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Show REFORM IN CHURCH MUSIC Vox Irbls Writes of the Difficulties in" the Way of the Enterprise Two Years Passed Pass-ed Since Mortu Propria New York Freeman's Journal. 1 It j.-? tw years ago since Pin. X issued hi mvr celebrated Motu l'n prio on the reform of Cnur--). nniMC and it is only thi- week thai ihe Yaii:.i Printing Press has issue I the S'irst inst;:l!meiiT. oi the official edition in plain chant, who-li is henceforth hence-forth to be used tln-ouaifui the whole 'hiivl!. X-.w that, the edition i well midcr way, Yo- I'rlis may safely say somei hint- about the diftii-ulries which .. almost wrecked one of the greatest-, cuterpri.-es v.-.t'n which the pontifical..' i Pins X is dustim! lo so down to history. t. When the 'Motu Propria ;ippeai-!.-i. .-.nut- wjsr. acres in and out of Homo ascribed 'lv real authorship author-ship of it to the Min'4rn P. ro-i, or Kath.-r To San-ti. San-ti. S. J., or Dotn Pothier. In fact IV:.i'.s lit'. wa threatened by enemies of the reform iu Home, so that he had to be protected for months by det.v- tives. As a matter of fact, thf document wa composed. ! more than ten year- before its publication, by Car- ! dinal Sarto, who had ju-r entered Venice a- ir patriarch, and while Pero-i was a lit f I h.y learning learn-ing Latin from the Henr-dictiues of Monte llassirio. Even as far back as that, the need for reform ha-! been so strongly felt that, the Sacred Congregation of Kites had requested some of the leadimr authorities authori-ties in Italy to send their views on the subject. Cardinal Sarto was one of tho,-..- who eompiied with the request, and on becoming Pope he sent to th- offices of the Congregation for his long forgotten j document. Little in it required to be changed, and j that was soon done because with Pius X to oVoidc I and act are usually almost simultaneous. When the document was issued it was followed immediately by a chorus of thanksgiving: but th; soon gave place to a long series of criticisms iu the public press. Writers lamented that, the Pope j had banished all modern music from the churches. and there were even some priests who ventured to. assert that the reform would be. the means of emptying empty-ing the churches at High Mass. ' - -"- . . - -- - .- ' . -. . What the. Papal document really 'did should b plain to 'all by this time, and there is no harm in repeating it here. The system of plain chant in general use throughout the Church up to two year-ago year-ago was based on a corrupt and vitiated- version compiled at a time when Sacred Music was at low ebb. Pius X decided that this version should go. and be replaced by a version based. on the old texts contained in manuscripts dating from the eighth to the. fourteenth centuries. Then, again, the other music sung in the churches was very largely cheap, meretricious and theatrical. Instead of aiding devotion, de-votion, it merely tickled the ear, arid afforded composers com-posers and choir singers an opportunity for showing show-ing off their bravura. The Pope determined to bani-h ali kinds oi tig ured and modern music from (lie liturgical services. serv-ices. Instead, he ordained that bishops in their respective re-spective dioceses should keep a vigilant ear for music executed in their churches, and a diocesan commission for the purpose of examining the modern mod-ern music destined for sacred purposes. In short. ' Pius X inaugurated a very drastic reform, but np-plied np-plied it in a very broad-minded spirit. v In some parts of the world hi instructions were carefully carried out from the beginning; in others they were discussed in highly academic manner, and in others still they were quietly allowed to become a dead letter. Even bishops cannot be supposed o know everything about everything, and many bishops bish-ops apparently failed to realize the importance of the great reform or the earnestness of the Holy ! Father in permitting it. Apparently tiny put the I Motu Proprio carefully away in their desks, and . I thought no more about it. It is quite e!e-r from the document that Pius X recognized the great value of the "Solesmes edition of plain chant, studied out and prepared by the Benedictines of Solesmes who have since been driven out of their monastery in France, and: ' obliged to take, refuge in the Isle of Wight, England. Eng-land. In fact, he openly encouraged and recommended recom-mended its use everywhere, and insisted on, it for the college seminaries and religious institutions here in Home. But in order that fhe reform in the plain chant should be thoroughly scientific and official, offi-cial, he established a pontifical commission, composed com-posed of the most distinguished experts in the subject, sub-ject, to prepare an edition which should be perfect as possible. It was to be published by the Vatican Press, and liberty was to be given to musical publishers pub-lishers throughout the world to reproduce th edi- . tion provided they offered guarantees as to their competence to do so in a worthy manner. Xothing could be fairer than this. Then a most unfortunate condition was introduced intro-duced publishers wishing to reproduce the Vatican edition were required to purchase a cert a hi number num-ber of copies (1,000 I believe) of this edition, which were to be sold to them at the bare cost of production. produc-tion. The condition was unfortunate because ir puzzled the publishers : because it. tended to create a monopoly in favor of those who complied with this condition' although the Holy Father had expressly ex-pressly said he would not tolerate any publishers' monopoly for the reproduction of the plain chant, and finally because it was quite, unnecessary, for the expenses of the Vatican edition might have easily been recouped by the free sale of the eopie- at a fair price. However, thi? is a mere detail' which concerns directly only the musical publish- ,- j ' . j The real trouble lay in anotheTuTrpctioii. The f Holy Father took great pains ir, selecting the Pcnti- ' I fical Commission. At' the head of it was a kam-d j Benedictine , Dom Poti;i,: r--anfi nobody could have I Continued on Pag 4, t " - REFORM IN CHURCH MUSIC I . Continued From Page 1. a better title, for he was the main author of tho Solesmes edition, which has rendered the reform of, plain chant possible today. Dom Pothier has grown ' gray in the cause of plain chant, and it may bo that he has grown a little obstinate in clingingto the ideas of twenty years ago, and jast a little obsolete ob-solete in studies of plain chant, which have been prosecuted almost passionately by the Benedictine, community of Solemses. But there were others iu tbe commission fully competent to make up for any deficiencies that, might be found in Dom Pothier. Then the unfortunate thing happened. After tho first few meetings of the commission it became apparent ap-parent that the members of it were hopelessly divided di-vided on points of detail, and the oftener they met the more their differences grew. They do not seem to have considered sufficiently that the Holy Father himself and the whole Catholic world were eagerly waiting for the Vatican edition, which was to have, furnished the official text of plain chant for the Catholic church, and to have effected a reform that was urgent. Only two courses remained open for the, Pope one was to abandon the hope of publishing pub-lishing the official text for the next half a century, and the other to entrust the entire business into the hands of one competent man. His Holiness, of course, chose the latter alternative, and Dom Pothier Po-thier was Jus choice. .'The 'Tvyriale," which has just been published under the direct superintendence of Dom Pothier. is tho first part of the great Vatican edition of plain chant. When the rest of it is to follow it i-not i-not definitely stated; but it may bo assumed that the" whole edition wdll bo complete within a year. Meanwhile the Monks of Solesmes will continue their studies of all the old manuscripts of plain chant, and it may be taken for certain that the results re-sults will be incorporated in a future edition. .. The Holy Father will hold a consistorv in tho middle of December, at which five cardinals will be created. Four of-them are already known the Archbishop of Seville in Spain, the Archbishop of Rio Janeiro in Brazil (who will be the first South American; cardinal), the Archbishop of Eylau in I Hungary, and Mgr. Cagiano da Azevede, who'has for the last six years been Major Dome to Leo XIII I and .Pius X. The name of the fifth cardinal ha' ! not yet been divulged, but there is a report that j it will be Mgr. Rinaldini, at present. Apostolic Nun- ciootsPain; , VOXURBIS. |