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9780813215488 Academic Inspection Copy

The Restoration of Gregorian Chant

Solesmes and the Vatican Edition
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Gregorian chant, the Catholic Church's very own music, is proper to the Roman liturgy, but during the course of its long history it has experienced periods of ascendancy and decline. A century ago, Pope Pius X called for a restoration of the sacred melodies, and the result was the Vatican Edition. This book presents for the first time in English the fully documented history of the Gregorian chant restoration. The original French edition was published by the Abbey of Solesmes in 1969.This book describes in careful, vivid detail the strenuous efforts of personalities like Dom Joseph Pothier, Dom Andre Mocquereau, Fr. Angelo de Santi, and Peter Wagner to carry out the wishes of the pope. The attentive reader will not fail to note that many of the questions so fervidly debated long ago are still current and topical today. Robert A. Skeris' introduction to this edition illuminates the current discussion with documentation, including the Preface to the Vatican Gradual and the ""Last Will and Testament"" written by Dom Eugene Cardine.
Dom Pierre Combe, O.S.B., (1913-1993) was a monk and archivist at the Abbey of Solesmes. Theodore Marier, world renowned scholar and composer, was Justine Bayard Ward Professor and Director of the Center for Ward Studies at the Catholic University of America. William Skinner, a former student of Dr. Marier's, is a professional translator and interpreter.
"This book should be on every Benedictine community's library shelf."--Columba Kelly, OSB, American Benedictine Review "This is a lively and graceful translation of Fr. Combe's 1969 history.... In a real sense, much if not most chant scholarship since World War I has been commentary and gloss on the work of Solesmes. As a chronicle of that work, this book is a significant addition to the literature."--John Ogasapian, The Diapason "The Restoration of Gregorian Chant is a multicultural icon... a historical exploration laden with intrigues, opinions, Episcopal approvals, memorandums, circulars, Congresses, verbatims, Vatican Commissions, copyrights, and Pontifical documents. Dom Combe's compelling sense of purpose is an incredible window of reason and energy, an oeuvre that clearly resonates the immortal Gregorian Chant."--Peter J. Basch, American Organist "An engrossing story--replete with documentation but hardly without controversy and intrigue--of how the modern chant books came to be produced. It is essential to understanding the versions of chant we sing today."--William Mahrt, Stanford University
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