HERE IS ONE QUESTION asked with regularity by a surprising number of people: “Which edition of Gregorian Chant was chosen by the monks of Solesmes for daily use before Dom Pothier began publishing?” According to Dom Pierre Combe, the librarian at Solesmes: “The Dijon books were still kept, doubtless for financial reasons, but also because good editions of monastic chant did not exist, and it seems that Dom Guéranger was already dreaming of making his own edition. This explains why he did not adopt the 1851 Graduale of Rheims and Cambrai. Although this publication marked notable progress over previous editions, it did not entirely satisfy him. Corrected on the basis of a priori and false principles, this edition did not present the traditional grouping of the notes. Instead, it perpetuated the arrangement of the notes as an irregular succession of longs and shorts, all of which rendered the edition even more deficient from the rhythmic point of view.”
Contrary To The Narrative • In spite of what some falsely claim, there was not universal opposition to the efforts of SOLESMES ABBEY vis-à-vis the restoration of plainsong. Those who carefully examine the 1887 “Rheims-Cambrai” Graduale will notice that Dom Pothier’s restored plainsong editions were sometimes included in supplements (printed towards the back of the book). Here is one example:
Both Plagal & Authentic • The chant is “Constítues Eos,” the same gradual which is to be sung each year on 29 June (Feast of Sts. Peter & Paul). I would be interested to know what Dr. Weaver thinks about how the mode is presented: Mode 5 and Mode 6.
