Antiphonale Monasticum contains all Gregorian chants for the Benedictine offices (except Matins). This volume is a reproduction of the 1934 edition of the Antiphonale Monasticum, following the pre-Vatican II calendar. The notation comes closer to reflecting the rhythm of the early notation than the Antiphonale Romanum and the Liber Usualis.
For those looking for a single volume to chant the offices, this book fulfills that need as well as providing a bit of history in the path towards the revival of Gregorian chant in the twentieth century.
Since the refounding of the monastery of St. Peter of Solesmes in 1833 under Dom Prosper Gueranger, this Benedictine monastery on the River Sarthe in western France has set the world standard both for the performance of Gregorian chant and the authenticity of the music itself.
Commissioned by Pope Pius X to research the role of chant in liturgy and to edit books on chant that reflect this research, Solesmes enjoys an enviable reputation. Its work in liturgical reform and in the current revival of Gregorian chant has been likened to that of the great abbey of Cluny in the Middle Ages. These recordings incorporate new understandings of ancient manuscripts and represent a distillation of nearly 200 years of scholarship in the chant: musical paleography, semiology, and modality.
The groundbreaking work by the monks of Solesmes has contributed to today’s resurgence of interest in Gregorian chant and Traditional Latin Mass.
Antiphonale Monasticum Table of Contents
