Project Gutenberg's St. Gregory and the Gregorian Music, by E. G. P. Wyatt
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Title: St. Gregory and the Gregorian Music
Author: E. G. P. Wyatt
Release Date: March 10, 2010 [EBook #31582]
Language: English
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ST. GREGORY
AND THE
GREGORIAN MUSIC
BY
E. G. P. WYATT
[Illustration: THE PLAINSONG AND MEDIÆVAL MUSIC SOCIETY]
PUBLISHED FOR THE
PLAINSONG & MEDIÆVAL MUSIC SOCIETY.
1904.
PRINTED BY SPRAGUE & CO., LTD.,
4 & 5 EAST HARDING STREET, FETTER LANE, E.C.,
LONDON.
PREFACE.
The original conception of this little book was due to the Rev. W. H.
Frere, and it could not have been carried out at all without his help and
advice, which have been ungrudgingly given.
But he is not responsible for any part of the book, except the notes on
the tropes and the third and fourth portraits of St. Gregory. Whatever
else in the book is of any value has been compiled from the following
sources:--
Morin.--"Les véritables origines du Chant Grégorien." Maredsous,
1890.
Morin.--"Revue Bénédictine," for May, 1890. Maredsous.
Wagner.--"Einführung in die Gregorianischen Melodien," Pt. 1.
Freiburg, 1901.
Frere.--"Graduale Sarisburiense." Plainsong and Mediæval Music
Society, London, 1894.
"Paléographie Musicale," Vols. v. and vi. Solesmes, 1896.
"Rassegna Gregoriana," for March-April, June, and July, 1903. Rome.
E. G. P. WYATT.
[Illustration: St. Gregory and his Parents]
IMAGINES.AD.VIVVM.EXPRESSAE
EX.ÆDICVLA.SANCTI.ANDREÆ
PROPE.BEATI.GREGORII.MAGNI.ECCLESIAM
NECNON.EX.VITA.EIVSDEM.BEATI.GREGORII
A.IOANNE.DIACONO.LIB.IV.CAP.LXXXIII.ET.LXXXIV
CONSCRIPTA
_Fol. 368._
_Hieronymus Rossi sculp. Romæ_
_GORDIANVS.S.GREGORII.PATER_ _S.GREGORIVS.MAGNVS_ _SILVIA.S.GREGORII.MATER_
INTRODUCTION.
The Great Pope, the thirteen hundredth anniversary of whose death is
commemorated on March the 12th, 1904, was born at Rome, probably about
the year 540. His father, Gordianus, was a wealthy man of senatorial
rank; his mother, Silvia, was renowned for her virtues. He received from
his parents an excellent liberal and religious education. He further
applied himself to the study of law, and--probably at about the age of
30--was made prætor of Rome by the Emperor Justin II. But he became
dissatisfied with his mode of life, and retiring to the monastery of St.
Andrew, which he had founded on the Coelian hill, lived there as monk and
as abbot. He had long been an ardent admirer of St. Bennet (who had been
dead little more than thirty years), and on his father's death had made
use of his patrimony to found six other monasteries in Sicily. He was
not, however, allowed to enjoy his retirement at St. Andrew's for long,
for Pope Benedict I. ordained him deacon, and sent him to Constantinople
as his apocrisiarius or confidential agent. Pelagius II. continued him in
this office, making use of him especially to appeal to the Emperor for
aid against the Lombards, who, while settling in North Italy, were
wandering southwards, devastating the country as they went.
When he was at length recalled to Rome, he begged to be allowed to return
to his monastery. The Pope allowed him to do this, but employed him as
his secretary. It was either now, or just before he went to
Constantinople, that there occurred the famous incident in the slave
market, when, struck by the beauty of some lads exposed for sale, he
asked what was the name of their nation. On being told, "Angles," he
exclaimed, "Good, for they have the faces of angels, and ought to be
fellow-heirs of the angels in heaven." In reply to his inquiry as to the
name of their native province, he was told that its inhabitants were
called Deiri. He answered, "Good; snatched from the wrath, and called to
the mercy of Christ." What was the name of the king of that province? The
answer was "Ælia." Then said he, "Alleluia! the praise of God ought to be
sung in those parts." He passed on, but did not forget the incident, for
he wrung permission from the Pope to go himself on a mission to convert
the Angles; but no sooner had he started than the Romans clamoured to
have him recalled, and he had to return. He did not, however, forget his
interest in the nation, and when he was Pope he was able to carry out
those plans which earned him the affectionate titles of "Gregory our
Father," and "The Apostle of the English," from those who owed so much to
him.
DEPRECAMUR TE DOMINE
[Illustration: Deprecamur te domine]
De-pre-ca-mur Te, Do-mi-ne,
in om-ni mi-se-ri-cor-di-a tu-a,
ut au-fe-ra-tur fu-ror tu-us et i-ra tu-a
a ci-vi-ta-te is-ta,
et de do-mo san-cta tu-a;
quo-ni-am pec-ca-vi-mus:
Al-le-lu-ya.
In 590 Pope Pelagius died. It was a time of great misery at Rome; there
was famine and a pestilence in the city, the Tiber overflowed its banks,
and the Lombards threatened invasion. The Popes were virtually the rulers
of Rome at this time, and all the inhabitants turned to Gregory as their
only hope. His proved abilities and high character were known to all, and
he was unanimously elected by the clergy and the people. He shrank,
however, from the office, and even petitioned the Emperor Maurice to
withhold his confirmation of the election. While waiting for the
Emperor's answer, Gregory employed the occasion in preaching to the
people, calling them to repentance. A Litany was sung through the streets
of the city by seven companies of the clergy and people, starting from
different churches and meeting at the Basilica of St. Maria Maggiore.
From this litany, perhaps, was taken the processional antiphon,
"Deprecamur Te Domine," which was sung by Augustine and his companions on
entering Canterbury at the outset of their English mission. At length the
confirmation of his election arrived from the Emperor, and though Gregory
still tried to avoid the office, he was eventually obliged to take it,
and was consecrated September the 3rd, 590.
During the thirteen years of his popedom, Gregory had full scope for his
talents as administrator, as well as ruler. The Roman Church had by this
time become possessed of a great "patrimony," and Gregory found time in
the midst of his work of reforming the clergy and purifying the morals of
the Church, to attend to even the smallest details in the management of
these great estates. His letters give us the most vivid picture of his
work and of his character. In them he is constantly giving directions and
making arrangements that no injustice should be done to even the meanest
peasant or serf on these estates; that their rents should be fixed, and
no capricious exactions demanded of them, nor surcharges added to the
payments legally due from them. He showed to the Jews a toleration and
consideration which he did not always extend to schismatics, heretics,
and heathen. He seems to have reserved his most violent language for
Lombards and Patriarchs of Constantinople. He called worldly or negligent
bishops to order, and in particular took vigorous measures to root out
simony, which was very prevalent. He sent Augustine and his companions to
England, and wrote them letters of exhortation and instruction; he found
time to send them also church furniture, vessels and vestments, and a
number of books.
He also became engaged in a controversy with John the Faster, the
Patriarch of Constantinople, about the title of "Universal Bishop," which
was arrogated to the latter by himself and those about him. It was not a
novelty, but Gregory seems to have seen the danger involved in its
continued usage to the power which he claimed for the See of Rome. A
whole series of his letters are consequently taken up with his vehement,
not to say violent, protests against John's use of the title. It is
probably in connection with the fact that the Emperor Maurice had
supported the Patriarch John in his claim of equality with the Pope of
Rome, that the explanation is to be sought of a circumstance which
remains the chief blot on Gregory's fame. Maurice had given him little
help against the Lombards, and had in various ways seemed to oppose or
actually opposed Gregory in some of his reforms. When, therefore, Phocas
murdered Maurice and usurped his throne, the Pope wrote him a fulsome
letter of congratulation. He may not have been fully acquainted with the
infamous character of Phocas, nor have fully known of the atrocious
manner in which he had murdered the Emperor and his family, yet he must
have known, at least, that he was a traitor, a murderer, and an usurper.
Nothing can excuse him--knowing this--for writing in such a strain,
saying "Glory to God in the highest," and "Let the heavens rejoice and
let the earth be glad," at the hopes aroused by the piety of the new
Emperor.
He attached great importance to preaching, and many of his sermons remain
to this day. He also wrote "Liber Pastoralis Curæ," a treatise on the
responsibilities and duties of Bishops. This book had immense influence;
it was circulated in Spain; the Emperor had it translated into Greek; it
was an authoritative text-book in Gaul for centuries; and it was
translated into Anglo-Saxon by King Alfred, and was widely disseminated
in England. But it is in the services and service-books of the Church
that he set his mark most conspicuously. He organized and enriched them,
even the Canon of the Mass in which he added to the prayer of oblation
the words "Diesque nostras in tua pace disponas." The work which has been
traditionally ascribed to him in the department of Church Music we shall
enter into more fully.
From his monastic life onwards Gregory seems to have suffered from bad
health, due in part, probably, to his extreme asceticism while living in
his monastery. During the last few years of his life he was in continual
pain from gout, which makes his activity and his achievements still more
astonishing. For long he was confined to his bed altogether. He died on
March 12th, 604. In contrast to the enthusiasm with which his accession
to the Papacy was greeted, he was now accused by the fickle population of
having caused the famine, which was then raging, by his lavish
expenditure, though the latter was largely due to the charitable relief
which he habitually gave to alleviate the distress which prevailed all
the time that he filled the Papal chair. But he was canonized after his
death by universal consent in the West, and the Council of Cloveshoo, in
747, fixed the 12th of March for his veneration: "That the birthday of
the blessed Pope Gregory, and also the day of the burial of St. Augustine
the Archbishop and Confessor (who being sent to the English by the said
Pope, our father Gregory, first brought the knowledge of the Faith, the
sacrament of Baptism, and the notice of the Heavenly Country), which is
the 26th of May, be honourably observed by all: so that each day be kept
with a cessation from labour, by ecclesiastics and monastics; and that
the name of our blessed father and doctor Augustine be always mentioned
in singing the Litany after the invocation of St. Gregory."
[Illustration: St. Gregory, from Antiphoner of Hartker of St. Gall]
THE
GREGORIAN TRADITION.
The tradition that St. Gregory reformed the Plainsong of his day,
especially that of the Antiphonale Missarum, seems to have been held
universally till 1675, when Pierre Gussanville brought out an edition of
Gregory's works, in which he threw doubts on the tradition. He was
followed in 1729 by George, Baron d' Eckhart, a friend of Leibnitz, who
put forward the theory that it was Gregory II., and not Gregory I., who
had done this work. In 1772, at Venice, a new edition of Gregory's works
was published by Gallicciolli; and in this were reproduced the arguments
of Eckhart, leaving the question open for future investigation. Nothing
more was heard of the theory till 1882, when, at the Congress of Arezzo,
some speakers reproduced the doubts of Eckhart and Gallicciolli.
This did not attract much attention at the time, and the question was
again reopened in 1890 by M. Gevaert in a lecture given in the presence
of the Académie and of the King of the Belgians. The earlier "doubters"
had argued the question from a purely historical standpoint: M. Gevaert
lays stress especially on the musical side of the question. Theirs was
chiefly negative; he proposes a theory of his own. He wishes to
substitute Gregory II. or III. for Gregory I. The traditional view has
been upheld against him by Dom Morin, Dr. Peter Wagner, and Rev. W. H.
Frere.
_The Historical Evidence_ may be summarized as follows, working backwards
from a time when the Gregorian tradition was in existence beyond all
question:--
I.--John the Deacon (_c._ 872), _Vita St. Gregorii, lib._ II., _cap._
vi., _Antiphonarium Centonizans, Cantorum Constituit Scholam_. "In the
house of the Lord, like a most wise Solomon, knowing the compunction
which the sweetness of music inspires, he compiled for the sake of the
singers the collection called 'Antiphoner,' which is of so great
usefulness. He founded also the School of Singers who to this day
perform the sacred chant in the Holy Roman Church according to
instructions received from him. He assigned to it several estates, and
had two houses built for it, one situated at the foot of the steps of
the Church of the Apostle St. Peter, the other in the neighbourhood of
the buildings of the patriarchal palace of the Lateran. There to-day
are still shown the couch on which he reposed while giving his singing
lessons; and the whip with which he threatened the boys is still
preserved and venerated as a relic, as well as his authentic
Antiphoner. By a clause inserted in his deed of gift, he laid down
under pain of anathema that these estates should be divided between the
two portions of the School in payment for the daily service."--(_Patr.
Lat._, lxxv., 90.)
This extract may be taken to prove that--
1. In 872 at Rome Gregory I. was believed to be the author of the
Antiphoner which bears his name.
2. The Schola Cantorum looked upon Gregory I. as its founder and
endower.
3. The Schola was still believed to possess his "authenticum
Antiphonarium" and certain other objects connected in the popular mind
with the memory of what Gregory had done for the cause of the
ecclesiastical chant.
It is certainly an important point that the Schola itself attributed its
foundation to Gregory I. Such a tradition would be carefully preserved in
an important corporation like this.
A further witness to the existence of St. Gregory's couch is to be found
in _Notitia Ecclesiarum Urbis Romæ_, an itinerary assigned by de Rossi to
the seventh century, (de Rossi, _Rom. Sot._, _vol._ i., _pp._ 138-143.)
II.--Pope Leo IV. (847-855) to the Abbot Honoratus, _Ex registro Leonis
IIII_. "There is something quite incredible, the sound of which has
reached our ears: a thing which, if true, tends rather to diminish our
consideration than to give it honour, to obscure it rather than to give
it lustre. It appears in short that you feel nothing but aversion for
the beautiful chant of St. Gregory, and for the manner of singing and
reading laid down and taught by him in the Church, so that you are in
disagreement on this point not only with the Holy See, which is near to
you, but also with almost the whole Western Church, with all who use
Latin to offer their praises to the Eternal King and pay Him the
tribute of harmonious sounds.
"All these Churches have received with so much eagerness and ardent
affection this tradition of Gregory, and after having received it
unreservedly they find so much pleasure in it, that even now they apply
to us for more of it, thinking that perhaps something more which they
do not know of, may have been preserved among us. This Holy Pope
Gregory, a servant of God and a famous preacher and a wise pastor, who
did so much for the welfare of mankind, he it was who also composed
this chant, which we sing in the Church and everywhere, with great
pains and with a complete knowledge of the musical art. He wished by
this means to act more powerfully upon men's hearts in order to arouse
and touch them; and in fact the sound of his sweet melodies has
gathered in the Churches not merely spiritual men, but also those who
are less cultivated and sensitive.
"I pray you not to allow yourself to remain in disagreement either with
this Church, which is the chief head of religion, and from which no one
wishes to stray, or with all those Churches of which we have spoken, if
you love to live in complete peace and concord with the Universal
Church. For if--which we do not believe--your aversion for our
instruction and for the tradition of our holy Pontiff is such that you
are not willing to conform in every point to our rite, both in chants
and lessons, know that we will repel you from our communion; for it is
fitting and healthful for you to follow the usages for which the Roman
Church, mother of all and mistress of you, shows such great love and
invincible attachment. For this reason we order you, under pain of
excommunication, to conform in the Churches both in singing and reading
exclusively to the order instituted by the Holy Pope Gregory and
followed by us, and without fail to practise and sing it in future with
the utmost zeal. For if--which we cannot believe--anyone shall attempt
by any means whatever to turn you from the right path by leading you to
a tradition other than that which we have just prescribed to you for
the present and the future, we not only order that he be deprived of
partaking of the Holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, but in
virtue of our proper authority and that of all our predecessors, we
decree that in punishment of his audacity and presumption he remain
under a perpetual anathema."--(_Cod. Brit. Mus._, _add._ 8873, _fol._
168.)
Pope Leo, the author of this letter, had himself been a pupil at this
same monastery of St. Martin. From thence also the priest John, the
Precentor of St. Peter's, had set out 200 years before to teach the
English the system of chanting and reading followed at St. Peter's.
The above extract throws an important light on the progress of the
Gregorian reform of the ecclesiastical chant. In the latter half of the
ninth century a powerful monastery close to Rome had not yet adopted it.
Compare with this fact the presence of the Ambrosian chant in the
province of Capua in the middle of the eleventh century (Kienle, in
_Studien und Mittheilungen des Benedictiner und Cistercienser-Orden_,
1884, _p._ 346), and the Ambrosian rubrics of various books copied a
little later for churches at Rome itself (_Tomasi, Opp. vol._ vii., _pp._
9 _&_ 10), and it will be seen how gradually the Gregorian books attained
their universal supremacy.
III.--Hildemar (between 833 and 850), author of a commentary on the
Rule of St. Bennet, speaks of St. Gregory as the composer of the "Roman
Office": "Beatus Gregorius qui dicitur Romanum Officium fecisse."
(_Expositio Regula ab Hildemaro tradita_, _p._ 311, _Ratisbon_, 1880.)
IV.--Walafrid Strabo (807-849). _De Ecclesiasticarum rerum exordiis et
incrementis_ (composed about 840). "The tradition is that St. Gregory,
just as he regulated the order of the masses and of consecrations
[_i.e._, the Sacramentary and the Pontifical Rituale] so also had the
greatest part in the arrangement of the liturgical chants, following
the order which is observed to this day as the most fitting: as is
commemorated at the head of the Antiphoner." (_Op. cit. c._ xxi.,
_Patr. Lat._, cxiv., 948.)
[Illustration: St. Gregory, from MS. of Coronation Services]
This refers, strictly speaking, to the Antiphonale Missarum. But the
following extract treats directly of the chants of the office contained
in the _Liber Responsorialis_, or corresponding volume for the hour
services.
"As for the chants for use at the different hours, whether of the day
or of the night, it is believed that it was St. Gregory who assigned to
them their complete arrangement, just as he had already done, as we
have said, for the Sacramentary." (_c._ xxv., 958.)
These two passages establish the fact that there was a tradition in the
middle of the ninth century that St. Gregory set in order the
ecclesiastical music. It seems also that there was an inscription at the
beginning of the Antiphoner stating as a fact that he had done this. The
following extract helps us to identify what this inscription was.
V.--Agobard of Lyons (779-840). _Liber de Correctione Antiphonarii_,
_c._ xv., _Patr. Lat._ civ., 336. "But because the inscription serving
for title to the book in question [_i.e._, the Antiphoner] puts in the
forefront the name of 'Gregorius Præsul,' thereupon some people imagine
that the work was composed by the Blessed Gregory, Pope of Rome and
illustrious doctor."
He is here defending the chant of Lyons against the ultramontane efforts
of Amalarius to introduce the Roman ways. He goes on to try to prove that
the Antiphoner defended by Amalarius cannot be St. Gregory's, because he
had forbidden the use of words not taken directly from Scripture.
VI.--Amalarius of Metz (815-835) is undoubtedly the person who played the
foremost part in the fusion of the Gallican element with the rest of the
Gregorian or Gelasian Liturgy, from which combination has come in
substance the Roman Liturgy in use to-day. He had travelled much, and had
been at Rome. He is a weighty authority in the present question. The
following extracts are taken from a supplementary chapter of his _De
Divinis Officiis_, published by Mabillon, in his _Vetera Analecta_
(_Paris_, 1723). He is speaking of the Pope Gregory who is the author of
the Dialogues, and who sent St. Augustine into England.
"Amongst the monks who have been raised to the Supreme Pontificate can
be cited Denys, and Gregory of incomparable memory. Now Gregory,
amongst many other things by which he furthered the advantage of the
Church, had the glory of being the chief organizer of the Office for
clerical use." (_p._ 93.)
"In the time of St. Bennet the whole order of psalmody had not yet been
fixed with precision in the Psalter and the Antiphoner: it was the
incomparable Pope Gregory of holy memory, himself a zealous observer of
the rule of St. Bennet and an imitator of his monastic perfection, who
afterwards regulated the arrangement of it under the direction of the
Holy Spirit." (_pp._ 93-4.)
"Far from blaming those who preserve the Gregorian usage, they should
rather praise them." (_p._ 94.)
"In the authentic model of St. Gregory, the _Alleluia_ and the _Gloria_
are suppressed at the Mass for Innocents' Day, in order to express the
grief of the mothers or of the Church." (_p._ 96.)
Amalarius was commissioned by Louis the Debonair to procure at Rome a
copy of the Antiphoner to serve as a model for an uniform use in place of
the varying uses then to be found. The Pope in answer to his request
replied, "I have no Antiphoner that I can send to my son and lord the
Emperor. Those which we had, were taken to France by Wala, Abbot of
Corbie, when he came here on a mission." On his return to France,
Amalarius went to Corbie, where he found the four volumes brought by
Wala. They contained an inscription saying that this collection was put
in order by Pope Adrian I. But he found that they differed from the books
at Metz, which were older still; so in despair he made a compilation of
his own, taking from each what seemed to him the best.
Now it has been argued that if these Antiphoners had either of them borne
the name of Gregory the Great, Amalarius would not have had the audacity
to alter them in this manner, nor would he if there had existed anywhere
in Gaul any bearing his name. But this idea has arisen from the confusion
attending the name "antiphoner." The book that Amalarius was dealing with
was not the Antiphoner for Mass, but the Antiphoner for Divine Service.
There were great variations in the latter in different localities down to
the reform by Pius V., far more than in the former. When the "famous
authentic model of Gregory" is spoken of, it is the Antiphonale Missarum
which is meant.
VII.--Amalarius, Bishop of Trèves (809-814). _Liber Officiorum_, from a
MS. at Trèves, quoted by Morin, _fol._ 6, _De Missa Innocentium_. "The
Mass of the Innocents begins in the Diurnal with this Rubric: '_Gloria
in Excelsis Deo_ is not sung, nor _Alleluia_, unless it be Sunday; this
day is passed in a sort of sadness.' The Holy Pope Gregory, in whom
dwelt in very truth the Holy Ghost, and to whom is due the composition
of this office, means us to share the feelings of the pious women who
bewailed and lamented the death of the Innocents. And if it is
permitted to transgress the order of so great a Father, it would
equally be lawful to chant Alleluia with the complete office of the day
on Good Friday."
It is a question here of the Antiphoner of the Mass.
(_fol._ 7.) On the day of the Epiphany "we lose one of the chants which
we have at Christmas, viz., the Invitatory. St. Gregory, the organizer
of the offices, meant by this peculiarity to recall to our memory as
strongly as he could what passed formerly at the time of the
accomplishment of the mysteries which we honour. That is why we chant
in the sixth place the psalm which we had avoided in the beginning. It
is true that certain blunderers treat this with indifference and
contempt, thinking it much better to follow the ordinary usage of each
day. But, as we have already said, he wished by this to distinguish"
&c., &c.
This passage refers to the Antiphoner of the Office.
(_fol._ 9-10.) "That is why Gregory, the author of our office, has
placed Septuagesima.... However, Gregory the institutor of our
office...."
It is a question of the Antiphoner and of the Sacramentary.
(_fol._ 39.) "The author of our office, who is none other than
Gregory...."
He is referring to a portion of the Antiphoner of the Mass.
In the following passage Amalarius distinguishes the work of the two
first Gregories as to the Thursdays in Lent.
(_fol._ 102.) "The Holy Pope Gregory in arranging the offices of the
year had left vacant the Thursdays of Lent.... A long time after him
another Pope, Gregory the younger, ordained that these days should also
be celebrated by Masses and Prayers, but with less solemnity, and he
borrowed wherever he could material to form the offices of these
Thursdays."
VIII.--Pope Adrian I. (772-795). A MS. from Saint Martial de Limoges
contains this passage (_Paris, Bibl. Nat., No._ 2400.) "Adrian II.,
after the example of his predecessor of the same name, completed the
Gregorian Antiphoner in several places. He also arranged a second
prologue in hexameter verse to be chanted at High Mass on the first day
of Advent. This prologue begins in the same way as another very short
one composed by the first Adrian to be sung at all the Masses of this
first Sunday in Advent, but that of Adrian II. is composed of a greater
number of verses."
We have seen the passage in which Walafrid Strabo speaks of the
inscription at the beginning of the Antiphoner, ascribing its origin to
Gregory I., and again that in which Agobard of Lyons tells us that the
inscription contained the words "Gregorius Præsul." There are five forms
extant of the prologue in hexameter verse. The shortest, and therefore
the one probably composed by Adrian I., is as follows:--
"Gregorius Præsul meritis et nomine dignus
Unde genus ducit, summum ascendit honorem.
Renovavit monumenta patrum priorum: tunc
Composuit hunc libellum musicæ artis
Scholæ cantorum anni circuli: Ad te levavi."
All the five forms begin with the same two first lines. Eckhart got
over the difficulty caused to his theory by these lines by supposing
that "Gregorius Præsul" meant not Gregory the Great, but Gregory II.
But he does not explain how "Unde genus ducit," &c., can refer to
the latter. But it fits Gregory I. in this way: Pope Felix was his
great-great-grandfather; so that, on succeeding to the papacy, he as
it were entered on a family inheritance.
This prologue proves that the Antiphoner was ascribed by tradition to St.
Gregory in the latter half of the eighth century.
IX.--Egbert, Archbishop of York (732-766), is a still more important
witness. Born about 678, he was ordained deacon at Rome, and received the
archiepiscopal pallium from Gregory III. in 735. He was the disciple and
friend of Bede, the confidant and benefactor of St. Boniface, and the
teacher of Alcuin. Shortly after he became archbishop he composed a work
addressed to his brother bishops, and called _De Institutione Catholica_.
The following extracts from it refer to the Ember-day Fasts.
"As for us in the Church of England, we always observe the Fast of the
First Month in the first week of Lent, relying on the authority of our
teacher, St. Gregory, who has thus regulated it in the model which he
has handed down to us in his Antiphoner and his Missal through the
medium of our pedagogue the Blessed Augustine." (_Patr. Lat._ lxxxix.,
441.)
"As for the Fast of the Fourth Month, the same St. Gregory, by the same
envoy, has prescribed in his Antiphoner and his Missal the week which
follows Pentecost as that in which the Church of England ought to
celebrate it. And this is attested not only by our own Antiphoners, but
also by those which we have inspected with their corresponding missals
in the Churches of St. Peter and St. Paul." (_Ibid._)
Egbert brings us back to the seventh century, but during that century
(the beginning of which saw the death of Gregory) we have no direct
evidence. There are some considerations, however, which may account for
this.
In the first place, we have very little light thrown on the history of
St. Gregory by the sources of the seventh century. Apart from his
Registrum there is little recorded that would by itself justify his
surname of the Great. In the _Liber Pontificalis_ there are only a few
lines about him, whilst the Hellenic Popes, who sat in the Papal chair
from 685 to 741, have detailed biographies, generally very laudatory. The
mission of Augustine for the conversion of England is undoubtedly one of
the most striking facts in Gregory's life; but the only chronicler of the
seventh century who mentions it is the Continuator of Prosper. Is it
surprising, then, that there is a still more profound silence on a fact
less calculated to attract outside attention, such as is the recasting of
the liturgical books peculiar to the Church at Rome?
In the second place, care must be taken not to apply the ideas of to-day
to another age. It must not be supposed that the Gregorian Reform was
promulgated throughout the Western Churches in the same manner, for
instance, as the Reform of Pius V. The modern system of centralization
did not then exist. When Gregory took the liturgical books in hand, he
had at first in view only the Papal chapel, and the churches at Rome
under his immediate supervision. It was their importation into England in
the lifetime of St. Augustine, and into the Frankish Empire two hundred
years after, under the pressure exerted by the first Carlovingians, which
gave the greatest impetus to their universal use. In Italy, on the
contrary, and even at Rome, it came about gradually only through the
insistence of such Popes as Leo IV. and Stephen X. that the Gregorian
Chant in the end completely supplanted that in use in early times in the
Peninsula. This explains why the first witnesses in favour of the
Gregorian tradition come to us from England and Carlovingian Gaul.
[Illustration: St. Gregory, from MS. of The Dialogues of St. Gregory
at the British Museum]
Again, one ought not to expect to find the chroniclers laying stress on
the Gregorian origin of the Roman books in the lifetime of those who were
contemporaries and disciples of the great Pope, and who had themselves
introduced the book from Rome. The fact would be taken as a matter of
course. It would not be till these had passed away that a tradition would
begin to form, and stress be laid on the fact; and this brings us to the
date of Archbishop Egbert.
Besides, who would have suspected the full importance of this Gregorian
form, and, in particular, have foreseen that it would put a limit to the
period of elaboration of the Western liturgy? So many Popes had already
taken the matter in hand. The great work of Gregory was to organize, set
in order, and fix. But only time can show what is really fixed. The
greatness of his work is only apparent after having remained unaltered
for centuries.
These considerations tend to show that there is no cause for surprise
that it should have taken so long for people to realize the greatness of
Gregory's work in setting in order the music of the Church.
INTERNAL EVIDENCE.
The oldest Antiphoners that we possess are some two hundred years later
than Gregory I. But they possess two peculiarities which raise a
presumption in favour of an origin at least as old as St. Gregory.
The first peculiarity lies in the version of Scripture from which are
taken the portions to which the music is set. This version is the old
Latin one known as "Itala." Now even if at the time of St. Gregory it had
not entirely given place to the Vulgate, yet from his time onwards the
latter prevailed universally (except for the Psalter, which was retained
at Rome till the time of Pius V., and is still used at St. Peter's), not
only in Rome, but in all the West; so much so, that St. Isidore of
Seville could assert in the first half of the seventh century, that St.
Jerome's version had already been taken into use by all the Churches as
preferable to the ancient one. It is natural to seek the explanation of
preserving an obsolete text of the words in the respect felt for the
melodies to which they were set. It is, therefore, reasonable to conclude
that these melodies existed for the most part before the definite
abandonment of the Itala at Rome, that is to say before the middle of the
seventh century.
The second peculiarity which supports this conclusion is to be found in
the comparison of the Offices, known to have been added since the time of
St. Gregory, with the older portion of the Antiphoner. With very few, and
those very doubtful, exceptions, the materials for these are all taken
from older Offices. Sometimes both words and tunes are transferred
bodily; sometimes new words are set to the old melodies.
There are certain Masses of Saints, the chants for which were taken from
those which later were collected together to form the Common. For the
Feasts of the Annunciation, the Assumption, and the Nativity of the
Virgin, all the chants were taken from older Masses, _e.g._, from the
masses of Advent and of certain Virgins and Martyrs. The Procession of
the Purification, both words and melody, was borrowed from the Greeks by
Pope Sergius. For the Mass of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross all the
chants were taken from elsewhere, with the possible exception of the
Communion. The _Introit_ and the _Gradual_ were taken from Maundy
Thursday, the _Alleluia_ from Friday in Easter week, and the _Offertory_
from Maundy Thursday, or the Second Mass for Christmas-day. The _Introit_
for the Purification is borrowed from the Eighth Sunday after Trinity.
The compositions either in the Sanctorale or the Temporale of the Mass
that can be definitely dated as introduced after the death of St. Gregory
are very few, and may perhaps have been borrowed, with the Festivals
themselves, from outside by the Roman Church.
It is a reasonable conclusion to draw, then, that the addition of these
portions in the seventh century shows at least a great diminution of
musical productive power, and that the bulk of the Antiphoner of the Mass
must have been composed before this date. This inference is supported by
the conclusion which M. Gevaert draws from his examination of the
Antiphons of Divine Service (_La Melopée Antique_, _p._ 175), viz., that
the Golden Age for compositions of this class was the period 540-600. The
natural deduction from this is that the main settlement of the Antiphoner
of the Mass fell within the same period.
Still it may not have been wholly due to a cessation of musical activity
that new music for the Mass gradually ceased to be written in the course
of the seventh century, for a certain amount of music still continued to
be written for the Hour Services. It may have been due to a feeling that
the book was a closed and settled one after a final and authoritative
revision such as St. Gregory's is traditionally held to have been, and
that it was presumptuous to add to it. But whichever view is taken of
this, the Gregorian tradition is equally supported.
A further support to the claims of Gregory I. as against Gregory II. is
to be found in an examination of the Communions of the Masses of Lent.
These form a series taken from the Psalms in numerical order, I. to
XXVI., with the exception of five for which have been substituted texts
taken from the Gospel. The Thursdays in Lent, however, form an exception
to this scheme; they are interpolations breaking the order of it. Now we
know that they were added by Gregory II.; therefore the original scheme
of the Masses of Lent, at least, was drawn up before the time of Gregory
II. Of the twenty-four pieces contained in the masses for the first six
Thursdays in Lent, twenty-one appear in the Sundays after Trinity. It
seems certain that the Thursdays in Lent must have borrowed from the
Sundays after Trinity, and not _vice versa_; this is supported by the
fact that the Graduals and Offertories of the Thursdays in Lent are all
borrowed, and of the Sundays after Trinity hardly any. So this addition,
which we know to be of the date of Gregory II., was made to a scheme
already in existence, and both words and music were borrowed from other
parts of the Antiphonale Missarum.
As against the claims made for the Hellenic Popes of the seventh and
eighth centuries, it is worth while to examine the music which it is
probable was introduced by Hellenic influence during that time, and
compare it with the bulk of the "Gregorian." The tropes and the melodies
from which the sequences developed probably come under this head, and
some specimens of these may be seen in the _Winchester Troper_ (_Ed._
Rev. W. H. Frere, _H. Bradshaw Society_, 1894). An examination of these
melodies will show that their structure is entirely unlike the structure
of the Gregorian melodies, especially in the close with a rise from the
note below the final to the final, which continually occurs at the end of
the phrases. This will be very clear from the accompanying melody,
_Cithara_, from which the sequence _Rex Omnipotens_ was formed. This form
of close appears at the end of each of the first five sections, and again
at the end of the seventh and eighth. In the rest of the sequence, the
melody rises to a higher range, and the close appears a fifth higher in
the ninth and tenth sections, a fourth higher in the eleventh and
thirteenth, and a whole octave higher in the twelfth. This transposition
of the range of the melody is more developed here than in most sequence
melodies, but some such transposition is a prominent characteristic of
many of them. There is nothing at all like it in the genuine Roman chant.
CITHARA
[Illustration: CITHARA]
IN WHAT DID THE WORK OF ST. GREGORY CONSIST?
John the Deacon describes his Antiphoner as a "cento" (_Antiphonarium
Centonem compilavit_), and speaks of him, as we have seen, as
"Antiphonarium centonizans." "Cento" is a Low Latin word meaning
patchwork, combination, or compilation. "Antiphonarius cento" would
therefore mean an Antiphoner compiled from various sources. And this is
the character of the Gregorian Antiphoner of the Mass, even of the
nucleus which remains after omitting the parts known to have been added
since Gregory's time. Indeed the whole phrase quoted above has a ring of
truth about it, and makes the tradition which he reports of a more
genuine historical character, for if it had been a mere vague tradition
in glorification of St. Gregory, he would have been more likely to have
spoken of him as the composer of the Antiphoner, and not as a mere
compiler. The oldest part of the book is formed of the Feasts celebrated
in honour of events and saints spoken of in Scripture, and of the oldest
Roman Saints. The Masses for these are taken from Scripture, especially
from the Psalms. For Feasts of non-Roman origin, the text is taken from
the Church from which they are introduced; _e.g._, the Feast of St.
Agatha from the Sicilian Church, or the Feasts coming from the Greek
Church which were translated from the Greek. The want of uniformity in
the arrangement of the text is seen by comparing the different classes of
chants in _Codex St. Gall_, 329. As a rule, the words of one and the same
Mass are all of different origin. The most ancient part of the Masses is
the Graduals and Tracts, and all these (which are the most ancient solos
of the Mass) in the Gregorian nucleus are taken from Biblical sources.
This part of the "cento Antiphonarius" is put together in one system
after an established tradition. In the oldest Feasts there are
Psalm-graduals, but Introits taken from other books of the Bible. The
parts other than the Gradual and Tract were chosen on a different system,
a considerable number in fact have words not taken from the Bible at all.
The Communions, again, form a class by themselves, and were sometimes
chosen with special reference to the Gospel for the day, which is the
case with no other class of the texts of the chants.
Now this editing of the texts must have implied the editing of the music
also. In the middle ages the choir played a more important part than they
do to-day in the Roman Church. For now the Service is complete without
their part, as the priest says the whole Service whether the choir is
there or not. But formerly it was different; all listened or took part,
including the celebrant, while the choir sang. The latter had a very
definite share in the liturgical order, which was incomplete without
them; in particular, the soloists had full scope for their talents in the
chants between the Epistle and Gospel. In view of this intimate relation
between the choir and the altar, a revision of the text must almost
necessarily have implied a revision of the music. And this is probably
the chief part of his musical reform; in the saying about him, ascribed
to Pope Adrian II., "Ipse Patrum monumenta _sequens renovavit_ et auxit."
What was the musical material on which he had to work, which he had to
put into shape, and to which he added new pieces? It is probably
substantially represented by the Ambrosian chant as we find it in the
oldest MSS. It seems most likely that it is the musical counterpart of
the primitive liturgy organized, as is supposed, about the epoch of Pope
Damasus, of which the Ambrosian, Gallican, Mozarabic, and Celtic are so
many variations, due to national characteristics. Documentary proof of
this is but scanty, but a study of the Lessons used at Mass supports the
theory as far as the text is concerned. It is further recorded that at
Monte Cassino the Ambrosian chant was fused with the Gregorian by order
of Pope Stephen IX. (1057-8). Here the Pre-Gregorian chant is simply
called Ambrosian.
ANTIPHON
[Illustration: Antiphon, Gregorian and Ambrosian]
Gregorian
O Sa-pi-en-ti-a, quae ex o-re Al-tis-sim-i
pro-di-is-ti at-tin-gens a fi-ne
us-que ad fi-nem, for-ti-ter su-a-vi-ter-que
dis-po-nens om-ni-a: ve-ni ad do-cen-dum nos
vi-am pru-den-ti-ae.
Ambrosian
O Sa-pi-en-ti-a, quae ex o-re Al-tis-sim-i
pro-ces-si-sti at-tin-gis a fi-ne
us-que ad fi-nem, for-ti-ter su-a-vi-ter
dis-po-nens que om-ni-a: ve-ni ad do-cen-dum nos
vi-am sci-en-ti-ae.
INTROIT
[Illustration: Introit, Gregorian and Ambrosian]
Gregorian
Gau-de-a-mus om-nes in Do-mi-no,
di-em fes-tum ce-le-bran-tes in ho-no-re
A-ga-thae mar-ty-ris: de cu-jus pas-si-o-ne
gau-dent an-ge-li, et col-lau-dant
Fi-li-um De-i.
Ambrosian
Lae-te-mur om-nes in Do-mi-no,
di-em fes-tum ce-le-bran-tes ob ho-no-rem
A-ga-thae mar-ty-ris: de cu-jus tro-phae-o
gau-dent an-ge-li, et col-lau-dant
Fi-li-um De-i.
GRADUAL
[Illustration: Gradual, Gregorian and Ambrosian]
[Illustration: Gradual, continued]
Gregorian
Ex Si-on spe-ci-es de-co-ris e-jus:
De-us ma-ni-fe-ste ve-ni-et.
V. Con-gre-ga-te il-li sanc-tos e-jus,
qui or-di-na-ve-runt
te-sta-men-tum e-jus
su-per sa-cri-fi-ci-a.
Ambrosian
Ex Si-on spe-ci-es de-co-ris e-jus:
De-us ma-ni-fe-ste ve-ni-et.
V. Con-gre-ga-te il-lic sanc-tos e-jus,
qui or-di-na-ve-runt
te-sta-men-tum e-jus
su-per sa-cri-fi-ci-a.
The theory is further supported by a comparison of the most ancient MSS.
of the Milanese chant with the Gregorian Antiphoner. A considerable
number of melodies are practically identical with those in the Roman
books. The framework, so to speak, is the same, but the details and
embellishments often differ. The Ambrosian melodies are sometimes rather
bald, and often excessively florid; the extremely long neums which they
often contain appear to have been due to Greek influence. The Gregorian,
on the other hand, appear to have been in some places pruned, in others
expanded, with the result that they give the impression of being better
balanced; the different parts of the musical phrases are more justly
proportioned. In the Ambrosian melodies the B natural occurs very
constantly, and gives them a masculine flavour, sometimes amounting to
harshness.
The examples here given will enable some idea to be formed of the advance
made by the Gregorian version upon the Ambrosian, both in music and text.
But Pope Adrian II. says of St. Gregory not merely "renovavit," but
"auxit." He not only edited and adapted the old melodies, but provided
new ones for the new texts which he added to the cycle of liturgical
worship. What were these musical additions?
He extended the use of Alleluia to all Sundays and Festivals throughout
the year except in Septuagesima, and it is probable that he added new
melodies for the new Alleluias. It is significant that the Alleluias are
the least stable part of the Antiphoner. At all events, the Ambrosian
alleluiatic verses differ entirely from the Gregorian. The same
consideration applies to the tracts, the use of which he extended in
Septuagesima.
Another tendency of Gregory's reform was his marked desire to harmonize
the text of the Communions with that of the Gospel of the day. There are
a considerable number of these, hardly any traces of which are to be
found in the Ambrosian books. It is, then, reasonable to ascribe to St.
Gregory an important part in the composition of these chants.
The further important question arises, did Gregory carry out this musical
work himself, or was it done by others under his direction?
It is natural to think of his Schola Cantorum in this connection. The
foundation of this must have had a profound effect both on the standard
of the performance of the chant, and on the spread of the Gregorian
reform. Books were scarce in those days, and musical notation defective.
Teaching was chiefly by word of mouth. The Director of the Choir had his
manuscript to teach from, and his pupils had to learn the melodies by
heart. The chief singer also had his _liber cantatorius_ from which to
sing the solos, such as the Graduals and Tracts. The School was,
necessarily, not merely for teaching correct versions of the chant, but
for preserving the correct tradition of the method of performance. Most
of the seventh century popes were connected with the School or proceeded
from it.
The skilled musicians belonging to this School may have helped to carry
out the reform under Gregory's direction. But no tradition appears to
have been preserved to that effect, and the unity and uniform
characteristics seem to point to the work of one genius, even in the
smallest details; and the characteristics there displayed seem to fit in
with what we know from other sources of his character, in his writings
and in his actions.
In conclusion it is submitted that the evidence here put forward, though
in some respects rather scanty, yet, in the absence of any strong
evidence to the contrary, is quite sufficient to justify the tradition
that St. Gregory was the organiser, reformer, and to some extent the
author of the Antiphoner of the Mass. It is, of course, more difficult to
say definitely what his work actually was in these three divisions, but a
quite sufficient amount of certainty has been attained for us to realize
the extent and the nature of the debt which succeeding ages have owed to
the great Pope, and so far the attacks that have been made on the
tradition have only resulted in setting it on a firmer and more definite
basis.
THE PORTRAITS OF ST. GREGORY.
The oldest portrait of which we have a record is one of which a very full
description was given by John the Deacon, Gregory's biographer. This
likeness was to be seen in John's day (in the latter part of the ninth
century) in Gregory's house, which he had converted into a monastery, in
a small room behind the brethren's store-room or granary. It was
surrounded by a circular plaster frame. Probably the whole figure was not
represented; at all events, the following description which he gives
stops at the hands.
"His figure was of ordinary height, and was well made; his face was a
happy medium between the length of his father's and the roundness of his
mother's face, so that with a certain roundness it seemed to be of a very
comely length, his beard being like his father's, of a rather tawny
colour, and of moderate length. He was rather bald, so that in the middle
of his forehead he had two small neat curls, twisted towards the right;
the crown of his head was round and large, his darkish hair being nicely
curled and hanging down as far as the middle of his ear; his forehead was
high, his eyebrows long and elevated; his eyes had dark pupils, and
though not large were open, under full eyelids; his nose from the
starting-point of his curving eyebrows being thin and straight, broader
about the middle, slightly aquiline, and expanded at the nostrils; his
mouth was red, lips thick and sub-divided; his cheeks were well-shaped,
and his chin of a comely prominence from the confines of the jaws; his
colour was swarthy and ruddy, not, as it afterwards became, unhealthy
looking; his expression was kindly; he had beautiful hands, with tapering
fingers, well adapted for writing."
The description goes on to say that Gregory wore the _penula_ (cloak) of
chestnut colour, and over it the sacred pall, and that in his hands he
carried the book of the Gospel. We learn, further, that he did not have
the round nimbus, but a rectangular or square one, with which it was the
custom to adorn the heads of portraits of eminent people in their
life-time. John considers this a sure proof that the painting was
executed during the life of the saint; if it had been done after his
death, he would have been given a circular nimbus.
In the same monastery were portraits of his father and mother, Gordianus
and Silvia. But of course all have been destroyed.
The portrait (_frontispiece_) here reproduced is a reconstruction from
John the Deacon's description, made by Angelo Rocca, Bishop of Tagaste,
and a noted archæologist of his time (1597). He combined the three
portraits in one.
Another reconstruction from John the Deacon's description may be seen in
_Rassegna Gregoriana_ for June, 1903. This follows the description more
closely than does that of Rocca.
At a later date there grew up the custom of representing St. Gregory
always with a dove. According to John the Deacon it was already customary
in his day (_c._ 872). This is seen in our second illustration (_opposite
page_ 11), taken from the Antiphoner of the monk Hartker of St. Gall
(date between 986 and 1011). This illustration has the characteristics
found in the greater number of representations of Gregory; the dove (the
symbol of the Holy Ghost) is represented as inspiring him, and he is
dictating to the scribe, who is said to be the deacon Peter. The
veneration felt for his writings, and in particular those of the
ecclesiastical chant, was such that they were felt to be due directly to
the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. Here the Pope is represented as
wearing an alb, a dalmatic, a _planeta_ and over it the sacred pall, and
on his left forearm, a maniple.
The third picture (_opposite page_ 16) is prefixed to two Coronation
Services in a miscellaneous volume formerly belonging to Christ Church,
Canterbury, on a page now numbered 8. The pages 9-18 comprise a
Coronation Service of the x./xi. century, and on pp. 19-29 there follows
another service of the xiiith century. On p. 30 is another picture,
probably of German workmanship, representing a man writing. Each seems to
be independent of its surrounding leaves; there seems no connection
between the two, unless it be that they depict the same person.
The former of the two clearly depicts St. Gregory; it has been constantly
said on the strength of the legend above, "Dunstani Archiepiscopi," that
it represents St. Dunstan, but the dove points clearly to St. Gregory;
the legend is possibly a later addition, and if St. Dunstan is to be
found upon the page at all it is in the archiepiscopal figure kissing the
toe of the great figure. This act of homage suggests that the large
figure represents a Pope. Moreover, St. Dunstan is shown prostrate at the
feet of Christ in another picture, which may very possibly be from the
saint's own hand; it is, therefore, reasonable to identify him with the
figure below. Possibly also it may be suggested that this picture, too,
represents St. Dunstan's handiwork.
St. Gregory wears a pall over a yellow chasuble, and over this above is a
red fringe ornament which is probably a rational. The purple dalmatic
with scarlet border is very conspicuous under his chasuble; the
under-vestments are less distinct, but the ends of the stole show over a
very dark garment, which is, perhaps, a tunicle. The mitre is of very
early shape. The archiepiscopal figure below wears a similar mitre, a
pall over a light green chasuble; underneath a pink dalmatic and a purple
show at the arms, as well as below.
The monk who balances him is in a white habit, but the figure kneeling
below is in a black habit of the same pattern, ungirt, and with a cowl.
The colouring of the whole is crude, and the drawing lacks delicacy.
The fourth portrait (_opposite page_ 24) is taken from a MS. of _The
Dialogues of St. Gregory_ (_Harl._ 3011), at the British Museum, _f._ 69
v., at the end of the 3rd book. The background is bright green, with a
brown border round it. It is a brown-ink drawing, with some yellow wash.
The inscription above it is _Teodericus depinxit hanc imaginem Gregorium
patrem_. It exemplifies once again the symbol of the dove, which is here
evidently not connected specially with the musical work of St. Gregory,
but with his literary efforts as a whole.
THE PLAINSONG AND MEDIAEVAL MUSIC SOCIETY.
PRESIDENT.
The Right Hon. THE EARL OF DYSART.
VICE-PRESIDENTS.
The Right Rev. THE BISHOP OF ARGYLL and THE ISLES.
Sir HICKMAN B. BACON, Bart.
Sir J. F. BRIDGE, Mus. Doc.
The Right Hon. THE VISCOUNT HALIFAX.
The Very Rev. VERNON STALEY.
H. ELLIS WOOLDRIDGE, Esq.
COUNCIL.
Rev. MAURICE BELL.
W. J. BIRKBECK, Esq.
Rev. A. E. BRIGGS.
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J. T. MICKLETHWAITE, Esq.
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Rev. G. H. PALMER.
A. H. D. PRENDERGAST, Esq.
ATHELSTAN RILEY, Esq.
J. RUSSELL, Esq.
PERCY E. SANKEY, Esq.
Rev. H. URLING SMITH.
Rev. G. R. WOODWARD.
E. G. P. WYATT, Esq.
AUDITORS.
_MESSRS. GERARD VAN DE LINDE & SON._
HON. TREASURER.
_E. G. P. WYATT, ESQ._
HON. SECRETARY.
_PERCY. E. SANKEY, ESQ., 44 Russell Square, London. W.C._
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THE SARUM GRADUAL, being the introduction to the GRADUALE SARISBURIENSE
with four _fac-simile pages_ (Quaritch) 15/9
EARLY ENGLISH HARMONY, from the 10th to the 15th Century. Vol I.,
containing 60 Collotype Plates of music by composers from St. Dunstan
down to John Dunstable (Quaritch) £1.6.
_The above works are folio and on thick paper._
MADRIGALS OF THE 15th CENTURY, containing six Madrigals in modern
notation, _quarto_ (Novello) (_out of print_) ...
BIBLIOTHECA MUSICO-LITURGICA, a descriptive hand-list of the Musical and
Latin Liturgical MSS. of the middle Ages preserved in English
libraries. _Fascicle_ I. and _Fascicle_ II., making Vol. I., _quarto_,
164 pp. with 13 _facsimiles_ (Quaritch) £1.5.6.
S. GREGORY AND THE GREGORIAN MUSIC 2/8
THE ELEMENTS OF PLAINSONG, _édition de luxe_ (_out of print_) ...
THE ORDINARY OF THE MASS, _édition de luxe_ (Quaritch) 7/10
PLAINSONG HYMN-MELODIES & SEQUENCES, _édition de luxe_ (Quaritch) 7/10
RECENT RESEARCH IN PLAINSONG, _édition de luxe_ 3/3
_The above editions consist of numbered copies to which the issue is
limited._
THE ELEMENTS OF PLAINSONG, cloth, 3/9
A GENERAL OUTLINE OF PLAINSONG (being Chapter I. of above) 3_d._
*CHOIR RESPONSES 3_d._
DEPRECAMUR TE (as sung by St. Augustine and his companions) 3_d._
THE INVITATORY PSALM (_Venite exultemus_), set to its Proper Melodies in
the IIIrd, IVth, VIth and VIIth Modes each 3_d._
THE PASCHAL ANTHEMS (_Pascha nostrum_) 3_d._
TE DEUM 3_d._
MAGNIFICAT & BENEDICTUS set to the Peregrine Tone 3_d._
THE CANTICLES 5_d._
ADDITIONAL SETTINGS of certain of THE CANTICLES, being the four previous
publications in one volume 10_d._
RESPONDS AT VESPERS for ADVENT, CHRISTMAS-TIDE, LENT, and COMMON OF
SAINTS (Others in preparation) 2/3
*THE PSALM TONES & OFFICE RESPONSES 4_d._
THE SARUM PSALTER (Geo. Bell & Sons.). 2/10
THE INTRODUCTION to ditto, with the Tone-table and Examples 8_d._
*THE LITANY & SUFFRAGES Bound 8_d._
THE ANTIPHONS TO MAGNIFICAT 4/4
*THE ORDINARY OF THE MASS (7 Masses in English) 2/9, Cloth 3/9
*THE PLAINSONG OF THE HOLY COMMUNION, two easy melodies for the _Kyrie_,
_Sanctus_, _Agnus_ & _Gloria in excelsis_, with the Creed & Choir
Responses 7_d._
MISSA REX SPLENDENS (Organ accompaniment by Dr. Pearce) 1/2
*THE MUSIC OF THE MASS FOR THE DEAD, adapted to the English Text from the
Sarum Manuale 1/8
VESPERS OF THE DEAD 5_d._
THE ORDER OF THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD 4_d._
PLAINSONG REQUIEM SERVICES, being Vespers, Mass & Burial of the Dead 2/8
*PLAINSONG HYMN-MELODIES AND SEQUENCES 2/9
The Words only of the Sequences together with sundry Eucharistic Hymns
and Antiphons 7_d._
A SELECTION OF INTROITS, GRAILS & ALLELUYAS 2/4
EUCHARISTIC HYMNS & ANTIPHONS 10_d._
SALVE! FESTA DIES for 5 Great Festivals 7_d._
RULED MUSIC PAPER, per quire 8_d._
Organ accompaniments can be obtained in MS. from
the Community of S. Mary the Virgin, Wantage.
*A reduction allowed to Choirs.
_Prepayment is necessary in all cases._
_The above prices include the postage, and copies can be obtained upon
application by letter with remittance of the Hon. Secretary_--
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44 Russell Square, London, W. C.
The Society has arranged for instruction in the correct rendering of
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