Are We Done? • “Gregorian Chant Rhythm Wars”
It’s been decided to bring that particular series to a close. However…
“If we do not love those whom we see, how can we love God, Whom we do not see?” Bishop Fulton J. Sheen
It’s been decided to bring that particular series to a close. However…
“It is all too easy to be lured away from a common-sense interpretation of the oldest sources by the siren song of beautiful, polished performances according to some other style.” —Patrick Williams
“The time is ripe to reconsider the contributions of Fr. Jan Vollaerts to Gregorian musicology.” —Patrick Williams
“Reading deliberate ‘nuances’ into normal variations in handwriting is a solution in search of a problem.” —Patrick Williams
In praise of the Cardine approach to chanting, with some further thoughts on pluralism and correctness in performance practice.
“I cannot imagine any justification for making such an alteration and still claiming that one’s edition corresponds to the Vaticana.” —Patrick Williams
This coming Sunday is the 17th Sunday after Pentecost (EF).
My goal is to clarify and illumine what I believe exactly is at stake when we debate the rhythm in chant. I shall first attempt to summarize the core arguments that each of the main authors in this blog series use.
“The burden of proof is on the one who persists in ignoring the evidence.” —Patrick Williams
Guest submission (1 September 2023) by Alasdair Codona of Glasgow, Scotland.
“The oldest rhythmic sources are reliable. Study them for yourself and don’t take my word for anything!” —Patrick Williams
Including a scanned copy of a rare “Graduale” (Pustet, 1911) released a few minutes ago—for the first time in history!
Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost, Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Ash Wednesday
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