I acquired an entire box of copies of the Liber Usualis. I gave most of them to my choir and they were thrilled. However, one of them was a much thinner copy as you can see by the pic attached, and it has absolutely no English in the instructions and is entirely in Latin. Is anyone familiar with this edition? The thinner edition has the Imprimitur of 1931 and the thicker copy 1947.
My Liber is the size of the one on the left, whereas my Missal Vesperal is the size of the one on the right. My Liber is Latin-only, and contains no supplements; the Missal is Latin-French, has the Mode I, II, and VI Masses by Du Mont, and additional Masses for France and Canada, the Missal also has a number of chants from the Cantus Selecti, which, IIRC, are not in the Liber. I think that the type for Orations, etc., is slightly smaller and the paper slightly thinner in my Liber than in my Missal. The chants seem to be printed from the same plates in both books.
Yeah the early 1930s Libers (the Latin-only ones at least) are a much more comfortable size. In fact, I'm on the look out for any ca. 1934. I have some pages to replace which may be beyond repair… but most of the book is intact, and I'm always on the look out for Latin-only (or Latin-French) editions in good shape.
The singer, contemplating the loss of certain rituals and chants appearing in his Liber, gave free reign to his emotions. But did he affect the score by tearing the page, or by weeping over it?
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