In Praise of Adaptability
A proposal: if we are going to study something as important and mysterious as Gregorian chant, we ought to be able to perform it convincingly in several different ways.
Gregorian Rhythm Wars
The Golden Rule and Mocquereau’s Method
Dom Mocquereau’s editions are a compromise between tradition and paleography. This explains his sometimes surprising semiological conclusions.
PDF Download • “Epitome Gradualis Romani” • Professionally Scanned — 1,106 pages!
Years ago, I struggled with being a “people pleaser.” (That means saying whatever will please the person standing in front of you.)
Gregorian Rhythm Wars • “Jeff’s Third Response to Patrick” (16 May 2023)
I don’t think our readers are interested in what we say about Gregorian rhythm—they’re interested only in what we can demonstrate.
Gregorian Rhythm Wars • “The Hidden Dactyl”
“Perhaps surprisingly, not one word of three syllables in the ancient Easter sequence ‘Laudes Salvatori voce’ is sung to the rhythm of a dactyl.” —Alasdair Codona
Sneaky “Salicus” Statements by Solesmes
Let there be no mistake about it: Dom Mocquereau (illicitly) added the “salicus” in hundreds of places where the official edition has none.
Rhetoric, Number, Measure, and Historicism
The beginnings of a response to mensuralism from the classic Solesmes point of view.
Recent Book! • “The Politics of Plainchant”
Fascinating details from never-before-seen letters recently discovered in southern France!
PDF Download • “Kyriale Accompaniment Book” by Dr. Peter Wagner (138 pages)
… including a deliciously dazzling discovery you won’t want to miss!
Gregorian Rhythm Wars • “The Limits of History”
There’s nothing necessarily authentic about the “authentic” rhythm.
PDF Download • “Salve Regina” [Simplex] • An Elegant English Translation (2022)
The incomparable Andrew Hinkley kindly set it to plainchant notation.
Gregorian Rhythm Wars • “Jeff’s Second Response to Patrick” (6 Dec 2022)
You look upon these thousands of manuscripts in much the same way that I view the plainsong editions of Guillaume-Gabriel Nivers.
Gregorian Rhythm Wars • “On the Nuance Theory of Plainchant”
A brief historical survey of free rhythm in plainchant, as practiced from the modern monastic foundation of Solesmes (1833) to the present.
PDF Download • “How Does the Official Rhythm Actually Sound?”
Including three (3) professionally-scanned versions of the Kyriale, released here for the 1st time!
Gregorian Rhythm Wars • “Feedback from Dom Stephen Concordia”
“I greatly appreciate your hospitality and willingness to engage in dialogue.” — Dom Concordia, OSB