sacred music, 115.4, winter 1988; the journal of the church music association of america

8/14/2019 Sacred Music, 115.4, Winter 1988; The Journal of the Church Music Association of America

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SACRED MUSIC Volume 115, Number 4(Winter) 1988


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Abbey of Solesmes, France

SACRED MUSICVolume 115, Number 4, Winter 1988

FROM THE EDITORS"Conce rt" Masses 3W hy Don't O ur Children Sing? 4LITURGICAL RESTORATION: IS IT TOO LATE?

Michael Gilchrist 7FOR ALL THE SAINTS: AN OTTAWA TRADITION

Duane L.C.M. Galles 11PLAINSONG WITH DOM CARDINE: THE SALICUS

Dom Laurence Bevenot, O.S.B. 15THE LIMITS OF SEMIOLOGY IN GREGORIAN CHANT

Dom Eugene Cardine 22REVIEWS 28

NEWS 29CONTRIBUTORS 30

OPEN FORUM 30EDITORIAL NOTES 31

INDEX TO VOLUME 115 31


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SACRED MUSIC Continuation of Caecilia, published by the Society of St. Caecilia since 1874,an d The Catholic Choirmaster, published by the Society of St. Gregory ofAmerica since 1915. Published quarterly by the Church Music Association ofAmerica. Office of publications: 548 Lafond Avenue, Saint Paul, Minnesota55103.Editorial Board: Rev. Msgr. Richard J. Schuler, EditorRev. Ralph S. March, S.O. Cist.Rev. John BuchananHarold HughesdonWilliam P. MahrtVirginia A. SchubertCal StepanRev. Richard M. HoganMary Ellen StrappJudy Labon

News: Rev. Msgr. Richard J. Schuler548 Lafond Avenue, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55103Music for Review: Paul Salamunovich, 10828 Valley Spring Lane, N. Hollywood, Calif. 91602Paul Manz, 1700 E. 56th St., Chicago, Illinois 60637

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CHURCH MUSICASSOCIATIONOF AMERICAOfficers and Board of DirectorsPresident

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548 Lafond Avenue, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55103

Monsignor Richard J. SchulerGerhard TrackVirginia A. SchubertEarl D. HoganRev. Ralph S. March, S.O. Cist.Mrs. Donald G. VellekWilliam P. MahrtRev. Robert A. SkerisMembership in the CMAA includes a subscription to SACRED MUSIC.Voting membership, $12.50 annually; subscription membership, $10.00annually; student membership, $5.00 annually. Single copies, $3.00. Sendmembership applications and change of address to SACRED MUSIC, 548Lafond Avenue, St. Paul, Minnesota 55103. Make all checks payable toChurch Music Association of America.Second class postage paid at St. Paul, Minnesota.Library of Congress catalog card number: 62-6712/MNSacred Music is indexed in the Catholic Periodical and Literature Index,Music Index, and Music Article Guide, Arts and Humanities Index.Front cover: Solesmes Abbey, FranceCopyright Church Music Association of America, 1988ISSN: 0036-2255474960


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FROM THE EDITORS"Concert" Masses

What is a "concert" Mass? The term is a contradiction. And yet the term is usednot infrequently to describe music for Mass that in some way is judged to haveexceeded the mediocre fare so often found in our churches today. It may be used torefer to a great work of art expressly written for use in the liturgy; it may be used fora Mass with orchestral accompaniment; it may refer to a work performed by a finechoral ensemble and soloists.Before the Second Vatican Council an attitude was prevalent among some peoplethat music in the liturgy could be a distraction to prayer. It was something "to be seenbut not heard." If one noticed the beauty of the singing and music, it was thought tobe a distraction from prayer. But the fathers of the council were clear in declaringthat music is an integral part of the liturgy. One cannot be distracted by the verything that one is doing, unless, of course, the music or any other art used in theliturgy is not sacred or is not truly art. Such does not belong in the liturgy, and it canindeed distract.The so-called "concert" Mass is not faulted by its critics for lack of a sacredcharacter, nor is it faulted as poor art. Rather, it is criticized precisely because it isgreat art. It is its perfection that is objected to.Some of this attitude may be traced back to Father Joseph Gelineau and his book,Voices and Instruments in Christian Worship (Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgi-cal Press, 1964) in which he maintains that music for church should not seek theperfection that one may well demand of secular compositions intended for theconcert hall, both in their creation and in their performance. He objects to great artin the liturgy. He says: "We must give up the idea that liturgical celebrations, in theperformance of their music, ought to rival the standards of the concert hall, theradio, the theater, and the achievements of professional composers and performers."His reason seems to rest in a false interpretation of what actuosa participatio populimeans; he, like so many others, fails to accept listening to be a form of activeparticipaion. Thus, in such an interpretation, all music in the liturgy must be sungby the congregation, which is, of course, limited by its very nature in the artisticpossibilities of which it is capable. This, in fact, eliminates the choir and all choralrepertory. In his misunderstanding of participation, Gelineau falls victim to an exces-sive antiquarianism, a down-grading of the art of music, and his rejection of theposition of a trained group of singers or instrumentalists.

With that same criterion applied to architecture there would be no great gothiccathedrals or Roman basilicas. Applied to painting and sculpture, the masterpiecesof the Christian ages would not have been created. Applied to vestments, chalicesand other paraphernalia, the goldsmith, the silversmith and the needle artist wouldhave been prevented from working for the glory of God in the liturgy. And judgingfrom what one observes today in these arts and their contributions to Catholicworship since the council, perhaps that priniciple is in effect. We live in a "do-it-yourself" age. Everyone, including grade school children, is invited to "create" for theliturgy.Through the centuries great artists in every medium have worked for God's gloryand offered the fruits of their talents for the public worship of God. Only the bestwa s acc ept able ; only a total offering of one's tale nt was receiv ed. In mu sic, com- FROM THE EDITORS


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posers set the traditional texts of the ordinary parts of the Mass, and every age hascontributed its masterpieces to the treasury of sacred music. These composers wrotefor the liturgy, not for a concert. They intended their music to be a part of theEucharistic sacrifice or the hours of the office. They were not writing for perform-ance in a concert setting; they were not composing for entertainment or any secularpurpose. The concert was one activity; the liturgy was another. The thought thattheir Masses would be concerts did not enter their minds.A Mass is a Mass; it is written for use in the liturgy, forming an integral part of theworship of God, closer than any other art to the sacredness of the action, because itis so closely united to the very Word of God. A symphony is a symphony; aconcerto, a concerto; an opera, an opera. They are written for entertainment andbelong in the concert hall or the opera house. They are meant to please man and toexalt the hu m an pe rson. Th e purpose of the comp oser is all imp ortan t in determiningthe use of the composition. He has picked the form and produced the composition.Before the Second Vatican Council, especially in the United States, a misinterpre-tation of the 1903 motu proprio of Pope Pius X, Tra le sollecitudini, led to a kind ofpuritanism that distrusted the emotions and the senses. Beauty as displayed in thearts was suspect and thought to lead away from God instead of acting as a bridge toHim . An exaltation of private personal prayer at the expense of comm unal participa-tion in liturgical action easily led to the notion that great music or elaborate ceremo-nial "distracted" the worsh iper from prayer. This puritanism is found in the o pinionsof Father Gelineau and is at the basis of the criticism of those who object to "concert"Masses. T hey are, in fact, living in the past. T hese notio ns have been laid to rest bythe council. True actuosa participatio, including that very active role of listening,recognizes that music, which is truly sacred and clearly good art, is an integral partof the liturgy. It cannot distract. It is not a concert!A "concert Mass" is a contradictio in terminis. RJ.S.W hy D on t O u r Children Sing?

"A sorrow's crown of sorrow is remembering happier things." A n d h o w true thatline of Tennyson is , w hen w e recall h o w parochial school children used to sing. A n dhow they could read notes an d even perform part music. They sang Gregorianchant , hymns, part r iot ic songs and a variety of folk songs from many countries.Today, hardly any music is t aught in our parochial schools, an d what little is usedin the l i turgy is inferior material unworthy of the church a n d beneath serious studyas music.Thirty years ago most Catholic grade schools h ad excellent courses of study inmusic, well coordinated with the catechetical curriculum and the liturgical year.Various methods of inst ruct ion were employed, but in most cases the studentslearned to read musical notat io n an d developed a familiari ty with a n u m b e r of piecesbo t h for worship and for recreat ion. T h e heri tage of American songs w a s absorbed ,and singing w as discovered to be a wonderful form of recreation as well as a meansof praising G o d . Most schools had a trained music teacher, and most classroomteachers were able to handle the fundamentals of music instruction. Teacher prepara-tion courses h a d basic musical requirements for all candidates, an d nearly all reli-gious orders of women were t rained in Gregorian chant fo r their o w n worship a n dfor teaching their pupils. T he period from the 20's to the 60's wa s truly a golden age,and the greatest credit for the excellent curriculum and first-class instruction inCatholic grade schools across the country belongs to the congregat ions of religiousFROM THE EDITORS Si st er s.


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But today the music curriculum has disappeared in most Catholic schools, and theblame for this loss belongs in the same place as the praise for its original develop-ment. The teaching orders of Sisters have abandoned their mission and deserted theschools. Lay teachers, without musical training in either religious or secular reper-tory, simply do not teach music. The music specialist has proved too costly forparochial schools struggling financially for their very existence. While athletic pro-grams are usually left in place, the music curriculum in most cases has been aban-doned. And our children no longer sing.There is nothing sadder than hearing a child trying to sing, but struggling with apitch problem that a little coaching could correct. The m ystery of the boy s' changingvoice could be so easily explained to them and prevent the conclusion so oftenreached by young men that "I can't sing." If one can talk, one can sing, but just asspeech must be trained, so must the singing voice be cultivated, if even minimally.How we are cheating our children! We are depriving them of the means for activeparticipation in the liturgy. We are depriving them of the joy that everyone can findin singing just for the pleasure of it.How many young priests today can sing a Mass, Latin or English? The seminariesdo not teach chant or singing. The young man who has come through the Catholicschool system today and who answers God's call to Holy Orders very likely cannotattempt to sing Mass. And who will fault him for his reluctance to expose himself tosuch a humiliation as trying to sing in public without any preparation to do it? Histraining for that role should have begun in grade school and culminated with seriousmusical study in the seminary. He has been cheated of the preparation that theChurch has ordered him to have, so that he can sing Mass both in Latin and in thevernacular. Our seminaries are not only disobedient to papal directives, but they areguilty of taking money for inadequate instruction. Not only do our children notsing, but neither do our young priests.

There is no doubt that the Vatican Council put a great emphasis on singing as aform of active participation in the sacred liturgy. A brief survey of our countrysurely will show how little has been accomplished in implem enting the ord ers of thecouncil. School Masses are singularly quiet; choirs have problems recruiting mem-bers from among the young; the repertory of hymns has faded away; small groups orcombos perform to a passive audience. The decrees of the Vatican Council and thepost-conciliar documents go unfulfilled and ignored.But one should not merely be a laudator temporis passati. Simply to bewail thesituation is no cure. We must remedy it, and that can be accomplished only througheducation. We need teachers trained in music for our grade and high schools. Weneed teacher training programs in colleges that include preparation for such teach-ing. We need seminaries that prepare the future clergy for their role as singingcelebrants, both of Latin and English Masses.

The ship has been abandoned, but it has not yet sunk. We can still save it.Education is the answer. R.J.S.

FROM THE EDITORS


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LITURGICAL RESTORATION:IS IT TOO LATE?(This article is reprinted from Newsletter of the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy, Vol.XX, No. 5, November 1988.)One of the most unfortunate developments in the Catholic Church since theSecond Vatican Council has been the extent to which liturgy reforms were, andcontinue to be, misguidedly or defectively implemented. And while, for example, inthe business world, losses of customers and profits in the wake of certain policychanges would have resulted in prompt investigations and reviews, even discipliningof those responsible, we find the Catholic Church's liturgical radicals unabashedlydemanding yet more of those very innovations which have contributed to a disas-trous shrinkage of faith and practice, especially in North America and westernEurope.There is no doubt that the council fathers unknowingly opened a Pandora's boxwhen they approved Vatican II's decree on sacred liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium,despite its being a moderate, cautious enough document, reflecting the positive andpotentially fruitful thrust of the pre-Vatican II liturgical movement.Unfortunately, this document contained a number of vague, ambiguous, evenpotentially contradictory passages, inviting later exploitation by a succession of post-Vatican II liturgical radicals. No matter that the council called for the retention ofLatin, pipe organs, and G regorian cha nt, the lust for change which swept the Chu rchand the secular world from the mid-1960's onwards would prove irresistible.The work of Consilium, a body of international experts charged with givingpractical expression to Sacrosanctum Concilium, merely widened the original loop-holes and institutionalized practices never dreamt of by many or most of the councilfathers, e.g., alternative Eucharistic prayers, spoken aloud in the vernacular, or acompletely revamped offertory. Yet the resultant Novus Ordo Mass of Pope Paul VI,which seemed revolution ary to traditionalists, nevertheless was capable of infusing astrong sense of the sacred when celebrated by a devout priest according to the mindof the universal Church, and even more so when in Latin.But the Church's authorities, in that period of heady optimism, seemed unawareof the potential pastoral risks associated with such fundamental reshaping of theliturgy; so much depended on a set of ideal local circumstances: on innate goodtaste, on restraint, on an ingrained sense of the sacred, on sound catechetical back-up , and on clear, firm, liturgical leadership right down the line from Rome througheach diocese, to parish and school. The late 1960's was the worst of all possible times

for finding such favorable conditions.Given our flawed hum an nature's leaning towards indiscriminate novelties, the oldMass, with all its limitations, did serve as a barrier against liturgical abuses. Unfor-tunately, in opening the way for objectively necessary and desirable liturgicalchanges, the Church's reformers allowed insufficiently for human weakness; nor, ofcourse, could they have anticipated the western world's imminent cultural revolu-tion, the impact of which would be felt in every corner of the secular world as well asthroughout the Catholic Church.In effect, well-intentioned council fathers and members of Concilium would de-liver many of the Catholic faithful into the hands of local liturgical radicals, ama-teurs, and self-appointed experts, smitten by "signs of the times," and eager to stretchthe counc il's spirit to its lim its. In so doin g the y pu t at risk trad itio na l Ca tho lic RESTORATION


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p e r cep t io n s o f t h e Ch u r ch ' s s t r u c tu r e s , au th o r i t y , m o r a l t e ach in g s , s ac r am en t s an dev en th e v e r y b a s i s o f t h e p r i e s th o o d .

In the Uni ted Sta tes , church music ians and wel l -qual i f ied l i tu rg is ts , r eady to re -spond to the le t te r and sp i r i t o f Sacrosanctum Concilium in b r ing ing ou t the f ru i t s o fr en ewa l wh i l e m a in t a in in g o r g an ic co n t in u i ty w i th t h e p a s t , s aw th em se lv e s q u ick lyo u t f l an k ed b y d ev o tee s of h o o ten an n y an d r o ck M as se s w h o so u g h t an o p en - en d edsu ccess io n o f ex p e r im en t s i n t h e n am e o f r e l ev an ce , co m m u n i ty an d ac t iv e p a r t i c ip a -t i o n . Am er i can p u b l i ca t io n s , em b o d y in g th e se f an c i f u l ex t en s io n s o f Va t i can I I ,wo u ld in u n d a te p a r i sh e s an d sch o o l s a l l o v e r t h e wes t e r n wo r ld , en su r in g th e v i r t u a lex t in c t io n o f L a t in an d o f q u a l i t y ch u r ch m u s ic , b o th a r t i s t i c an d sac r ed . E n th u s i a s -t ic accep tance o f th is t ravesty o f Vat ican I I re fo rm would be widely seen , even bym an y o th e r wi se o r th o d o x Ca th o l i c s , a s a l i tm u s t e s t o f o n e ' s co r r ec t p o s t - co n c i l i a rt h i n k i n g .

In e f fec t , l i tu rgy be ca m e the ma jor i ns t rum ent o f a post -Vat ican I I evo lu t i on in theCa th o l i c Ch u r ch , r e in f o r c in g th e im p ac t o f r ad i ca l ch an g es i n ca t ech e t i c s an d sem i -n a r y f o r m a t io n . M o r e t h an a n y th in g e l se a f te r Va t i can II , t h e en d le s s su ccess io n ofseem in g ly a r b i t a r y l i t u r g i ca l ch an g es f o s t e r ed a r e l ax ed , sk ep t i ca l a tm o sp h e r e a t t h eCh u r ch ' s g r a s s r o o t s , n o m a t t e r wh a t o f f i c i a l Va t i can d o cu m en t s m ig h t co n t in u e toaf f i rm; even devout , loya l Catho l ics would be in fec ted . In Ind ia , fo r example , theCh u r ch wo u ld b e se t o n th e p a th o f H in d u iza t io n in t h e n am e o f i n cu l tu r a t io n ;a n y t h i n g b e c a m e p o s s i b l e .

T h e twen ty y ea r s s in ce l i t u r g i ca l r e f o r m b ecam e wid esp r ead h av e w i tn e ssed s t eepdecl ines in Mass a t tendance and in a host o f be l ie f s and p rac t ices , par t icu lar ly inNo r th Am er i ca , wes t e r n E u r o p e an d Au s t r a l a s i a . P r e s u m ab ly th i s was n o t t h e ob jec -t ive o f Vat ican I I , to weed ou t those sp i r i tua l weak l ings who needed ar t i f ic ia l l i tu rg i -ca l p rops to fo r t i fy the i r Catho l ic i ty .

Yet , a t the ou tse t , l i tu rg ica l rad ica ls and the i r ecc les ias t ica l suppor ter s had p re-d ic ted the changes in the Mass would ef fec t la rger congregat ions and an exc i t ingp e r io d o f r en ewa l t h r o u g h o u t t h e Ch u r ch . I t was a s su m ed th a t u n iv e r sa l u se o f t h evernacu lar , hav ing the p r ies t face the peop le a t an a l ta r tab le , r emoving a l ta r ra i l san d p u lp i t s an d s t an d in g f o r C o m m u n io n to b e r ece ived o n th e h a n d wo u ld p ack th ech u r ch es , a t t r a c t m o r e co n v e r t s an d im p r o v e th e q u a l i t y o f wo r sh ip .

Wh en th e r ev e r se ac tu a l ly o ccu r r ed , ad v o ca te s o f t h i s r ad i ca l i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o fVa t i can II m ad e th e b e s t of t h e s i t u a t io n , b l a m in g los se s o n o u t s id e , u n co n t r o l l a b l ef o r ce s o r o n p o o r co m m u n ica t io n w i th t h e g r a s s r o o t s ; i t was ev en su g g es t ed th a tf a l l i n g n u m b er s a t wo r sh ip m ig h t b e a n ece ssa r y p r i ce t o p ay f o r im p r o v ed q u a l i t y :t o d ay ' s Ca th o l i c s a re sa id t o b e b e t t e r ed u ca t ed , m o r e m a tu r e an d au to n o m o u s , a n dn o t i n t im id a t ed b y o ld n o t io n s o f au th o r i t y an d o b ed ien ce .

N o d o u b t , h a d t h e a c t u a l , b u t u n w a r r a n t e d , r e v o l u t i o n a r y c h a n g e s b e e n a c c o m p a -n ied b y in c r ea se s , i n s t ead o f d ec r ea se s i n M ass a t t en d an ce , t h o se r e sp o n s ib l e wo u ldh av e c la im ed c r ed i t , a t t r i b u t in g th i s h a p p y d ev e lo p m en t t o t h e p o p u la r i t y o r ap p r o -p r i a t en ess o f t h e ch an g es . On th e o th e r h an d , i n t h e f ace o f o b v io u s l o s se s , t h e r eh av e b een d en ia l s o f an y l i n k s b e tween th o se l o s se s an d m isap p l i ed r e f o r m s , l e t a lo n ead m iss io n s o f e r r o r o f j u d g m en t , m e r e ly d em an d s th a t t h e o n - g o in g l i t u r g i ca l r ev o lu -t i o n b e b r o u g h t t o ev e r y co r n e r o f t h e Ch u r ch .

D i s t i n c t io n s b e tween ju s t i f i ab ly c r ea t iv e l i t u r g y an d f l ag r an t ab u se s h av e b eenlo n g s in ce o b scu r ed in t h e m in d s o f m an y p r i e s t s , r e l i g io u s an d l i t u r g y g r o u p s .Vat ican documents des igned to curb excesses and abuses fa i l pers is ten t ly to reachth e i r t a r g e t s o r a r e s im p ly o v e r r u l ed in t h e n am e o f p lu r a l i sm , i n cu l tu r a t io n o rco l leg ia l i ty . The p resen t s i tua t ion reminds one o f the s to ry o f the so rcerer ' s appren-t ic e a s l i t u r g i ca l n ew b r o o m s , u n im p ed ed b y ch u r ch au th o r i t y , swe ep th e ir way

RESTORATION re len t less ly th r ou gh th ou sa nd s o f chu rch es , cha pels an d a l l m an ne r o f un l ike ly M as s


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sites.Has the Magisterium, or those acting in its name, been intent these past twentyyears on fostering a more "horizontal" (man-centered), less "vertical" (God-centered)emphasis in li turgy? Or has this fundamental consideration been thought through atall save by the Church's middle-management elites intent on using liturgy to radical-ize the Church? If renewal required a certain fine-tuning of the creative balancebetween the vertical and horizontal, would not a long succession of horizontally-biased changes or innovations merely effect a worse imbalance in the oppositedirection? Few diocesan authorities seem seriously to have addressed this question.There have been many such changes in the liturgy, all of them pointing in the samedirection. The Mass, in effect, was to evolve into a people-centered, day-to-day-relevant, casual, secularized and egalitarian activity. This was the clear message inmost parishes, schools, colleges and religious houses; this was to be the on-goingpractical implementation of Vatican Us liturgical renewal, whatever the originalintentions of the council fathers and Consilium, or the present intentions of theMag isterium. We now have a runaw ay liturgy so that no m atter wha t Pope John PaulII might say about abuses and disobedience, there is little serious response at dioce-san and parish levels.The damaging blend of official loopholes, exceptions and alternatives, all ex-ploited to the hilt at local levels, and the rash of experiments and abuses, has beenwithout parallel in the Church's history. Never before have there been so manyliturgical changes, licit or otherwise, changes which seemed oriented towards Protes-tantism and secularism. Coincidentally, at no other time in her history would theChurch experience such widespread, steep declines in Mass attendance, beliefs andpractices, not as the result of war, persecutions, schism, or natural disaster, but in thewake of internal policies, aimed at reform and renewal.What kinds of signals were conveyed by new liturgies to ordinary Catholics in thepews, enjoying growing affluence, struggling with temptations and confrontingmounting pressures from a permissive cultural milieu? Moreover, in experiencingwhat seemed to be arbitrary, albeit at t imes welcome, changes, how equipped werethese Catholics to discern between the officially licit and the locally illicit innova-tions?

What would be the side-effects among ordinary Catholics of tampering with thisancient, flawed, but still widely supported and functioning liturgical organism? Wemight recall the truism: lex orandi, lex credendi (as we worship so do we believe andpractice our faith). For Catholics, liturgy, belief and practice represented a seamlessgarment of faith; to tamper with one part could lead to an unravelling of the whole.If the Mass were now to be perceived, locally at least, as a community gathering,even a picnic, the Eucharist as simply bread and the priest a master of ceremonies tobe judged according to his personality o r wit, wh at of changed C atholic perceptionsof the supernatural, of sin, guilt, repentance, or priesthood, of Mass obligation or ofthe Sacrament of Penance? Who needed to be shriven for a picnic?The unintended fall-out from Vatican II's liturgical reform, as it was widely imple-mented, w ould include a massive decline in reverence at wors hip, w idespread disap-pearance of individual confessions and a cavalier disregard of the Church's moralteachings. In newly evolving liturgical contexts, everything connected with the faithseemed open to change or negotiation and the credibility of church authority stead-ily eroded, even without the insidious influence of society's pluralist, permissivevalues. Fewer now felt awkward about receiving Communion, despite irregularattendance at Mass or use of contraceptives, and non-use of the Sacrament of Pen-ance.

At the Church's grass roots, many Catholics were helped to make their own RESTORATION


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accomm odations with the secular world; they could be both in and of the world andstill regard themselves as Catholics in good standing. The new liturgy, as it wasimplemented, has become a major vehicle for secularization of Catholic spiritual andmoral life. In the context of liturgical change it was no wond er that so m any C atho-lics were angered or disappointed at Humanae Vitae. If the Latin Mass of all timecould be so radically altered, why not the Church's moral teachings? With changes inthe Mass arriving at regular intervals almost anything could be anticipated in thefuture; why wait?Modern approaches to catechetics, the formation of seminarians, courses in so-called Catholic colleges and the thrusts of school retreats, parish missions and re-newal programs have merely reinforced what the poorly implemented new liturgyhas effected on a wide scale in the United States and elsewhere.There is no doubt that Vatican II's liturgy reforms contained the potential for truerenewal of the M ass and sacraments. From time to time, one encounters tantalizingglimpses of what could and should have been established all over the Church in suchparishes as Saint Agnes in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and in a sprinkling of otherparishes and cathedrals around the country. Sadly, the potential of SacrosanctumConcilium remains mostly unrealized, this Vatican II decree having been effectivelyhijacked by those who, deliberately or otherwise, have been building a secularized,Protestantized, neo-modernist new church.Much of the present crisis in the Church can be attributed to the poor state ofliturgy. Recovery will depend on the awareness, courage, energy and will of morebishops who come to appreciate that their major diocesan priority must be a wide-spread restoration of sound liturgy along with the necessary support of sound cate-chesis of the Mass, sacraments and priesthood in schools, colleges and seminaries.Failing this, no amount of renewal programs will save the Church from continuingspiritual erosion. MICHAEL GILCHRIST

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Abbey of St. Florian, Austria

FOR ALL THE SAINTS:AN OTTAWA TRADITIONCanada early developed a rich tradition of church music. Following the firstpermanent white settlement in 1608, a full decade before the voyage of the May-flower, one begins to find references to church music in Canada. In 1632, the firstschool of church music was begun and the Jesuit superior could soon report that boychoristers, both French and Indian, were singing the ordinary of the Mass. With theadvent in 1664 of Monseigneur Francois de Montmorency-Laval, Canada's firstbishop, the institutions traditional for the preservation and cultivation of churchmusic arrived as well. It seems he brought with him a pipe organ which he hadinstalled in his cathedral. He also made formal provision for vocal music by estab-lishing there the position of grand chantre or precentor. Soon he could report toRome that in his Quebec cathedral divine services were celebrated in accordance withth e Ceremoniale Episcoporum with the assistance of priests, seminarians, and ten ortwelve choir-boys who were regulary present. He added that on great feasts Massand vespers were sung and the "organ sweetly mixed with voices wonderfully (to)adorn this musical harmony."1By the mid-twentieth century there were a half-dozen Canadian Catholic churchchoirs which were regularly performing sacred music not only in churches but alsofor eager audiences in concert halls and over the air waves of Radio Canada. InM ontreal, the Choeur Pie X cultivated a repertory of plainchant a nd renaissancepolyphony. In Ottawa, the Palestrina Choir sang this music and more modern piecesas well. One of its notable performances was of the Missa Papae Marcelli in theCathedral-Basilica of Notre Dame in Ottawa on the occasion of the canonization ofSaint Pius X.Canada possessed as well three fine schools of Catholic church music: in QuebecCity, Montreal and Ottawa. Several major seminaries, including that at Ottawa,were said to have "very fine" singing at liturgical celebrations. Besides these special-

ized centers, there were some 109 boy choirs across Canada affiliated with the OTTAWA


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inte rnat iona l Pu eri Ca nto res in Pari s. At an even mo re grass roo ts level it wa s saidthat "great numbers" of Canadian Cathol ic par ish churches had ski l led musiciansand that in those very par ish churches Gregor ian melodies were sung throughout theyear.2

Culminat ing a century of l i turgical revival came the Second Vat ican Counci l andits consti tution on the l i turgy, Sacrosanctum concilium. In art icle 112 of that docu-ment i t pronounced i ts paean to sacred music, declaring i t integral to the solemnliturgy and taking express note of "the ministerial function supplied by sacred musicin the service of the Lord." I t added that the purpose of sacred music was nothing lessthan the "glory of God and the sanctif ication of the faithful." Needless to say,therefore, the council decreed that pastors of souls were to be at pains that l i turgicalservices be celebrated with song; that the treasury of sacred music be preserved andcultivated with superlative care; that choirs be dil igently developed (art icle 114); thatgreat importance be attached to the teaching and practice of music in seminaries andnovi t ia tes and other Cathol ic inst i tu t ions (ar t ic le 115) ; and that Gregor ian chant ,being proper to the Roman li turgy, be given pride of place (art icle 116).

But if the text of the concil iar document presaged an even more glorious future forchurch music in Canada, in fact i t heralded i t s demise. Overnight Roman Cathol icchurch music d isap peared in Ca na da . Mon treal ' s Choe ur P ie X disba nded . Q uebec 'sLa Revue Saint Gregoire ceased publication. In a sly reference to another post-conci l iar development , Quebec 's "quiet revolut ion," one per iodical summed up thesi tuat ion in Canada: La musique ne va plus a la messe" (music no longer goes tochurch ) .3

But recent ly in Ot tawa church music has re turned f rom Sleepy Hol low. A smal lgroup of four Oratorian priests and f ive novices took up residence in the run-downbut h is tor ic Saint Br igid 's Church. Located in Ot tawa's Lower town under the shadowof Canada 's rambl ing gothic par l iament bui ld ings, the large neo- romanesque s toneedif ice is a "designated heritage property" which in 1989 will celebrate i ts centenary.Inside under the watchful Orator ian eye and wi th generous government help thefashionable p ost -conci l iar whi te wash is being pealed away to reveal ha nds om e turn-of-the-century mural paintings in the apse and bril l iant scagliola columns with gil tcapi ta ls suppor t ing the polychrome Edwardian fan-vaul ted gothic cei l ing . The derigueur outdoor carpet ing choking the a is les and chancel has been removed so thatthe f ine organ, restored after a generation of neglect , could once again resoundwithin th is handsome sacred space. The church bel ls , a las , had long s ince been sold ,but even here there is ho pe that the y might so me ho w be traced an d restored to thechurch's tower (reminiscent of Sacre Coeur on Montmartre) so that once again thesevenerable Chr is t ian sacramentals morning, noon, and night may peal for th andproclaim fai th in the Incarnat ion.

To f i l l this architectural heritage structure with sacred music the Oratorians havereturned to the treasure of sacred music in obedience to the concil iar decrees. Duringtheir short tenure at Saint Brigid's they have organized three choirs. There is theGal lery Choir of some th i r ty members , the Col legium Musicum of e ight members ,and the Saint Brigid's Choristers, a children's choir of some twenty voices. To sup-por t a l l three they establ ished a chant course which enrol led some th i r ty s tudentsand a "Latin for Laity" course which has proved attractive too. Thus, they areat tempt ing to implement the decree of the counci l which ordered that musicians begiven a genuine l i turgical training (art icle 115).

Anent the injunction of Sacrosanctum concilium that pastors see to i t that thefaithful are able to say or sing together in Latin those parts of the ordinary of theMass belonging to them (art icle 54), at Saint Brigid's the K yrie, Gloria, Credo,

OTTAWA Sanctus a n d Agnus Dei are sung in Greek or Latin. The remainder of the r i te is in12


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English using the reformed Vatican II liturgy. For the most part, the ordinaries aresung in plainchant to promote congregational participation. However, motets and,on great feasts, the ordinary are drawn from the treasure of renaissance polyphony,favoring the age of Saint Philip Neri, founder of the Oratorians. In fine, it can besaid that the reformed Vatican II liturgy is celebrated at Saint Brigid's, Ottawa, withgreat solemnity, great devotion, and great attention to the conciliar decrees.The ministry of the Ora torians h as been materially fruitful. Their Sunda y Missa incantu attracts a very sizeable congregation w hich includes not only older peop le butalso great numbers of young people, especially students. There are also in attendancemany young couples with their babies in arms. One couple, a young physician andhis wife with their five small children, regularly make the sixty-mile drive from theirsmall Quebec home town, in part because they feel more at ease among the largerfamilies to be found at Saint Brigid's. At home where the one-child family is thenorm, their five youngsters are rather conspicuous.4 Another young man is a recentconvert from the Anglican church where his mother was among the first women tobe ordained deacon. Nothing in his family background or university course inpolitical science and Russian studies suggests he was lured to Saint Brigid's out ofnostalgia. Indeed, he and many others there are too young to remember the pre-Vatican II liturgy. And besides the young, one might also note that Saint Brigid'sserves a goodly number of black worshippers, often of West Indian origin. Thissocially-varied congregation has not been slow to render material thanks for themusical and liturgical restoration which came in the train of the Oratorians. In thefirst two years after the Oratorians arrived not only did the congregation swell innumbers but also the parish revenues doubled. 5One gets a good sense of the sacred music and solemn liturgy restored in Ottawa ifone looks at the triduum for All Saints/All Souls at Saint Brigid's. There on AllHallows Eve they celebrated solemn first vespers of All Saints. To augment thesolemnity of the occasion the chancel was filled with five clerics clad in rich copes.The organist, Joseph Sullivan, greatly aided the solemnity of the occasion with

organ interludes between antiphons and psalms as well as between verses of theMagnificat. Of course, there were also the skillfully-rendered prelude and postlude.Following vespers chanted in the solemn Gregorian tones came benediction. Toobserve the revised, post-conciliar rubrics more closely while at the same time under-scoring the feast of the day, the litany of all saints was chanted before the BlessedSacrament exposed. Then the Tantum ergo was sung.0 Perhaps some eighty peopleattended this weekday service of vespers. It is said that before the advent of theOratorians some fifty peole would gather for the Sunday Mass of obligation. Ofcourse, this sizeable attendance at vespers (repeated each Sunday evening) may bebecause Saint Brigid's is the only Roman Catholic church in the city to celebrate sungvespers, the canons of the Ottawa cathedral having long since ceased to chant the

offices.The following day Saint Brigid's marked the feast of All Saints (which is not a dayof obligation in Canada) with a solemn evening Eucharist at which was sung Victo-ria's Mass for four voices, O quam gloriosus est regnum. The practice at SaintBrigid's is to reserve polyphony for the more special occasions. Generally the ordi-nary of the Mass is sung in Gregorian chant with only the Et incarnatus est of theCredo (plus the offertory and communion motets) rendered in polyphony.The triduum in honor of the communion of saints closed on All Souls ' day.Appropriately the more sombre accent of the day was expressed in a Gregorianrequiem Missa in cantu for deceased parishioners. Nevertheless, giving assurance ofthe future beatitude of those souls were the notes of solemnity in the rich blackbro cad e fiddleback chasu ble of the celebrant and the deco rum of the (many) well- OTTAWA

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trained altar servers vested in cassock and surplice. The sermon re-presented theChurch's doctrines of purgatory and indulgences as did Pope Paul VI in his post-conciliar constitution, Indulgentiarum doctrina, of 1967.It was a rare and beautiful solemn liturgical triduum and even rarer in a landwhere, despite a glorious heritage of sacred music, music has scarcely "gone tochurch" in a generation. One can but hope that the Ottawa example will helpproduce a change of heart so that Canadian Catholic churches will reclaim theirglorious heritage of sacred music and once again permit her to exercise her ministry,integral to the solemn liturgy, "for the glory of God and the sanctification of thefaithful." DUANE L.C.M. GALLES

NOTES1. Timothy J. McGee, The Music of Canada (New York, 1985), pp. 14, 16.2. Jules Martel, "Church Music I," in Sir Ernest MacMillan (ed.), Music in Canada(Toronto, 1955), pp. 179, 181, 186, 187.3. Clement Morin, "Musique religieuse catholique romaine," in Hulmust Kallmannet al., Encyclopedie de la musique au Canada (Montreal, 1983), p. 710; see alsothere the articles "Choeur Palestrina," "Choeur Pie X" (p. 186) and "Morin,Clement" (p. 669). Of course there are some bright spots in the church musicscene in Canada. See my article, "Easter in Quebec," Sacred Music, Volume 112,N o . 4 (Winter 1985), pp. 11-12.4. The falling birth rate has the government in Quebec ill at ease. It is currentlypaying mothers a cash bounty of $3,000 upon the birth of their third child.5. An article in the Ottawa Citizen (November 25, 1988), p. 18, places attendance

at Saint Brigid's at about fifty before the arrival of the Oratorians. It quotes oneparishioner, Eleanor Westfall, as saying: "The old church was dead before they(the Oratorians) came."6. Sacred Con gregation of Rites, instruction, Eucharisticum mysterium, 59 Adaapostolicae sedis (1967) 539-573; translation in Documents on the Liturgy:Conciliar, papal and curial texts (Collegeville, 1982), p. 419, states that exposi-tion of the Blessed Sacrament "must be so arranged that before the benedictionreasonable time is provided for readings of the word of God, hymns, prayers,and silent prayer, as circumstances permit."

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PLAINSONG WITH DOM CARDINE:THE SALICUS

JPART ONE: THE STORYGoing back to 1908, when the monks of Solesmesexiles on the Isle of Wightwere at work on what we know as the Vatican Graduate, we are sure that they hadthe full support of Pope Saint Pius X.However, we have the right to ask: who was it at the Desclee firm in Belgium whodesigned the typographical feature which for the past eighty years has succeeded inbaffling the singers of chant by leading them into his trap?Wh en the ma nuscrip ts wrote the scandicus: / , it was simply to express threeequal notes going up: J . No problem here, nor was there one then.How ever, when it was the salicus: / , the m on ks in 1908 were kept guessing. Th eunk now n type-designer invented that unfortun ate sign, and Desclee's press continuesto perp etua te it: J? .This was the era when Dom Mocquereau, that undoubted scholar but question-able theorist, was releasing his ictus into the field of plainsong. Nearly all printededitions of the chant can bear witness to Dom Mocquereau's zeal in fostering therhythm. But it is a great pity that the little ictus sign should have wormed its wayinto any printed version of the salicus in this wa y: JJ . Its presence there suggests toevery mind that there is a point of rest on that second note. The normal ictus ca nmean just that. Unfortunately, this is a basic interference with the proper rhythm ofthe salicus.Dom Eugene Cardine (who died in January 1988, aged 83 years) in his brilliantstudy of the neums, La Semiologie du Chant G regorien, chapter XV, has shownconclusively that the point of rest in the salicus is the final, third note. Never thesecond or middle note.No wo nder that confusion is guaranteed by the sad, injudicious printing of wha tlooks like an ictus under the second note. It is a trap! We may well ask: who set thistrap?Recently at Chesham Bois (Buckinghamshire) we celebrated the Requiem Mass forthe repose of the soul of that distinguished musician Henry Washington; for manyyears he was director of the choir at Brompton Oratory. Leading the singing werecognized a number of other distinguished musicians. These cantors embarkedupon the introit unwarily, and they immediately fell into the trap.

Intr.

X XI

Eq ui- em " ae-t^r- nam do-na 6- is Do mi- & C...This simple chant in Mode VI is guided by the two key notes "Fa" and "La." Thenote "Sol" serves more as a passing note. Each time the salicus occurs the voiceshould enjoy rising from "Fa" through "Sol"aiming to rest significantly on "La."However, those gallant mourners landed heavilyand with unanimity!on the"Sol," each time. Beauty was sacrificed! Whom could we blame? What should bedone? The present writer confesses frankly that, until Dom Cardine's survey of the

neu m s (with Chap ter XVI devoted to the salicus) cam e into his ha nd s, he had been SALICUS15


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u n awar e o f t h i s t r ap an d h ad b een l e ad in g g en e r a t io n s o f y o u n g e r m o n k s a s t r ay .A l a s , i t had been so in o ther monaster ies as wel l .

Th e dec l ine in in te res t in the ch an t s ince Vat ican I I i s now , by the g race o f G od ,wo r k in g in r ev e r se . Yo u n g m in d s a r e b e in g cap t iv a t ed b y i t s n o v e l ty an d in s t an tb eau ty . T h e C h u r ch sh o u ld sei ze o p p o r tu n i t i e s f o r th e i r i n s t r u c t io n an d g u id an ce .

Here then i s the s to ry exp la in ing h ow a l l th is cha n t cam e abo ut . I t goes ba ck toab o u t t h e y ea r 18 3 0 , wh en a y o u n g r o m an t i c P r o sp e r Gu e r a n g e r wen t wa n d e r in ga lo n g th e b an k s o f t h e Riv e r Sa r th e i n F r an ce , m u s in g o v e r t h e em p ty r em a in s o f t h ePr io r y o f So le sm es , l e f t u n o ccu p ied s in ce th e F r en ch Rev o lu t io n . He im ag in ed th a tth o se m o n k s co u ld h av e b een s in g in g in t h a t n o w d ese r t ed ch o i r . He wo u ld b o ld lyr e f o u n d th a t m o n as t e r y . W h ich i s j u s t wh a t h e ach iev ed .

This wa s the age w he n each d i f fe ren t d iocese in France boa ste d a d i f fe ren t vers iono f t h e Ch u r ch ' s ch an t , n o th in g b e in g th en co - o r d in a t ed . ( I n Br i t a in a l l L a t in m u s ich ad b een swep t away a t t h e Re f o r m a t io n . ) Gu e r an g e r an d h i s m o n k s wo u ld t ak ecam er a s w i th t h em an d co m p i l e r eco r d s f r o m an y l i b r a r i e s i n E u r o p e wh e r e m an u -scr ip ts o f the chan t migh t s t i l l be h idden away .

Thus there g rew up a t So lesmes tha t g rea t corpus o f p la insong , p reserved , co l la tedand f ina l ly pub l ished in the facs imi le reproduct ions bound in to the vo lumes o f thePaleographie Musicale. One of these b ig tomes i s devo ted en t i re ly to the in t ro i t Osjusti, un ea r th ed f rom so m an y cen ters . Of spec ia l in te res t to Engl and is the i r V olumeXII of the Paleographie wh ich i l l u s t r a t e s t h a t p r o v id en t i a l l y p r e se r v ed twe l f th cen -tu r y an t ip h o n e r o f Wo r ces t e r P r io r y , i n v a lu ab le t h r o u g h i t s d i r ec t co n n ec t io n w i thth e ch an t f r o m R o m e .

T h o se ea r ly ap p r o ach es t o t h e av a i l ab l e m an u sc r ip t s b r o u g h t o n e g r ea t t r u th t ol igh t : in whatever cen ter and in whatever s ty le o f no ta t ion they were p resen ted , thesech an t s p o in t ed to o n e b a s i c t r ad i t i o n .

T h en Gu id o d ' Ar ezzo in v en ted th e s t av e . Be f o r e t h e e l ev en th cen tu r y n o m an u -scr ip t o f chan t was wr i t ten wi th no tes se t on a s tave . The s ingers c lear ly must haveknown the i r chan ts by ro te . Those neums, and the i r teacher ' s d i rec t ion , su f f iced tog u id e th e i r v o i ce s . Ab o v e a l l , t h e n eu m s ex p la in ed an d ad v e r t i s ed th e r h y th m . T h ead v en t an d m isch ie f !o f Gu id o ' s in v en t io n m ea n t a t t en t io n to t h e b a ld p i t ch ofth e n o te s a t t h e ex p en se o f t h e m o r e v i t a l r h y th m .

Were we no t a l l perhaps b rought up on the d ic tum of a l l no tes be ing equal in thech an t? T h e ev id en ce f r o m th e n eu m s m ay we l l su r p r i se u s : t h e t r u th em er g es t h a tso m e n o te s a r e m o r e eq u a l t h an o th e r s ! We wi l l d i scu ss t h i s m a t t e r b e lo w , u n d e r t h eh ead in g s o f s a l i cu s an d co u p u r e . M ean wh i l e we m u s t r e tu r n to o u r m o n k s o f So -l e s m e s .

Do m Gu e r an g e r h ad g i f t ed f o l lo wer s . T wo su ch we r e Do m Po th i e r an d Do mM o cq u e r eau . T h ese two d id n o t p e r h ap s a lw ay s see ey e to ey e . In t h e en d i t was D o mM o cq u e r eau wh o wo r k ed o u t h i s t h eo r y o f r h y th m wi th t h e p u b l i ca t io n in 1 9 0 8 o fh is Le Nombre Musical wi th i t s i n t e r tw in ed a r s i c ictus co n c lu d in g w i th t h e i c t uswh ich was th e t i c . T h e ed i t i o n s o f ch an t p r in t ed b y Desc l ee a r e seen to ab o u n d w i thth i s p r o v o ca t iv e ictus.

In more recen t years the s tudy o f the chan t was taken up wel l and t ru ly by DomE u g en e Ca r d in e , p r o f e s so r a t t h e Po n t i f i c a l I n s t i t u t e o f Sac r ed M u s ic . T h i s ap p o in t -m en t o f h i s i n v o lv ed ab o u t o n e h u n d r ed jo u r n ey s f r o m So le sm es to Ro m e f o r t h ebenef i t o f so many de l igh ted s tuden ts f rom as many d i f fe ren t coun tr ies . In h is t ime,Dom Card ine mastered the en t i re reper to i re o f the chan t . Proof o f th is can beobserved in the pages o f h is Graduel Neume in which no t on ly d id he inser t , byhand , neums f rom re l iab le sources se t over the square no ta t ion o f most p ieces in thegradual , he a lso l i s ted ( in the marg in o f the pages) para l le l passages fo r s tuden ts to

SALICUS verify. Th es e reference s to ot he r pa ge s in th e Graduel Neume a r e co u n t l e s s . He r e i s16


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the scholar leaving no stone unturned.Dom Cardine's Semiologie Gregorienne, first published in Italian in 1970, is acomplete study of all the neums from whatever monastic scriptorium. The bestsources are from Saint Gall in Switzerland and from Laon and Metz in France.The reader will now realize how the correct rendering of the salicus which thesepages have endeavored to promote is well guaranteed by the integrity and Gallicexactitude of this fine scholar, Dom Eugene Cardine.This may be the right moment to introduce the Graduate Triplex to which thesecond part of this essay is greatly indeb ted. Published at Solesmes in 1979, it printsthe four-line square-note version of the chant; not only that, for above the stave,hand-written in black, are the corresponding neums from a manuscript in Laon,while below the stave you read the neums in red from a choice of manuscripts fromSaint Gall. This exacting task was undertaken by two students working under DomCard ine. The provenance of each manuscript is carefully noted in each case. Triplex,indeed.PART TWO: PERFORMANCEThis essay began by broaching the problem of the salicus neum. But the salicus isonly one area in the wider embroidery of the chant, and the chant's woven beautycalls upon good will and due attention to certain recognized techniques. The cantorleading the singers is responsible for a good intona tion. He must also be aware of thephrasing enhanced by coupure. These points will be illustrated below:

Ps. 109 , 3. f. 1GR. U i ' __i 7Ecum princi-pi- ' um * in di- e

S\ . ; H F I m --vir-tu - tis tu- ae : in splendo-The strong single notes in this Advent gradual, Tecum principium, are echoed by insplendoribus in the next line.

OF. VIII iD / - IfE- us e- nim *firma- vitIn this Christmas offertory, the Saint Gall notation places a T over the notes for De-us. This means tenete, hold back somewhat.

Salicus Cf- Is- J5> 4C O . VII i i I > I i ~ lD __?JSfr_I - c i - t e : * Pu - s i l - l a - n im es co n f o r t i l - m i -

I n t h i s A d v e n t c o m m u n i o n , pusillanim.es can m ean " ch ick en - h ea r t ed , " an d th e ser is ing phr ase s seem to mo ck th em ! N ote the imp or ta nce o f "So l" an d "Re" in th istyp ica l ph ra se in M o d e VII . N ot e also the top "Fa." SALICUS

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(same piece)

ve-ni- et, et salva - bit nos.In this same Advent communion, the melody descends for the coming of the Savior,but that splendid rising salicus is the promise of salvation.

Ps. 79, 4. 2IN . IIV ! f-E -n i, * et os-te"nde no- bis ft- ci- em tuam ,

^ t * HDom i- ne, qui sedes su- per Che-ru- bim :

This Advent introit gives a true salicus on tuam; but not at sedes. This is indeed acase of coupure. Hold the "Do."

O F. IVLI Aetentur * cae - li, etThis Christmas offertory has a two-fold salicus making a splendid intonation.

Ps. 109, 3

- ? r- -- - M . f a, -UK-x u - t e - ro an-te lu -c i- fe-rum g e - n u - i te .

The Chris tmas communion, In splendoribus sanctorum , moves from the salicus onutero, a humble beginning, to reach the heights in the wide-flung salicus at luci-ferum, daystar.

SALICUS

Zach. 9, 9co. rvE ^X -su lta fi- li- a Si- on , lau da fi- li- a Ie- - s a " l e n i :This Christmas communion is a reason for rejoicing: Daughter of Sion, daughter ofJerusalem. The first filia is sung to a salicus, as also is Jerusalem. But the second filiadiscloses a coupure. The interest is with the second note.

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- M -- -num : qui- a h6- di- e

In this simple phrase in Mode II there is a well-ordered balance. The third note of thesalicus brings the voice to the "Sol" which repeats itself before bringing the whole toa cadence on "Re."

T=t I V ^et e- ri t in di- e il-la lux ma- gna.

This is a unison salicus. Like the standard salicus, it has three notes but the first twoare identical. They should be gently repercussed, not just fused. Then the third noteshould be given some prominence as is the usual salicus. In this Advent selection, thelast three notes of lux are two repeated "Re" leading to the "Mi" which must shinethrough.

IllA f f cL- le-lu- ia.The intonation begins with a unison salicus. The two notes of this Alleluia for thefirst week of the year must grow into the "Fa" which must be enjoyed before thesyllable -le is heard. In this last example the neum quite normally spans the interval"Mi"-"Fa." It is worth noticing that in plainsong these half-tones, "Mi" -"Fa" and "Si" -"Do," are natural intervals. They are appreciably wider than the duller semitones inequal temperament. Here is a basic reason for not accompanying the chant with theorgan.We turn now to the coupure. In French, coupure means a suppression or a cuttingback or a ditch. Chapter IX of the Semiologie Gregorienne is devoted to this bignotion of coupure, which is Cardine's word for a remarkable phenomenon in nota-tion. One becomes aware of this coupure only when looking at the chant in itsnotation of the original neums, before the advent of the ruled stave. There you cansee at once where the "break" occurs in the flow of notes on one syllable. A classicalexample is the opening phrase of the offertory, Ave Maria.

O F .VUlS"Luc. 7,

ve * Ma-ri-SALICUS

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G AUDE- AMUSWe may conclude this brief exposition of the coupure principle with Gaudeamus,understanding now why we poise our voices on the second note. It is because of theclear coupure.

P I -R I -T U S D 6-rai-

ni r e p t e -

vit or-ij (

bem ter- ra-rum, al -l e- lu- ia : et

hoc quod c6n- ti- net 6mn i- a, sci- 6nti- am hab et

i -*- Zi s .vo - cis, alle- 16- ia, aJ-le-l(i- ia, allc - lfi- i-l a h

This essay began with the puzzle of the salicus. May the Holy Spirit guide us in thesinging of chant to the glory of God. The introit of Pentecost shows the pitfalls of theprinted version. The puzzling sign is seen here meaning two different things. Theonly true salicus is in the first Alleluia. Elsewhere it is a coupure.DOM LAURENCE BEVENOT, O.S.B.

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THE LIMITS OF SEMIOLOGYIN GREGORIAN CHANT(Dom Cardine gave this musicological testament at the third international conferenceof the Associazione Internazionale Studi di Canto Gregoriano, which took place inLuxembourg in June, 1984. It is printed here with permission of Solesmes abbey andGregoriana, where it appeared in the issue of July, 1988 (No.11). The translation fromFrench is by Virginia A. Schubert.)

T h i s i s m y l a s t w i l l an d t e s t a m e n t .I f we co n s id e r a s t h e su b jec t o f s em io lo g y a l l r e sea r ch wh ich , b eg in n in g w i th t h e

o ld e s t an d m o s t d i f f e r en t i a t ed n eu m a t i c s ig n s , a l l o ws u s t o d i sco v e r t h e t r u th ab o u tGr e g o r i an ch a n t , i t i s n ece ssa r y to reco g n ize a s au th en t i c sem io lo g i s t s c e r t a in G r eg o -r i an sch o la r s wh o wo r k ed co u r ag eo u s ly a lo n g th e se l i n e s f o r m o r e th an a cen tu r y .

I n an in t e r e s t i n g a r t i c l e , P r o f e s so r Han s L o n n en d o n k e r h ad th e h ap p y id ea o fp u t t i n g in co n tac t s ev e r a l Ge r m an sp ec i a l i s t s , a s a r e su l t o f t h e wo r k o f M ich ae lHerm esdor f f , o rga n is t a t the C ath ed ra l of Tr ie r.

I n I t a ly t h e o u t s t an d in g p e r so n a l i t y was w i th o u t a d o u b t t h e can o n o f L u cca ,Ra f f ae l lo Ba r a l l i . M o r e o r l e s s q u ick ly , ev e r y o n e m ad e co n tac t w i th t h e m o n k s o fSo le sm es , wh o b eg an th e i r r e sea r ch u n d e r t h e en e r g e t i c l e ad e r sh ip o f t h e f o u n d e r o ft h e a b b e y , D o m P r o s p e r G u e r a n g e r .

A lo n g w i th t h e two su ccess iv e h ead s o f t h e p a l eo g r ap h ic wo r k sh o p o f So le sm es ,l et u s n am e th o se wh o se w o r k i s o f sp ec i a l i n t e r e s t t o u s h e r e : wo r k in g w i th D o mJ o s e p h P o t h i e r w a s D o m R a p h a e l A n d o y e r , a n d w i t h D o m A n d r e M o c q u e r e a u , t w om o n k s wh o m I wa s f o r tu n a t e en o u g h to k n o w a t t h e en d of t h e i r l o n g ca r ee r s : D o mGab r i e l Bessac an d Do m Ar m an d M en ag e r . Ou r g r a t i t u d e an d f a i t h f u l p r ay e r s g o toth e se p io n ee r s i n t h e r e s to r a t io n o f Gr eg o r i an ch an t an d to a l l t h e o th e r s wh op r e c e d e d u s a n d w h o s e n a m e s I w o u l d n o t b e a b l e to m e n t i o n .

T h e i r wo r k co n s t i t u t e s t h e p o in t o f d ep a r tu r e f o r r e sea r ch wh ich was g r ea t lyd ev e lo p ed l a t e r . I n 1 9 5 0 , m y a s so c i a t e Do m Jacq u es Ho u r l i e r r e co g n ized th e " in t e r -m e d ia r y sc i en ce" wh ich wa s in t r o d u ced l i t t le b y l it t le b e tw een G r eg o r i an p a l eo g r a -p h y , a d i sc ip l in e wh e r e h e h im se l f ex ce l l ed , an d e s th e t i c s , wh e r e Do m Ga ja r d p r e -fered be ing p laced . In 1954 , Dom Guy Sixden ier p roposed to ca l l th is new sc iencesem io lo g y , a n am e th a t was im m ed ia t e ly accep ted .

Even before be ing ca l led to Rome in January 1952 , and to a much grea ter ex ten t inth e y ea r s t h a t f o l lo wed , b y p r o f e s s io n an d b y v o c a t io n , I d ed ica t ed m y se l f t o t h es tu d y o f n eu m s , b y f o l lo win g th e p a th l a id o u t b y Do m M o cq u e r eau , a p a th wh ichalw ays le ft m e in aw e. I be l ieved in it f rom m y f i rs t r ea d ing o f h is w or k , an d I s t i llbe l ieve in i t today!

I n t h e sch o la r ly i n t r o d u c t io n to h i s Paleographie musicale ( p . 1 3 ) , D o m M o c -q u e r eau p r e sen ted th e f i r s t m an u sc r ip t s w i th n o ta t io n in Gr eg o r i an ch an t i n t h i sway : " T h ey a r e n o t t h e an c i en t m as t e r s wh o se t e ach in g s we wo u ld l i k e t o h ea r , b u tth e t r an s l a t i o n in to wr i t i n g o f wh a t t h o se m as t e r s t au g h t an d ex ecu ted ; an d f r o mth e r e , f or t h o se wh o k n o w h o w to r ead an d u n d e r s t a n d th i s wr i t i n g , t h e r e is a m o s tper fec t express ion o f ' l i tu rg ica l can t i lenes . ' Le t us emphasize here the phrase " fo rth o se w h o k n o w h o w to r ead an d u n d e r s t a n d th i s wr i t i n g . " T h i s is ex ac t ly w h a tsem io lo g y co n s i s t s o f : t o l e a r n to r ead in o r d e r t o u n d e r s t an d wh a t Gr eg o r i an ch an tis .

Hap p i ly , I wa s j o in ed in th i s s ea r ch b y D o m L u ig i Ag u s to n i wh o ed i t ed an dpubl ished the resu l ts o f the f i r s t r esearch . A l i t t le la te r a courageous cohor t o fs tu d en t s p r e sen ted th em se lv e s . T h ey ag r eed to w o r k o n su b jec t s t h a t we r e so m e t im es

SEMIOLOGY v e r Y dry, b u t t n e * r ef fo r ts usua l ly resu l ted in s ign i f ican t research papers and docto ra l22


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dissertations. That precious collaboration enlarged the field of knowledge and as-sured its solidity.At the same time and in a parallel fashion, a collection of outlines and notes wasprepared for the classes at the Pontificio Istituto di Musica Sacra. Along with an-swers to questions and critiques of readings, these were carefully assembled in greatdetail by Dom Godehard Joppich and Dom Rupert Fischer into an organized course.

This work was called Semiologia gregoriana, and was soon translated into French,Japanese, English, Spanish and German.This was the second layer of semiological progress. It presented in many languagesthe ensemble of work accomplished over some twenty years. The written symbols ofvarious schools of notation still gravitated to signs associated with St. Gall, but theywere at the point of detaching themselves and reclaiming their independence. Thisdoes not mean that comparative semiology, which studies the differences and simi-larities of various schools, will not always be of the greatest interest and will not beable to develop indefinitely. To all of those who helped me in this second period, Isend my warmest and most cordial gratitude.Even before the end of this second period, when it still bore the promise of richfruits, a third period had already begun. We had hardly explained the meaning ofeach of the neums in a quick fashion, when a new group of questions was alreadyraised by the scholars: for what use were "particular" signs designated? I mean heresigns whose design reveals a choice made among forms which were more or less thesame. Thus one moved from the meaning of the sign to its conscious use. Here is theprogress made: a step was taken toward esthetics and interpretation. In the Fest-schrift previously refered to (p. 443-457), Dom Godehard Joppich gave good exam-ples of the bivirga placed at the end of a word. Similarly, Professor Heinrich Rum-phorst (Etudes Gregoriennes XIX, p. 27-88) gave examples of two forms of the pessubbipuncti. Instead of being exhausted, the world of research extended farther andfarther.

Moreover, ev erything seems to favor this grow th. The Associazione Internationa leStudi de Canto Gregoriano, in its tenth year, has more than justified the happyinitiative of its two founders; and the third conference currently taking place givesevidence of the zeal and competence of its members. Our secretary, so well assistedby Signora Albarosa, works generously in various scientific and practical areas,especially in the publication of the Bollettino and the organization of the courses inCrem ona . In addition, the entrance into official teaching and the imminent g rowth inthis area gives us hope of equal progress in depth. Such a balance sheet leads one toprofound gratitude to those who are working so devotedly on preparing the future. Isincerely rejoice that there are people to carry on the work; those who are growingup today and those whose presence we can only guess at who will carry on tomor-row.Thus Gregorian semiology is alive and well. It finds its roots in the "foundationwhich is the least lacking," that of the first musical notations, and it develops itsbranch es in the most promising milieu. The knowledge w hich results must bear fruit.Music is only learned in order to be performed and heard, to become pleasure andpraise.Interpretation is necessary in this last stage of bringing the chant to life, just assemiology is necessary to furnish the raw materials. The two must be in harm ony orthey will fail to reach their goal. If semiology is not respected, the work is treatedwithout dignity and it is deformed. It can even be betrayed. If interpretation islacking, interest in it will be lacking also. Success rests in the union of these twonecessities.I hav e affirmed se veral time s th at sem iolog y alo ne is no t eno ug h to dete rm ine a SEMIOLOGY

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p e r f o r m a n ce of Gr eg o r i an ch an t . I t s eem s to m e co r r ec t t o say th a t s em io lo g y " i s n o ta method" in the common use o f the te rm, bu t a t the same t ime the use o f th isexpre ss ion i s som et im es in te rp r e ted too s t r ic t ly . So me hav e used i t wi th p lea sure as ift h r o u g h i t t h ey we r e f r eed f r o m a b o th e r so m e b u r d en . " I t i s n o t a m e th o d ? T h en i thas no p rac t ica l use ; le t us leave to o thers th is sc ien t i f ic pas t ime!"

I t i s im p o s s ib l e to b e m o r e se r io u s ly m i s t ak e n ! W i th Do m M o c q u e r ea u we h av ea l r ead y seen th a t t h e s tu d y o f t h e o r ig in a l n eu m s i s t h e o n ly w ay to k n o w Gr e g o r i a nch a n t , an d e l sewh e r e we h av e p r o v ed th a t t h i s s tu d y i s i n d eed w o r th y o f th e n a m e ofsem io lo g y . T h e co n c lu s io n i s ev id en t !

I n d eed , wh a t d o m o s t o f o u r c r i t i c s wan t? T h ey p r e t en d th a t t h ey a r e f a i t h f u l t o anid ea l wh ich th ey h av e ju d g ed to b e p e r f ec t o n ce an d f o r a l l w i th o u t ev e r h av in g m ad ethe ef fo r t to quest ion i t s va lue . S ince fo r them the musica l wor ld i s a quest ion o ft a s t e , t h ey a r e f u l ly sa t i s f i ed w i th t h e co m f o r t ab l e h ab i t s t h ey h av e acq u i r ed an den r i ch ed w i th so m an y m em o r i e s o f p eo p le , c i r cu m s tan ces an d p l ace s t h a t t h ey lo v e .Or on the o ther hand , they be l ieve tha t i f Gregor ian chan t i s music , i t has to be th isway o r t h a t . T h u s th ey th in k th ey a r e d i sp en sed f r o m a l l r e sea r ch in to wh a t so r t o fmusic i t i s . I t i s too easy! Therefore they cu l t iva te , to the i r own l ik ing , opposi t ions int em p o b e tween p h r a se s o r c l au se s i n t h e sam e p i ece , u s in g c r e scen d o s , a cce l l e r an d o sor the i r opposi tes , ins tead o f respec t ing the var ie ty o f sy l lab les and the d iverse va lueso f t h e n o te s , a l l o win g th e Gr eg o r i an ch an t t o ex p r e s s i t s o wn t r u e ch a r ac t e r .

A l l t h e p r o p o sed r h y th m ic sy s t em s wh ich a r e m o r e o r l e s s m easu r ed , f a l t e r wh enco m p ar ed w i th t h e f i r s t n o t a t i o n s , wh o se o b v io u s d i f f e r en ces can n o t b e m ad e toagre e . Th e ver y no t i on o f the ne um is incon sis ten t i f i t i s no t a t ta che d to the sy l lab lesof the l i te rary tex t , fo r the g raph ic s igns were no t conceived o f as rhy thmic en t i t ies .An d wh a t i s t h e r e t o b e sa id ab o u t t h e coupures ( b r eak s i n t h e n eu m s) , wh ich a r eev id en t ev e r y wh e r e i n t h e m an u sc r ip t s? On ly th a t t h ey a r e i n t e r p r e t ed e i t h e r m o r er ig id ly o r w i th m o r e e l a s t i c i t y , d ep en d in g o n th e v a r io u s sch o o l s o f n o t a t i o n .

A l l o f t h a t , a lo n g w i th t h e ad d i t i o n s an d s ty l e s o f n o t a t i o n wh ich v a r y d ep en d in go n th e r eg io n , co n s t i t u t e t h e " sem io lo g ica l g iv en s" t h a t c an n e i th e r b e d en ied o rob jec ted to . These a re the beacons o f which I have so o f ten spoken!

I f we a r e a sk ed h o w th e se we l l d o cu m en ted " g iv en s" sh o u ld b e ap p l i ed , i t i sn ece ssa r y to an sw er : " W i th su b t l e ty ! " An d o n ce ag a in i t i s s em io lo g y wh ich t e ach esu s . Here i s an easy way to p rove i t . I t comes f rom a research paper p resen ted in 1977to the Pon t i f ic io I s t i tu to d i Musica Sacra (No . 33 , St . Mar ia Lu ig ina Pe l izzon i ,Festschrift, p . 4 9 4 ) . Co d e x 3 8 1 f r o m S t . Ga l l co n ta in s a versicularium (a book ofv e r se s f o r t h e i n t r o i t an d th e co m m u n io n ) , wr i t t en a r o u n d th e y ea r 1 0 0 0 , wh ich i sen t i re ly in campo aperto nota t ion . In i t there a re on ly e igh t examples o f the v i rgawi th an ep is em a / : four t im es on the w or d rex an d four t ime s on cor . I t i s veryo b v io u s t h a t t h e i n t en t io n was to em p h as i ze t h e se two m o n o sy l l ab l e s wh ich h av e ap a r t i c u l a r ly l y r i c m e an in g . T h i s is a l l t h e m o r e ev id en t b ecau se th e se e ig h t ex am p le sa lway s t ak e p l ace i n u n i so n ic r ec i t a t i o n . Ho wev e r , t h e se two m o n o sy l l ab l e s , wh ichare sun g rec to ton o , a lso a re no ta t ed e lsewhe re w i th a s imp le v i rga / : th ree t ime so n re x and f ive t imes on cor . Al l in a l l there a re the fo l lowing occurences: wi th v i rga4 + 4 = 8 an d w i th ou t v i rga 3 + 5 = 8Th ere i s theref ore a nu me r ica l equal i ty . But s ince the use o f the ep isem a on theiso la ted v i rga i s very ra re in th is document , i t ind ica tes the wi l l o f the au thor . Th is i sin co n t r a s t w i th t h o se ca se s wh en th e ab sen ce o f t h e ep i sem a can , w i th o u t f e a r in g aner ro r , be a t t r ibu ted to a lack o f a t ten t ion . In genera l , the scr ibe p refer red the v i rgawi th ep i sem a " wh en h e th o u g h t ab o u t i t ! " G iv en th e se co n d i t i o n s , wo u ld i t b ein d ica t ed to s in g in a h eav y f a sh io n th e wo r d s t h a t we r e g iv en th e ep i sem a an d toa l l o w t h o s e s a m e w o r d s t o p a s s u n n o t i c e d a m o n g t h e n e i g h b o r i n g s y l l a b l e s w h e n

SEMIOLOGY t n e i r n o t a t io n i s t h e s im p le v i r g a? I t w o u ld b e r i g o r o u s ly ex ac t an d wo u ld co n f o r m to24


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the notation, but would it conform to an intelligent understanding of semiology?It is possible to continue and elaborate on the conclusion. The possibility that wehave to analyze this rich collection of psalm verses allows us to note specifically insimple examples what we remark so often in ornate compositions of the Gregorianrepertoire. There are examples to be found in the first pages of the recently issuedvolume (No. XX) of Etudes gregoriennes in the article "Les formules centons desAlleluias anciens." In studying these superimposed notations, one sees here andthere, next to very rare variants which are clearly opposed to one another, a certainnumber of imprecisions which cause us to question the attention of the copyists. Theensemble is quite different from a modern work, which is printed and checkedseveral times to eliminate the smallest differences. In this case however, things thatare considered as small defects give a certain kind of interest rather than being adetraction. It is like a play of light and shadow which brings out the proportions ofthe object admired.Nevertheless, comparisons of this type are extremely profitable. They help usbecome more intimately connected with those who wrote the notation. If the Grego-rian scholar is able to establish a serious contact with similar presentations, he willabandon little by little those aspects of his way of thinking that are too modern andwill be able to acquire a sensitivity and a judgment which is more adapted to themusic he wishes to bring to life again.But then an important question is raised. Of what use are the charts of the "valuesof neumatic signs" that we are daring enough to publish? Let us recognize first thatafter having created them patiently, we sometimes hesitate to use them. We do notalways know where to place a certain sign even though the value that was assigned toit originally in its context seems evident in most cases. It is the time to repeat onceagain that neums are not created to be put in a chart. If in spite of all this we do so, itis to facilitate explanations which are requested of us. A well-organized understand-ing of the most ordinary cases provides a frame which can be helpful, but we must becareful not to be caught in our own traps. Comparisons can be dangerous. Thesyllabic value placed between the "diminished" and "augmented" is obv ious. But onemust not add the two "values" on the left to make the equivalent of the "value" on theright or any other similar calculation. That would certainly be false!

The hesitations I make reference to are an obvious proof of our most perfectsubmission to the manuscript tradition. Indeed it would be very simple to classifyautomatically in all the examples in our chart all the signs that we run across, but wedo not w ant to give into such facility. Tha t is wh y in more th an o ne case, after havin gconsidered the relationship of values on the positive side and on the negative side, wedo not wa nt to decide one way or the other. I remem ber having adv ised a student towrite her examples of a strop ha with episema 2. across the vertical line separatingthe syllabic value and the augmented value, because I could not decide, nor couldshe, in favor of one attribution or the other.All this is to say clearly that we are here treating the limits of semiology withregard to the precise determination of values. Let us understand fully the meaning ofthis affirmation which does not negate the basic progress in this area made in the lastfew years, but which forbids all automatic classification of the signs, especially ofthose which are rare. Progress will no doubt be made in the future, but the verynature of a rhythm which is as free as that of Gregorian chant is associated with anelasticity and a suppleness which is opposed to rigorous precisions.That is why we cannot accept the new Lagal edition which was invented recentlyto help chanters, but which, I am convinced, offers more difficulties than advan-tages, in the theoretical as well as the practical areas. It solidifies values in a deadlywa y and it is especially un ab le to tran slate their variety, bec aus e their rela tion shi p SEMIOLOGY

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one to the o the r i s re la t ive .Inde e d , t ha nk s to ou r kno wl e dge o f the ne u m s , wh e n i t i s un de r s t oo d t ha t a

c e r t a i n no t e i s m o re i m po r t a n t t h a n ne i ghb o r i n g no t e s , o r v ic e ve r s a , i t i s e a s y t ounde r s t a nd a c e r t a i n d i f f e re nc e , wh i c h i t w i l l be p rude n t t o r e duc e r a t he r t ha na ugm e n t , un l e s s t he re a re pe r fe c t l y c l e a r i nd i c a t i ons . B u t how t o f i nd a p re c i s ed i m e ns i o n fo r t ha t no t e , s uc h a s w ou l d be fou nd i n c l oc km a k i n g , bu t no t a t a l l i nGr e go r i a n c h a n t ? A g re a t e r p ro b l e m s ti ll i s ho w t o f i nd a p r i n t e d fo rm o f t he s i gnwh i c h c a n be e a s i ly m e a s u re d by t he e ye of t he c ha n t e r? I t i s b r i ng i n g m i nu t i a e t oi m pra c t i c a l a nd i ne xa c t l e ve l s . I ne ve r t ho ug h t o f s uc h a t h i ng du r i ng m y half-c e n t u ry wi t h ne um s ! Th e m os t e xp l ic i t t r a ns c r i p t i on o f ne um s is no t i n a ny wa yr i g i d ; i t r e m a i ns s upp l e a nd hum a n . In ge ne ra l , i f t he knowl e dge o f p l u s o r m i nus i nthe va lues of notes cons t i tu tes the e ssent ia l pa r t of semiology, the dose i s de te rminedby i n t e rp re t a t i on . On t he o t he r ha nd , i n s t e a d o f pa y i ng s uc h s c rupu l ous a t t e n t i on t ot he s i gns o f t he m a nus c r i p t s , s om e Gre go r i a n s c ho l a r s t a ke t oo g re a t a l i be r t y wi t ht he ne um s . The y c l e a r l y s e pa ra t e t he s y l l a b i c f rom t he m e l i s m a t i c va l ue , a f f i rm i ngt ha t i t i s i m po s s i b l e t o do o t he r wi s e . Th e y s a y t ha t l ong s e r i e s o f no t e s c a n no t bes ung s y l l a b l e by s y l l a b l e . The s e s e r i e s m us t be c l e a r l y he a rd t o be unde r s t ood .

Le t u s r e c ogn i z e t ha t e xa m pl e s pe r fo rm e d by a v i r t uos o s o l o i s t m a y be c a p t i va t i ngbe c a us e o f t he d i f f e re nc e s e s t a b l i s he d be t we e n t he s l owi ng down a nd t he hu r ry i ng o ft he s oun ds . B u t t he be a u t y o f a vo i c e is no t e no ug h t o be c onv i nc i n g , no r a re c e r t a i ns i m i l a r i t i e s w i t h Ea s t e rn m us i c . One c a nno t m a na ge t o be nd t he no t e s t o t he s efa n t a s i e s ! The m os t i m po r t a n t t h i ng i s t o a c c e p t t h i s c ha l l e nge : " If you t h i n k t ha t t heva l ue o f t he s y l l a b l e a nd t he va l ue o f t he ne um c a n be m a de e qua l t o e a c h o t he r ,prove i t !" I wi l l ingly re turn the package to the sender! I f a proof mus t be g iven , i t i st h rough t hos e who a t t r i bu t e d i f f e re n t va l ue s t o t he s a m e s i gns . W he n we c ons i de r ap u n c t u m e q u a l t o a p u n c t u m , a n d a n u n c i n u s e q u a l to a u n c i n u s , p r o o f s e e m sunne c e s s a ry . He re we s t i l l r e m a i n f a i t h fu l t o ou r t o t a l s ubm i s s i on t o t he s i gns o f t hef i r s t m a nus c r i p t s ! More ove r , i f t he re r e a l l y wa s s uc h oppos i t i on i n t he m i dd l e a ge s ,wou l d i t no t be no rm a l t o f i nd s om e t r a c e o f t ha t oppos i t i on? W e a re wa i t i ng fo rs o m e e v i d e n c e t h a t w o u l d m a k e u s c h a n g e o u r m i n d .In t he s e c ond i t i ons , wha t a dv i c e s hou l d be g i ve n t o t he g re go r i a n i s t who knowss e m i o l ogy a t l ea s t i n i t s b r oa d ou t l i ne s a nd w ho t ru l y wa n t s t o s i ng a nd h a ve o t he r ss i ng? How c a n he m a ke t he be s t u s e o f h i s knowl e dge wi t hou t runn i ng t he r i s k o frunn i ng i n t o t he r e e f s t ha t we j u s t m e n t i one d?

S i nc e s e m i o l ogy i s t he e n t r a nc e ne c e s s a ry fo r al l kno wl e dg e of Gre g o r i a n c ha n t ,s e m i o l ogy s hou l d be a l l ow e d to func t i on f r e e ly wi t ho u t e nc u m b ra nc e s un de r t hep re t e x t t ha t i t c ou l d s t i f l e o r h i nde r i n t e rp re t a t i on ! Inde e d , i f f rom t he be g i nn i ng ,be fo re e ve n ha v i ng s t ud i e d t he o r i g i na l ne um s , one p ronounc e s e xc l u s i ons a ga i n s t am e l o d i c r e c o n s t i t u t i o n , a v o c a l t e c h n i q u e , o r a n y o t h e r m u s i c a l p h e n o m e n o n w h i c hwou l d be de c l a re d c on t ra ry t o good t a s t e , t o a c c e p t e d p ra c t i c e s , t o e a s e o f e xe c u t i onor even to the d igni ty of the l i turgy or of prayer , by tha t ve ry fac t , one p laces anobs t a c l e t o t he p rope r func t i on i ng o f t he s e m i o l og i c a l s c i e nc e a nd one e s t a b l i s he sonese l f a s a pre tent ious judge of an a r t which i s much beyond us . I t i s the duty of thepe r s on i n t e rp re t i ng t o a c c e p t a l l t he c onc l u s i ons o f s e m i o l ogy ( t ha t i s c e r t a i n l yobv i ous ) , e ve n t hos e wh i c h a re s u rp r i s i n g o r s e e m a bn o r m a l . Ho we v e r , he wi l l t ry t oha rm on i z e t he m wi t h h i s own a r t i s t i c i m a g i na t i on , fo r i t i s i m pos s i b l e t o i m a g i ne ape r fo rm a nc e wh i c h wou l d be j udge d by t he pe r s on do i ng i t a s a c on t ra d i c t i on o r a nobv i ous e xa m pl e o f ug l i ne s s . I t w i l l a l wa ys be pos s i b l e t o p re s e n t ob j e c t i ons wh i c hare h i s tor ica l , l i tu rg ica l , o r phys io logi ca l , o r st i ll o th e rs whi ch wi l l a l lo w for f ru i tfu ld e b a t e . T h e i m p o r t a n t t h i n g is t o a r r i v e at a f u n d a m e n t a l u n d e r s t a n d i n g w h i c h w i l lpe rmi t one to apply to concre te cases pr inc ip les ve r i f ied in the re s t of the repe r to i re .

SEMIOLOGY T ha t i s a t ru e sem iolog ica l typ e of rea so nin g w hic h no rm al l y ou gh t to be dev e lop ed26


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an d en r i ch ed , i n r e l a t i o n sh ip t o co n sc i en t io u s wo r k , r ev i sed co n s t an t ly an d w i th o u tend . Th is i s a p rogram which i s too beau t i fu l fo r a s ing le researcher , bu t one tha t ana sso c i a t i o n l i k e o u r s c an e s t ab l i sh an d ca r r y o u t .

I f we have re fer red here exc lus ive ly to the va lues o f no tes in Gregor ian chan t , i t i sno t to reduc e the a rea o f sem io log y to tha t rh y th mi ca l g iv en . I t i s bec aus e the var ie tyo f v a lu e s co n s t i t u t e s a v e r y th o r n y q u es t io n , i n wh ich ig n o r an ce g r ea t ly h a r m s o u rp e r f o r m an ces . I t g o es w i th o u t say in g th a t n o th in g w i l l b e n eg lec t ed w i th r eg a r d tothe d i f fe ren t schoo ls o f no ta t ion . Every th ing must be taken in to considera t ion ash is to r ica l wi tnesses ; we would be gu i l ty i f we a l lowed them to be los t .

I t i s a t th is po i n t tha t the in te rp re t er come s in . He uses va r iou s semio log ica l g ivensin o r d e r t o e s t ab l i sh a l i v in g an d h a r m o n io u s wh o le . He o r g an ize s an d p l ace s i nh ierarch ica l o rder the var ious par ts o f the composi t ion and in each one o rgan izes thesu b d iv i s io n s an d p r in c ip a l p o in t s , g o in g f r o m o n e to t h e o th e r d o wn to t h e sm a l l e s tde ta i l s . In th is work he wi l l espec ia l ly have to take no te o f b reaks in the neums( g r ap h ic sep a r a t io n s ) , r e co g n iz in g th o se wh ich a r e ce su r a s an d th o se wh ich , q u i t e t othe con trary , represen t acce n ts . Th e d i f fe rence i s one o f s ize beca use fo r the m ostpar t , the accen ts jo in the p reced ing to the fo l lowing no tes , whi le the cesuras es tab l ishone k ind o f b reak o r the o ther , f rom the t in ies t hes i ta t ion to a rea l pause (whichn ev e r th e l e s s w i l l n o t b e co m p le t e b ecau se th e b r eak s a r e f o u n d w i th in t h e n eu m an dth u s o n e m u s t n o t d e s t r o y i t s u n i ty ) . T h i s o p p o s i t i o n in t h e m ean in g o f t h e b r eak sind ica tes ra ther wel l the necess i ty fo r a t rue in te rp re ta t ion . Th is i s a l l the more sob ecau se b e tween th e two ex t r em es , t h e r e a r e m an y o th e r b r eak s wh ich a r e l e s s c l ea ran d wh ich sh o u ld b e t r e a t ed a s a r t i cu l a t i o