Chants for the additional Commons of 1914
  • igneusigneus
    Posts: 350
    In 1914 four additional Commons were introduced in the Roman Breviary:

    • Commune plurium Confessorum Pontificum
    • C. pl. Confessorum non Pontificum
    • C. pl. Virginum
    • C. pl. non Virginum

    They weren't, however, made available for the universal church, but rather as texts pro aliquibus locis: provinces having use for them could ask for a permission to make them part of their breviary propers.

    The formularies contain full sets of new proper chants. And my question is: does anyone know of a musical resource?

    EDIT 2018-06-30: the decree can be found in AAS 7 (1915), p. 282
  • tomjaw
    Posts: 2,704
    @igneus
    The Mass Propers are in the 1924 printing of the Graduale Romanum pg 77** ... But the 1949 Antiphonal does not have a pro aliquibus locis section... I don't remember seeing any Antiphonal with such a section apart from those published before 1914.
    Thanked by 1igneus
  • rarty
    Posts: 96
    I am fairly certain all of these are in the Antiphonale Romano-Seraphicum, if you can locate a copy.
    Thanked by 1igneus
  • madorganist
    Posts: 906
    http://media.musicasacra.com/books/graduale_romano_seraphicum.pdf
  • a_f_hawkins
    Posts: 3,371
    They are in the CMAA posted GR61 here, p1155 of the pdf.
  • igneusigneus
    Posts: 350
    @rarty I can't, but hopefully one day I will.

    @madorganist @a_f_hawkins Thanks for the graduale hints. My primary interest is in Divine Office, not Mass propers, though.
    Thanked by 1madorganist
  • rarty
    Posts: 96
    I dug out my copy of the Franciscan Antiphonal and snapped some photos. I hadn't realized these weren't readily available in the many books scanned by CMAA and ccwatershed.

    Commune pl. Confessorum Pontificum
    Commune pl. Confessorum non Pontificum
    Commune pl. Virginum
    Commune pl. non Virginum

    I imagine the ideal/intended use of these offices was for groups of specially related non-martyrs (like Sts. Cyril and Methodius, 7 Holy Founders of the Servites) without having to have full propers written so that the texts make sense.

    But the Franciscans got creative with this flexibility, and inscribed dozens of otherwise unrelated blesseds to their calendar three at a time in shared Double feasts. The Franciscan calendar made wide use of these combos until the 1960 rubrics reform, which I think eliminated all uses of these plural offices. Not a bad problem to have though—too many saints and blesseds to fit free days.

    I wonder what other places made use of these, and if any continued through 1962?
    Thanked by 1igneus
  • igneusigneus
    Posts: 350
    @rarty Thank you very much!

    As for places making use of them, I don't know any other than the diocese of Rome, where they (all four) were introduced by the SRC decree cited in the first post. I have no idea if they remained in use through 1971 or were swept by some earlier reform of the Roman "officia propria", though.

    But presumably somewhere the commons remained in use - I only learned about their existence by finding them at the back of the Nova et Vetera breviary edition.
  • a_f_hawkins
    Posts: 3,371
    FWIW The decree is actually in AAS 6 (1914) p282, 22 May 1914, not the next year cited above. The SRC seems to have been very busy around then.
    Thanked by 1igneus
  • igneusigneus
    Posts: 350
    @a_f_hawkins yes, you are right. Somehow I managed to screw the citation up.
Add a Comment