F SOMEBODY asked you to teach them GREGORIAN CHANT, could you? Obviously, you wouldn’t want to “get into the weeds” with technical info. I still remember a telephone call with someone who considers himself a plainsong expert and taught for decades at a sacred music institute. He bellowed into the phone: “There’s no such thing as Gregorian Chant. There’s only cantillation!” (I didn’t bother correcting him.) Clearly, one should not overwhelm students with burdensome jargon. On the other hand, a decision must be made about methodology. For instance, if you teach Ave Regína Cælórum according to the method of François Gevaert, head of the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, your student would probably demand a full refund!
Official Edition? • In 1905, the Catholic Church created an official edition of Cantus Gregorianus called the EDITIO VATICANA. It was created by order of the MOTU PROPRIO “Col Nostro” (25 April 1904) issued by Pope Saint Pius X. After Vatican II, when liturgical changes were made, the official edition wasn’t altered, even though a few pieces were added. Feel free to download a PDF copy of the Ordo Cantus Missæ (1970) and examine it for yourself. You will see the user is referred to the EDITIO VATICANA 99% of the time. Even when new chants were created, they were based upon the version found in the EDITIO VATICANA.
The Way It Was Intended • If somebody asked me for lessons in Gregorian Chant, I would teach them using the official edition. Moreover, I would sing the official edition the way it was intended to be sung by its creators. A few years before Pope Saint Pius X died, an official letter was issued by Sebastiano Cardinal Martinelli (d. 1918), PREFECT for the Congregation of Sacred Rites. This letter explicitly says Pope Pius X wanted 1 the official edition to be sung the way its creators intended.
Our Biggest Release Ever! • For decades, Corpus Christi Watershed has been making extremely rare books available to the world for free. Several of these are so important, they have changed the course of modern scholarship. Examples would be the early editions of Abbat Pothier, the GRADUALE of Father Hermesdorff, the 5-line collections by Father Karl Weinmann, Dom Mocquereau’s 1903 LIBER USUALIS, the Nova órgani harmónia by the LEMMENSINSTITUUT, and many others. A few months ago, through the generosity of Dr. Charles Weaver, I was made aware of two extremely rare books I never knew existed.
Today … our most momentous release:
* High-Resolution Viewer • 1932 GRADUEL DOMINICAL (856 pages)
—Graduel Dominical Complet en notation grégorienne et clef de sol (Dom Lucien David, 1932).
—We thank Matthew Frederes for the gorgeous viewing device.
* PDF Download • 1932 GRADUEL DOMINICAL (856 pages)
—Massively large PDF file: 417.7MB.
* High-Resolution Viewer • 1932 VESPÉRAL DOMINICAL (782 pages)
—Vespéral Dominical en notation grégorienne et clef de sol (Dom Lucien David, 1932).
—We thank Matthew Frederes for the gorgeous viewing device.
* PDF Download • 1932 VESPÉRAL DOMINICAL (782 pages)
—Massively large PDF file: 362.4MB.
Who Created These Editions? • These books reproduce the EDITIO VATICANA, but provide subtle markings to help singers discern the moræ vocis. They were created by DOM LUCIEN DAVID, a monk of Saint-Wandrille Abbey. At one time, Dom Lucien served as Abbat Pothier’s private secretary, as you can see by this important letter which points out that Dom Mocquereau’s method should not be confused with the Solesmes method. Dom Lucien wrote a famous biography of Abbat Pothier. In 1919, Dom Lucien also published his Méthode pratique de chant grégorien selon les principes et la notation de l’édition Vaticane. Dom Lucien was a voting member of the VATICAN COMMISSION ON GREGORIAN CHANT established by Pope Saint Pius X.
Are They Significant? Why? • For decades, I have used this blog to explore the discrepancies when it comes to the official rhythm. Specifically, I’ve shown readers many instances where editors who claim to embrace the official rhythm seem to (sometimes) contradict it. I’m talking about editors such as Professor Amédée Gastoué, Dr. Peter Wagner, Father Franz Mathias, Maxwell Springer, Marcel Dupré, Joseph Gogniat, the Lemmensinstituut, Monsignor Franz Nekes, and so forth. I have never been able to figure out why such discrepancies exist. Perhaps some of them are due to sloppiness. Perhaps some of them are issues of “style.” Perhaps some betray a desire on the part of the editor to “corner a market” by creating a proprietary version. Since Abbat Joseph Pothier served as president of the VATICAN COMMISSION ON GREGORIAN CHANT, these editions by his private secretary and biographer (Dom Lucien David) are of great significance.
Initial Impressions • I will be studying these books for the rest of my life. My “initial impression” of them is somewhat complicated. Generally speaking, they seem to be faithful to the official rhythm. At the same time, several discrepancies seem to be (perhaps?) a reaction to Dom Mocquereau’s editions, which were pervasive and popular by the year 1932. I will close this article by giving some examples—but I will have much more to say about these books in the coming years.
Treble Clef + Five Lines! • the entire collection (1,638 pages) is printed on five lines (!) with a treble clef. Astoundingly, Dom Lucien has carefully placed a French translation underneath the Latin text. Isn’t that marvelous?
Marking Morae • Dom Lucien placed a little “U shape” mark to help clarify instances of the melismatic mora vocis (i.e. where the blank space is equal to the width of an individual note-head). In the following example, we see one resting upon what I have often called the “Mystery Virga.” Furthermore, we see an extended mark whenever both notes before the quilisma are to be lengthened:
“Trochee Trouble” • A topic we have discussed frequently on this blog is Trochee Trouble. Are trochees to be doubled, as the Germans do? Are are trochees not to be doubled, as the French do? Or, is there a “middle way”—as I attempted to demonstrate using video examples in a recent article. We can see that Dom Lucien—although seeming to favor the French approach—does attempt to provide “TTG” (Trochee Trouble Guidance) in certain instances:
Stacked Up Pauses • Without question, the most difficult parts to interpret in the EDITIO VATICANA occur when multiple “blank spaces” are stacked one upon the other. Having examined such instances for more than twenty years, I’ve come to believe some of those blank spaces should not have been included—but were left in either due to sloppiness or out of aesthetic concerns (in terms of the way the neums look on paper). Dom Lucien seems to agree:
Arbitrary Instances • Sometimes, Dom Lucien seems to contradict the official rhythm inexplicably. While I don’t consider such instances to be “of earth shattering significance,” I do take note of them. An example would be where he indicates an elongation on the word “súnt” from SANCTUS IV:
Non-Mocquereau • I mentioned earlier that often Dom Lucien seems “cognizant of” or “deferential towards” some of Dom Mocquereau’s elongations. However, in other instances that is not the case. Here is one such instance, from KYRIE IV:
Copy Cat? • On the other hand, sometimes it *seems* as though Dom Lucien adopts illicit elongations from the editions by Dom Mocquereau. Consider what he did with “Allelúja: Dóminus Dixit Ad Me” from Christmas. Or, consider the following example from GLORIA IV:
Dr. Charles Weaver • Dr. Weaver told me that he considers Dom Lucien’s way of indicating the morae vocis to be “quite an elegant solution.” For myself, I’m not sure about that. Sometimes, his indications of the morae strike me as confusing (see below). In the PREFACE, Dom Lucien explains the mora vocis markings as follows:
Très léger point d’orgue (petite subdivision dans les vocalises) équivalant à peu près au quart de barre. Le plus long indique le ralentissement d’un groupe de deux notes, le plus court d’une seule note.
Translated into English: “A very light fermata (a small subdivision among the vocalisations) more or less equal to the quarter-bar. The longer one indicates the slowing of a group of two notes, the shorter of only one note.”
Standing Alone! • Certain instances of the melismatic mora vocis are ignored by everyone. I have always wondered why! An example would be the OFFERTORY for the Requiem Mass. A certain melismatic mora vocis is ignored by everyone—but we see that Dom Lucien does not ignore it:
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.
Conclusion • My colleague, Corrinne May, pointed out to me (correctly) that I usually do a poor job of “summing up” my articles. Therefore, let me attempt to conclude satisfactorily. First of all, Dom André Mocquereau entered the Abbey of Solesmes on 22 July 1875. [Abbat Prosper Guéranger had died on 30 January 1875.] By that time, Dom Pothier’s LIBER GRADUALIS, which Pope Saint Pius X said should serve as the basis for the EDITIO VATICANA, had already been finished for 6 years, since it was completed in 1868—although it wasn’t published until 1883. Except for a period of six years (1895-1901), the monks of Solesmes were exiled from their monastery from 1880-1922 due to the French government’s anti-clerical laws. From 1880-1895, the monks were exiled “at the very doors of the Abbey” (in the words of Dom Combe). In other words, the Solesmes monks were not allowed to enter their Abbey, so they lived in the town (!) of Solesmes. The exiled monks chanted the Divine Office either in the nearby convent of Sainte-Cécile (where Dom Mocquereau’s sister, a cloistered nun, served as organist) or in the parish church. From 1901-1922, the Solesmes monks were exiled in England. Therefore, we should not be surprised to learn that anglophone countries tend to favor Mocquereau’s editions. Indeed, many English-speaking authors focus solely on Mocquereau’s edition, completely ignoring important editions which faithfully reproduce the EDITIO VATICANA, such as: Dessain (1,864 pages); Father Mathias (1,106 pages); Friedrich Pustet (916 pages); Schwann, Düsseldorf (1,129 pages); Father Weinmann (692 pages); Max Springer (870 pages); Lemmensinstituut (2,279 pages); and even the Vatican Polyglot Press (948 pages).
These volumes—all 1,638 pages!—by Dom Lucien David (Abbat Pothier’s protégé, biographer, and private secretary) faithfully reproduce the official edition and serve as a breathtaking testament to the power of the EDITIO VATICANA!
1 We should remember that Pope Pius X had been keenly interested in Gregorian Chant for decades, followed Dom Pothier’s work of restoration at Solesmes Abbey, and created a famous “votum” on sacred music in 1893 which can be read in Monsignor Romita’s 1961 book: La preformazione del motu proprio di S. Pio X sulla Musica sacra.
