What prompted the current decision not to use the Ferial Tone for the "Deus in adjutorium"?

If you read the instructions in the Antiphonale Romanum, it is clear that this ought to be used at Vespers of ferias, as it says "Hoc tono utendum est ... in Festis Simplicibus et Feriis ad omnes Horas."

[Granted that the terminology used in ranking the different levels of feasts has changed since the publication of the AR 1949, nevertheless, it is hardly a stretch to conclude that an AR 1962 would have updated these instructions such that for Vespers it would prescribe: the Festal tone for all Sundays and feasts / the Ferial tone for all other days.]

The instructions in Liber Usualis at first reading appear to contradict this, but the apparent contradiction is resolved once you take into account the fact that this rubric was written under the assumption that the Liber was only to be used for singing Sundays and Feasts. Hence, there is no need to inform the user what to do on ferias.

[The difference in rubrics AR vs. LU is not because LU represents a later publication, updating AR: because the rubric given in LU is the same in older editions of the LU published previous to and contemporaneously with the AR. Which being the case, the LU could still conceivably be intentionally contradicting AR, but this would be very uncharacteristic, and is not a good hypothesis.]

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Regarding the tones for the Benedicamus Domino, for the feast of Ss. John and Paul, Martyrs, the tone you have currently is the tone which the Liber gives for feasts of the II class. Isn't this a feast of the III class?

And for the 1st Vespers of the Feast of the Precious Blood, the tone given is from the Antiphonale Monasticum, which is not the correct book to use for Roman Vespers. I would have expected the same tone as you have given for the 1st Vespers of the Feast of Ss. Peter and Paul, earlier in the week.

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Regarding the more Solemn tone for the Magnificat, is it on your radar that you could also use this on Wednesday, as this is also a Vespers for a feast of I class? (1st Vespers count, too!)

Also, that you could use the more Solemn "Deus in adjutorium" on Friday.

In my opinion (giving a more personal-preference sort of 2 cents here), although what you have done with these more Solemn tones is quite within rubrical bounds, it might be less confusing to the user to just make it the consistent policy: on every occasion possible, we will always use the more Solemn tone for both the Magnificat and the "Deus in adjutorium".

As you currently have it, you have used either / or: and since I don't easily perceive why, the effect of the week's services taken as a whole is thus less harmonious to me.

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P.S. In explanation of where I am coming from: my personal project I have going with regard to the Divine Office is the Dominus regnavit blog, which I started in part so that I would have an opportunity to have to think these sorts of things through, hopefully arrive at the right conclusions, and then see how the results play out as the days and seasons progress.

great commetns, please keep them coming