'0 h (;,i;{'" 4 ,r! , / TREATISE ON THE ACCOMPANIMENT OF GREGORIAN CHANT BY HENRI POTIRON Choirmaster of the Sacred Heart Basilica - Paris Professor at the Gregorian Institute WITH A PREFACE by Dom JEAN-HEBERT DESROCQUETTES O. S. B. Monk of Solesmes English translation by RUTH C. GABAIN SOCIETY OF ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST DESCLEE & Co :Printers to the Holy See and the Sacred Congregation of Rites TOURNAI (Belgium) Printed in Belgium '1..\0/ -\1'-\( TREATISE ON THE ACCOMPANIMENT OF GREGORIAN CHANT BY HENRI POTIRON Choirmaster of the Sacred Heart Basilica - Paris Professor at the Gregorian Institute WITH A PREFACE by Dom JRAN-HEBERT DESROCQUETTES O. S. B. Monk of Solesmes English translation by RUTH C. GABAIN ''''-!. ",- ~ J'. ~ SOCIETY OF ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST DESCLEE & Co Printers to the Holy See and the Sacred Congregation of Rites TOURNAI (Belgium) Printed in Belgium ,. .~,,:., : .. '......"'~ FOREWORD To readers who are familiar with my "Methode d'harmonie appliquee a l'accompagnement du chant gregorien ", written in I9ro and noW out ofdate, it will be clear that this book has nothing in common with its predecessor. Nevertheless, I still consider elementary counterpoint exercises to be the best preparation for the writing of good Plainsong accompaniments. The following are some of the advantages ofsuch a method: I. simplicity and clearness in an exposition, which takes account of two-part harmony only,­ 2. the suppression of elements unnecessary and even harmful in har­ monized Plainsong, such as theeries about the value of harmonic degrees and the resulting system of chord successions: modulations, harmonic sequences, alterations etc.; ]. the acquisition of freedom in style through the use of exercises which are of a purely practical nature. I may add that contrapuntal art is as far removed as possible IMPRiMATUR. from text-book knowledge. Now, it is well known that people who talk and write a great deal about Plainsong accompaniment are Tornaci, die I Julii 1933. generally far more skilful on foolscap than they are on music paper J. LECOUVET, Vic. Gen. or at the organ. Do we not find writers expounding (often incor. rectly) the whole theory of harmony and then, in the examples which they give, violating the very laws they have formulated? What really matters, therfj'ore, is to know how to write music, all else is vanity and, at best, amounts to very little. My theories on rhythm are those of Solesmes, although I bring some personal arguments to support them. Formerly, I sinned through" enumeratio imperfecta ", as Bacon says, having only cow­ sidered the mostcharacteristic accent ofour own music, the heavy, long and trenchant accent, which I now call thetic, and having ignored the many instances of light and short accents, which I will call arsic Y. Closer study has enabled me to define the chatacter of this arsic accent in modern music, and, tlzroughthe analysis ofthe musical text, to recognize the same character in a Plainsong accent. From A!i rights reserlled. this point of view, then, the art of Plainsong does not stand apart from the rest of music, the contrary, rather, is the case. lowe a deep debt of gratitude to those who have guided and encouraged me in my work. First and foremost, to the venerable Dom Mocquereau, to Dom Gajard and to Dom Desrocquettes. If this humble treatise and my articles in reviews, developing the same I These, moreover, we do not always call accents. - IV­ -V­ z'deas, I are instrumental z'n making their teaching recognized and jied. A purely modal and diatonic art is clearly quite separate/rom appredated, even so, my debt wztl be but inadequately repaid. an art which zs chromatic and knows only two modes, tlzemselve$ Part III, whz'ch treats of harmony, will seem to contain most that differing considerably from the corresponding Plainsong modes. A is new, and, at the same tz'me, the rules whz'ch are gz'ven may appear monodic art Izas nothing in common with one in which harmony has very strict to the reader. The ideas if not the terms will be easily perhaps taken tlze first place. .if, then, Plainsong harmony is pos­ recognized as those which Dom Desrocquettes has set forth in his sible, it will not be conceived according to the system of Rameau, as articles on the same subject, published in La Revue gregorienne. still taught in our schools,. and, among general rules, at least the If Part 11 has been written in Illy own words, the substance of it following may be safely formulated: that the melodic text alone will (especially the practical modal rules) is the fruit of collabora­ supply the elements of the required harmonies (each case should be tion with Dom Desrocquettes, in which his wide experience of Plain­ studied separately and tlze various caseS compared with one another). song has played the larger part. A nd, ifthe narrow limits imposed It is now generally known that many beautiful harmonic successions on tlze accompanist appear alarming, it sllould be remembered that have been discovered of which Reber was ignorant but of which Plainsong was not meant to be accompanied at all and that, con­ happy use lIas been made by modern composers. In sllort, let us once sequently, modal rules cannot be made too rigorous. Moreover, any alzdfor all do away with the legend that Solemus places Plainsong true musician will be able to buztd stable and musidanly accompani­ outside those laws which are generally accepted as governing music. ments on these foundations,. he may even use certain forms of writing We llOPe the reader will understand tllat the aim of this book is which, to my mz'nd, would be dangerous for the beginner, provided entirely practical TVe have, therefore, rifrained from discussing Ile respects in tlzem tlze modal cllaracter of the melodic text (admi­ the various mensuralzst iuterpretations because the majon'ty of choirs rable examples of this are to be found in modern music, especially more or less follow Dom Pothier's principles. In the same way, the sz'nce Debussy). modal theories aim only atformulating definite rules for the accom­ I have not thougllt it necessalY 1/01' evm usiful to give some pamst,' they have no historical pretensions, and are based solely on fifteen or twenty haY1llcnized Plm'nsong pieces as models. TVitil an objective stUdy of tlu musical text ( Vatican edition). explanatolY remarks they would have exceeded tile scope of this Finally, my tllanks are due to ti,e eminmt professors and colleagues volume,. but Dom Desrocquettes, wz'th some slight help from 111e, has U'IIO by their sympathy, tlzeir autlzority and experimce, lzave helped suppHed the need. Hzs remarkable accompaniments, with numerous and encouraged me, especially to Mr. Louis Vierne, tlze celebrated and clear notes on l'hythm, mode and harmony, are ti,e Ilatural organzst of N. D. of Pans,' to Mr. Joseph Bonnet, our esteemed complement of this book. director of the Gregorian Institute, the distingulshed organist of It has been said (in La Muska d'Oggi, oflIlilan, on Dom Desroc­ Saint Eustadle, whose tribute can be read elsewhere/ to lVlr. Tour­ quette's articles) that these modal tlleories "suffer from the same nemire, organist of Sainte Clothztde and professor at the Paris difect as other Solesmes studz'es: that tltey take as foundation what Conservatoire/ to Jl,fr. Georges Jacob, organist of the Sociiti des has stztl to be proved, viz. that Plainsong diffirs from all other Concerts du Conservatoire,' and, finally, to lVlr. Jean Huri, the music.... andthat the attempt to jindpractical rules that will apply to eminmt musician who recently created tlte periodical" L' Orgue et les every case is illusory" 2. From a rhythmicalpoint ofview, even ifone Organistes" as a link between organists and which slzould be knou'n admits the mensuralist hypotheszs, it is evidmt that Plainsong differs to all considerably from modern music. But to pretend that tile Solesmian May thzs work, in however small a measure, contribute to a better theolY cannot jind support in musical examples, which have bem rendering of the liturgical Chant and thereby to the dignity aNd subjected to accurate and detailed analysis, is a statement which splendour of the Divine Office. I am strivz'ng with all my strength to overthrow. From a modal Paris, July 1925. 'oint of vz'ew, the remarks ofthe Jl1"ilanese review are even less justi­ H. P. , In La lVfusique d'~gHse: Notes sur Ie rythme gnfgorien consider! du point de 7/ue musical. In L'Orgue et les Organislt'S (91, rue d'Illiers, Orleans): L'accomjJag-nement tiu chant xre.£{orienJ· 1. Des rajJjJorts entre I'accent tonique et la place des ccordsJ' 2. L'!zarmonie modale (1924, July, August and September Nos.). In II these articles, the theoretical aspect of the question is more fully presented nd discussed than in the present treatise. 2 The Italian text goes as far as to say that the author is "ingenuo ,. "childish) to have tried to formulate such general rules. I­ ) '-."J"":"~~ - VI­ - VII­ :f LETTER FROM THE REV. DOM ANDRE MOCQUEREAU O. S. B. LETTER FROM MR. JOSEPH BONNET, Saint Peter's Abbey, Solesmes. Director ojtlte Gregorian Institute and Organist ojSaint Eustaclte. \ My VERY DEAR FRIEND, !i I !tadfirmly resolved never again to wrz'te letters oj 1-ecommenda­ Paris, May 16th. 1924. tion jor authors oj methods on Plainsong accompaniment, and behold, My DEAR FRIEND, in spite oj my resolution, here I am, abandoning reserve and giving way to your affectionate solicitation. ljI do so, it is because, every­ My most sincere congratulations on your treatise on the accompa­ thing considered, yours is a very special case, and my gratitude niment oj Plainsong.