springer (1877-1954) was an organist, composer, and professor who became organist at the Royal Abbey of Emaus (PRAGUE), a branch of Beuron Abbey. At the university, he studied with Antonín Dvořák. In 1926, he became director of the University of Music and Performing Arts (VIENNA). On 29 June 1906, Dom Lorenzo Janssens—a member of the Vatican Commission on Gregorian Chant—sent Max Springer a congratulatory letter on behalf of Pope Pius X with regards to Springer’s book: “The Art of Accompanying Plain Chant.” Corpus Christi Watershed has scanned and uploaded Springer’s edition of the GRADUALE ROMANUM as a PDF document (so feel free to examine every page if you doubt what I’m saying). Max Springer copied—or “used as a basis”—the typesetting of Father Mathias:
Another Example • Those who read my articles remember the momentous edition of the GRADUALE ROMANUM published in 1883 by Abbat Pothier called the Liber Gradualis. Believe it or not, the book was originally intended for use only by the Benedictine communities. Indeed, the Liber Gradualis, with IMPRIMATUR of the Bishop of Tournai (23 May 1883), was called:
The Liber Gradualis originally compiled by Saint Gregory the Great, subsequently revised and greatly expanded by authority of the Supreme Pontiffs—restored and provided with musical notation in the manner of our forefathers in a manner faithful to the manuscripts, published for the use of the Benedictine Congregation of France by order of its Presiding Abbat.
In 1920, Dom Mocquereau described Pothier’s Liber Gradualis in these words: “published by order of the Abbat of Solesmes, for the exclusive use of his congregation.” As we know, that’s not how things turned out. For twenty years, it was used all over the place with great success. Since we have already examined the Communion antiphon for the 19th Sunday after Pentecost, let’s see how that appears in the 1883 Liber Gradualis of Dom Pothier:
Copied By Schwann • The typesetting of the 1883 Liber Gradualis was copied (see correction below) by the Schwann editors when they printed the Editio Vaticana version of the GRADUALE ROMANUM in 1908. Remember, when I say “typesetting,” I’m referring to the determination of the line breaks:
Another Copy-Cat! • Indeed, Dom Lucien David copied or “borrowed” or replicated the typesetting of the SCHWANN (1908) when he produced his magnificent edition in 1932 (written on five staves):
What is the significance of my discovery? I must admit, it has no great significance. I just find it interesting that certain editions were “based upon” other editions. Those who produced books in our times would do well to copy the line breaks of gorgeous books already published.
Correction (13 September 2023) • The keen eyesight of Dr. Charles Weaver has pointed out that SCHWANN 1908 did not replicate Pothier’s 1883 version. It’s close, but not identical. I apologize for this error. However, it still remains true that in 1932 Dom Lucien David did copy the type-setting of the 1908 SCHWANN.
