The entire hymnal is in modern notation, both plainsong and chorale tunes.

I would think that communities like yours would be the main target of this Divine Office Hymnal project. How ironic (and Vatican II like) that the hymnal’s “inclusiveness” (modern notation) leaves it unused by the very people for whom it was meant.

Hopefully the USCCB sees the problem here and allows the hymnal to also be released in square notes

It is a well bound volume, attractive and reasonably priced. But I too am dissapointed that the chant settings were not set in square notes.

I think the choice of setting the chant settings in modern notation will almost certainly not achieve its goal. Although it was intended to reach the widest demographic, I think it will in fact result in reaching a smaller demographic. In my experience, most people who are interested in plainchant do not like reading chant in modern notation and most people who are attached to modern notation aren't all that interested in chant. The choice to exclusively use modern notation effectively alienates the bulk of people in both groups.

I probably won't be ordering more copies and will just stick to Fr. Weber's Hymnal for the Divine Office or the Dominican Hymnarium instead.

In my experience, most people who are interested in plainchant do not like reading chant in modern notation and most people who are attached to modern notation aren't all that interested in chant.

On the one hand, I'm inclined to agree, but simultaneously, I feel it must be acknowledged that there has to be an entry point for people who do not read square note notation. Whenever I have new choir members join (and these are people who are particularly interested in music, mind) I have to spend the first few months of their tenure offering stemless transcriptions of what we are chanting, because there is always a period of acclimation. The stemless transcribed notation can be a lot less threatening to people who are not ideologically opposed, per se, but who also aren't on the chant bandwagon yet. People who have a basic-level understanding of how to scan music notes can be intimidated into not even trying with square note notation.

I say all of this, thinking that transcriptions are a mean to an end, and not an end unto themselves (apart from, perhaps, written out organ accompaniments).

I think it is also fair to say that not all transcriptions are the same as others. I am not passing any judgement on this hymnal as I do not yet have a copy to do so, but there are many ways of transcribing, and some are much more faithful to the original than others. I will retain neume groupings as best I can, and indicate quilismas (actually change the notehead type to be the squiggle, rather than just place one above) and even liquescents with cue-sized notes, wherever possible. Contrast such an approach with the "everything is an equal-looking stemmed eighth note" with a solesmes marking or two at cadences. One method will land you much closer to the original than the other. If the transcription retains the details (insofar as such a thing is possible) I'm usually not that bothered, even if I would prefer the square note version.

That sounds like there’s been some sort of miscommunication. I’ll inquire.

I contacted GIA to inquire about reprints for programs and was told that OneLicense doesn't cover this hymnal. What's the point?

USCCB/ICEL has the copyrights here and GIA is just distributing, so doesn’t that sound right that OneLicense wouldn’t be involved here? Wouldn’t any reprint permission already be covered by ICEL’s existing publication policies?

As far as setting this in chant notation, it seems to me there would have been some obstacles with the engraving. The best way — notating every verse one after another — would have extended past the page and then you couldn’t have done the facing pages with the metrical. Multiple text lines under one chant (like Weber) is a bad look with the wide spacing and you lose the benefit of the tight chant contours which negates using the neumes in the first place. A separate, specific book seems like the best option for those who would want chant notation, but who knows if that’s something they would even consider at this point. I hope so.

Wouldn’t any reprint permission already be covered by ICEL’s existing publication policies?

I have to wonder if that's what they meant by not covered by OL. I confirmed that GIA is working right now on getting the hymn graphic files loaded into OL, so I expect that the conversation was with someone who was not fully informed. I wouldn't be surprised if reporting is added as a feature once that is done.

It's not a pedantic exercise into the history and theology of one element of the Divine Office.

Very well said. It certainly wasn't intended to be an academic tome.

The best way — notating every verse one after another — would have extended past the page and then you couldn’t have done the facing pages with the metrical.

While reasonable people might disagree with your use of the word best, this is how the source material was provided by ICEL, and it was more than double the page count of the edition as published. Putting the hymns on facing pages was my suggestion—as was presenting the plainsong hymns with all stanzas under them, and I think both make the edition easier to navigate and use. Others (in this thread) disagree, and thankfully are welcome to prepare their own editions in their local situations where needs might suggest using something else. ICEL's initial suggestion was that both plainsong AND metrical hymns be written out in full... one verse after another. That would have been even longer yet, if not two volumes—especially considering how many hymns have a multitude of stanzas. Weight and paper costs would have been a major detriment to adoption in that case.

Maybe some real musicians can help me here.

What up with the melody of Jesu Dulcis Memoria in DOH#203? The last part of the third line seems totally unlike the tune I am familiar with.

I love the Dominican melody for the Jesu Dulcis Memoria! The full hymn has something like forty verses, so in the chant collection I'm working on, I have the "normal" five verses with the "normal" melody (the one from the LU), and then the verses of the sub-hymn Jesu Decus Angelicum to the Dominican melody (attached below), which I heard in a Youtube video and then tracked down. The "Christmas" chant melody from Christe (Jesu) Redemptor Omnium is used in some books.

I'm not sure what's in the Divine Office Hymnal since I don't have one, but you could always check Gregobase for different versions of the hymn, or post a picture from your book (if that is legal, which I don't know).

Here’s a photo ( we’ll see if the copyright demons come for me).

That was how ICEL presented it for inclusion, so the question would need to go to them (and probably the retiring director in particular). There were a few things they submitted that were *sooooo* different than how we sing them in the US that I changed them to match our usage. There were a few (like this) that I mentioned in passing to those I work for, but didn’t push to change them. Like it was said, just a passing tone. If the organist played what you’re used to, everyone would sing it without even realizing they weren’t matching what is on the page.

As to your concern over copyright demons, it’s held entirely by ICEL, so I doubt it would be an issue. Their policies for non-commercial use are pretty generous. The missal and its prayers have certainly been seen online a ton, and I’ve not heard mention of it ever being a problem.

They will be there eventually.