Gregorian Chant Introit • (Sung According to the Official Rhythm of the Catholic Church)
This coming Sunday is the 17th Sunday after Pentecost (EF).
Gregorian Rhythm Wars
Enter the Gregorian Rhythm Wars
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.
Gregorian Rhythm Wars • “Mocquereau on Trial” (16 Sep 2023)
“The burden of proof is on the one who persists in ignoring the evidence.” —Patrick Williams
“Can No One Defend This?” • Why Everyone Should Sing From the Official Edition
I can never go back!
Gregorian Rhythm Wars • “The Counter Tradition”
Guest submission (1 September 2023) by Alasdair Codona of Glasgow, Scotland.
Gregorian Rhythm Wars • “Check the Date!” (19 Aug 2023)
“The oldest rhythmic sources are reliable. Study them for yourself and don’t take my word for anything!” —Patrick Williams
“Did One Man Single-Handedly Sabotage the Gregorian Restoration?” • (Part 1 of 2)
Including a scanned copy of a rare “Graduale” (Pustet, 1911) released a few minutes ago—for the first time in history!
Gregorian Offertory • “Exaltabo te Domine”
Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost, Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Ash Wednesday
Gregorian Rhythm Wars • “Patrick’s Fifth Reply to Jeff” (24 July 2023)
“Now all you have to do is connect the dots for yourself.” —Patrick Williams
Stomping Feet, Clattering Hooves, and Other Chant-Related Matters
Did you know that St. Augustine described the sound of one hand clapping?
Gregorian Rhythm Wars • “Jeff’s Fourth Response to Patrick” (19 July 2023)
Twenty years ago, I had the opportunity to conduct a week-long interview with Dom Cardine’s former boss.
Gregorian Rhythm Wars • “Tradition, Beauty, and Musicality” (16 July 2023)
“How delightful it would be to hear chants sung beautifully in a style that hasn’t been recorded hundreds of times already!” —Patrick Williams
Gregorian Rhythm Wars • “Weaver Responds to Williams”
“Nothing so arouses the soul, gives it wing, sets it free from the earth, releases it from the prison of the body, teaches it to love wisdom, and to condemn all the things of this life, as concordant melody and sacred song composed in rhythm.” —St. John Chrysostom
Gregorian Rhythm Wars • “Williams Responds to Weaver” (12 July 2023)
“What is to be gained from outdated scholarship and an anachronistic aesthetic that cannot be better accomplished by a return to the oldest sources?” —Patrick Williams
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.