AVING ORDERED the bishops to appoint in each diocese “a special commission of persons truly competent in the matter, to whom they will entrust the duty of watching over the music performed in the churches in whatever way may seem most advisable,” Pope Saint Pius X continued: “this commission will insist on the music being not only good in itself, but also proportionate to the capacity of the singers, so that it may be always well executed.” This papal injunction jibes with my suggestion that we should sing the official edition the way it was intended to be sung by its creators and avoid esoteric and confusing rhythmic modifications.
The Official Rhythm • I have argued that CARMEN GREGORIANUM (“Gregorian Chant”) does not require highly specialized training. Rather, it’s the inheritance of all Catholics. That being said, rehearsal videos can speed up the process. The following rehearsal video—for the Second Sunday of Advent—I recorded yesterday for my volunteer choir:
Unthinkable Antiquity • There are many reasons Catholics should sing, honor, and elevate Carmen Gregorianum during celebrations of the sacred liturgy. One of them is the absolutely astounding fact that these same melodies go back at least 1,400 years. We can hardly do better than to join in the same melodies sung by Catholic saints throughout history. Here is the INTROIT for the second Sunday of advent as it appears in Düsseldorf-11|1393, a manuscript created circa 1393AD:
Reciting Tone • That melody is almost note-for-note what we have in the EDITIO VATICANA. However, the first section seems transposed higher by a whole step, thereby emphasizing the “tenor” or “reciting tone” or “dominant” of Mode VII. It’s not easy to tell what the ‘correct’ variant might be because each monastery put their own twist on things. One of the most important manuscripts (MONTPELLIER H. 159) is closer to the EDITIO VATICANA version, as you can see by Finn Hansen’s transcription:
Rhythmic Signs?
Copyright For Rhythmic Signs? • Before the advent of GABC (“Gregorio”), people seeking to reproduce Carmen Gregorianum had to use something called the MEINRAD FONTS. Those who downloaded them were told: “While the pitches of Latin chant belong to the tradition, the interpretation with various rhythmic marks by the monks of Solesmes or by others is under their copyright.” In 2006, Jeffrey Tucker paid a fee to the United States copyright office and found out the claim by MEINRAD FONTS was false: the Solesmes rhythmic signs cannot be copyrighted because American law doesn’t allow people to copyright generic shapes like commas and horizontal lines. Jeffrey Tucker revealed the letter from the United States copyright office (signed by Denise D. Garrett on 4 October 2006) in an article dated 11 October 2006. Mr. Tucker later published an article going into detail about the fruits of his investigation.
The Mind Of Pius X • What are we to make of the rhythmic symbols, added by Dom Mocquereau? When we observe them side-by-side against the official rhythm the results are so astounding I can’t believe I sang from them for 20+ years. In terms of what POPE SAINT PIUS X thought about them, nothing could be more clear-cut and explicit than the the famous Martinelli Letter (18 February 1910) by Sebastiano Cardinal Martinelli (d. 1918), who served as PREFECT for the Congregation of Sacred Rites under Pius X. Cardinal Martinelli’s letter needs no explanation; it speaks for itself. Furthermore, the president of the Vatican Commission on Gregorian Chant, appointed by POPE SAINT PIUS X, wrote in January of 1906:
These rhythmic signs, easily confused with the traditional notes … bring about a grave alteration of the melody. Moreover, these supplementary signs have nothing traditional about them, nor have they any exact relation with the well known Romanian signs of the Saint Gall manuscripts of which they profess to be a reproduction. Even were these signs (of Saint Gall) faithfully represented, inasmuch as they belonged to a particular school, they would have no right to impose their special ideas on the universal practice in a typical and official edition.
Treble Clef Plainsong • It is possible to place the official edition on five lines. Dr. Karl Weinmann (d. 1929) made a “5-line edition” of the VESPERALE (561 pages) and a “5-line edition” of the GRADUALE (676 pages). Combined, both books are 1,237 pages! In spite of that, Corpus Christi Watershed carefully scanned them and uploaded them for everyone to enjoy. Here’s how the 2nd Sunday of Advent looks in Father Weinmann’s GRADUALE ROMANUM:
Blank Spaces • Some singers have a difficult time recognizing where certain melismatic phrase endings (moræ vocis) belong. In the official edition, these elongations are indicated by blank spaces “equal to (or greater than) the width of an individual note-head.” Abbat Pothier’s protégé (Dom Lucien David, OSB) published a magnificent edition—1,638 pages!—which Corpus Christi Watershed scanned and uploaded to the web so everyone could take advantage of it. Dom Lucien places little markers to help singers recognize instances of the mora vocis (“signis moram vocis indicantibus diligenter ornatum”). The following shows the 2nd Sunday of Advent as found in the 1932 GRADUALE ROMANUM by Dom Lucien:
* PDF Download • “Pópulus Syon” (INTROIT)
—Second Sunday of Advent • Edited by Dom Lucien David, OSB.
Dr. Ellis of Cambridge • Dr. Katharine Ellis, a professor at Cambridge University, wrote:
“Mocquereau’s later claims that Dom Pothier paid inadequate attention to the comparison of sources are undermined by Jean-Pierre Noiseux’s discovery at Saint-Wandrille of a comparative table of source transcriptions of precisely the kind one would expect from Mocquereau’s workshop, compiled by Alphonse Pothier in late 1868 to demonstrate his elder brother’s working practices. The tables show 73 sources (66 manuscripts) being marshalled to establish the text of a single chant.”
Although it’s almost too incredible to believe, DOM JOSEPH POTHIER—while a monk at Solesmes—created such masterpieces as: Les Mélodies Grégoriennes d’après la tradition (Pothier, 1880); Liber Gradualis (Pothier, 1883); Liber Responsorialis [this was released two years after Pothier became Prior of Ligugé, but was entirely the result of his research]; Hymni de tempore et de sanctis (Pothier, 1885); Processionale Monasticum (Pothier, 1888); Liber Antiphonarius (Pothier, 1891); and so forth. This was all accomplished within a very few years. Even more incredible is the fact that Dom Pothier seemingly had no ‘testing ground’ for many of these chants. The monastery of Solesmes was forced into exile in 1880 (as we have discussed before). For about a year, they surreptitiously crept back into their abbey, but the French government caught them. For about fifteen years (!) the monks lived in the town. They sometimes sang their office in the parish church at Solesmes, whereas other times they sang in the Benedictine convent of Saint Cecily, located nearby. Later on, they took refuge in England (for twenty years). The resplendent works Dom Pothier produced are doubly so when we realize he had no testing ground.
Latin Insciptions • Speaking of inspiring things, when we looked at Düsseldorf-11|1393—a plainsong manuscript created circa 1393AD—did you notice the Bible inscriptions written all over the page in a tiny font? I’m going to contact one of my friends, a priest fluent in Latin. I bet he will be able to tell me the source of each:
