ORTY NINE YEARS ago—in 1977 to be exact—Monsignor Francis P. Schmitt famously included several paragraphs in his book (Church Music Transgressed) deriding TLM Catholics of the 1970s. For example, he rebuked those “whose pamphleteers are forever talking about the beauty of Gregorian chant, by which, it turns out, they mean Mass VIII, a piece neither traditional nor all that beautiful.” Mass VIII is often called “Mass of the Angels” (Missa de ángelis)—and CREDO III was often included in it. For instance, cf. the collection by Jean-Baptiste Labelle, a Canadian organist who studied with Thalberg. As a matter of fact, Monsignor Schmitt was incorrect; several movements from Mass VIII are extremely ancient. [More on that momentarily.]
Jeff’s Attempt • Since our congregation is currently singing SANCTUS VIII, I composed the following harmonization which adheres to the modal theories of the LEMMENSINSTITUUT (broadly speaking), with one exception:
* PDF Download • SANCTUS VIII —Jeff’s harmonization
—Mass VIII is sometimes called “Mass of the Angels” (Missa de Angelis).
My edition follows the official rhythm. In other words, it uses the rhythm that was intended by those who—at the behest of Pope Saint Pius X—created the EDITIO VATICANA. Dom André Mocquereau had a different theory of rhythm. Specifically, Mocquereau believed the ‘stress’ or ‘accent’ or ‘stroke’ of Gregorian Chant should go on the final syllable, just as it does in the French language. For example, consider the way Dom Mocquereau marked GLORIA XV (Dominátor Deus) in his 1904 LIBER USUALIS:
Therefore, we won’t be surprised to observe that Dom Mocquereau modified the Editio Vaticana by adding all kinds of elongations on the final syllables of Latin words. What is slightly surprising, however, is the fact that Mocquereau’s arch-nemesis, Dom Lucien David, adopted these elongations in his 1932 edition. That illustrates how popular the Mocquereau editions had become in the 1930s:
It will be remembered that the official edition (“EDITIO VATICANA”) gives very little indication when it comes to syllabic plainsong. We see that by examining the Nova Organi Harmonia published by the LEMMENSINSTITUUT, which was punctilious in its adherence to the official rhythm:
Dr. Peter Wagner (Commissionis Pontificiæ Gregorianæ Membrum) also follows the official rhythm:
This is perfectly consistent with the original 1883 edition by Abbat Joseph Pothier:
On the other hand, it isn’t absolutely forbidden to add some elongations for syllabic chants; far from it! Abbat Pothier and his Vatican Commission on Gregorian Chant never intended to ‘micromanage’ or ‘control’ with excessive precision how every choir would approach syllabic sections. For instance, notice how Max Springer of Beuron added a slight elongation in his 1914 edition:
Monsignor Franz Nekes (called by some: “The German Palestrina”) did the same thing in his 1906 harmonization:
Indeed, other “pure” Vaticana editions follow suit. The famous Schwann edition of 1906 does. So does the edition by the Alsatian organist and composer, Father Xaver Mathias, who founded the Saint Leo Institute for Sacred Music at Strasburg Cathedral in 1913. This was also the approach I adopted. In other words, I adopted a type of via media which avoids the excessive “stop and go” approach by Dom Mocquereau:
I can see no justification for all those added pauses. (For the record, Mocquereau kept them in the subsequent editions.)
Concluding Thoughts • At the beginning of this article, I said parts of the Missa de ángelis are quite ancient. He who searches for “O Quam Suávis Est” will discover hundreds of the most gorgeous ancient manuscripts:
SANCTUS VIII is a contrafact of the “O Quam Suávis Est” melody.
Here’s yet another example:
