Dear colleagues,
as you perfectly know, there are lots of dotted puncta, virgae etc. in Solesmes editions of plainchant repertoire which are conventionally explained (as e.g. in the Foreword to Liber usualis) as (1) doble prolongation of rhythmic value of the neuma to which a dot is attached or (2) marks signifying disctintions (periodi) in the form (I omit interpretation details, they are easily accessible).
However, I don't see any dotted neumes in any of well known 'square' mss. of the 13th c., as Worcester aniphonary or a gradual from Rouen (F-Pn lat.904). Neither I could find any notion of the dots' origin in the books of Stäblein (MGB, 'Schriftbild der einstimmigen Musik'), Hiley, Apel and in the Grove dictionary.
I would be grateful to anyone who knows, when exactly dotted 'square' notation appeared and on which exactly ground they were introduced (hints to early mss. with square notation with dots would be highly appreciated).
Replies
Pour compléter la réponse de Franz Karl, il faut savoir que le point-mora inventé par Dom Mocquereau est la reprise d'un signe du solfège moderne. Le point placé à côté d'une note en solfège moderne, double sa valeure. Cet invention du point-mora était censée constituer une aide pour les chantres peu exercés afin de matérialiser le ralentissement demandé par la "mora ultimae vocis". C'est un argument de pédagogie musicale employé par Dom Mocquereau.
Dom Mocquereau a choisi d'utiliser le point-mora pour figurer le principe de la "mora ultimae vocis" décrit par Gui d'Arezzo. Mais dans son traité, le moine italien ne dit pas qu'il faut doubler les notes des cadences mélodiques mais seulement ralentir le chant. Dom Mocquereau lui, choisi de doubler la valeur de la note aux cadences.
Quand le point-mora est utilisé en cours de mélodie, il est censé remplacer l'épisème des manuscrits (notamment St Gall). Sauf que, pour Solesmes l'épisème horizontal élargi seulement la note, tandis que le point-mora double la note. Donc, on ne sait pas pourquoi, Dom Mocquereau attribu une signification différente à un même signe en fonction du contexte.
On retrouve le point-mora dans certaines éditions de plain-chant antérieures à la restauration du grégorien au XIXeme.
Pour conclure sur le point-mora, dans l'antiphonaire monastique de 2005 réalisé sous la conduite de Dom Daniel Saulnier (+ 2023) tous les signes rythmiques de Solesmes ont disparus.
Thank you. I perfectly understand that dots consistently appeared according to some Solesmes editorial principle. May question was, on what exactly ground they were introduced. There has to be some explanation of this notational practice (by Mocquereau?) which I don't see it any of disseminated Solesmes editions. And hoped that someone gives me a hint.
As for Liber hymnarius, the dots are still there, along with 'rhythmic' explanations (valor syllabicus auctus, valor syllabicus deminutus; see p.XVI).
Dear colleague,
theese dots are modern additions in the Solesmes books like Liber usualis (editio iuxta typicam = private fitting to official books), they do not appear in the official editio Vaticana (editio typica = official). Theese dots were added according to the old "method of Solesmes" (Mocquereau) to show details of a performances practices invented in the 20th century, called the "method of Solesmes". The monks of Solesmes denied this method of interpretation officially in the preface of the Liber Hymnarius 1983, where they proposed to sing chant according to the indication for interpretation in the early medieval neumes. (What they are doing in their practice is another story...) Some dots may fit with the neumes, many of them do not. Therfore: study the neumes and forget the dots of Liber usualis.
The system of interpretation of Dom Pothier (the editor of the Gradual 1908) was closer to medieval practice: he proposed to sing the chant according to the rythm of a natural pronunciation of the latin language. The Liber Hymnarius of 1983 proposes nothing else than the same: sing in the same way as you are speaking (last sentences of the preface: quomodo neumae legantur).
I am sure, one may find dots also in some earlier prints of 18th (e.g. Franciscan manuscripts or prints) or 19th c. But in every case: theese are signs for interpretation of a certain "author" or "school" with a special itnerest.
Kind regards
Franz KArl Prassl