Holy Week Gregorian
Chant Book

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A review by Louis J. Tofari

 

A couple of weeks ago, I published a review about the 1963 Latin-English Liber Usualis that Preserving Christian Publications had just republished. Now I can announce that PCP has just reprinted its Holy Week Gregorian Chant Book—and just in time for this year’s Holy Week!

 

Back in 2011, Preserving Christian Publications printed a book containing the chants for Holy Week from the Liber Usualis (in fact, it was from the 1963 Latin-English edition that PCP just reprinted). The idea behind this compilation was to provide an economical and compact resource for parishes to fully offer the Restored Order of Holy Week (i.e., the rites promulgated by Pius XII in 1955 contained in the 1962 Missale Romanum).

 

The Holy Week Gregorian Chant Book (aka, the Liber Hebdomadae Sanctae Cantus Gregoriani) contains all of the proper chants required for the Masses and special ceremonies of Holy Week from Palm Sunday to the Easter Vigil, including the Office of Tenebrae.

 

Another important feature is the presence of English rubrical texts. It should be noted though that this book does not contain the Kyriale chants or the Ordinary parts not particular to the Masses of Holy Week (as these are usually available in other sources).

 

As customary for PCP, the Holy Week Gregorian Chant Book has been printed with high-quality features such as a hardcover embossed with gold-lettering on the front cover and spine. Durable endsheets and a decorative headband protect the sewn-bound cream-colored pages.

 

The clarity of the chant notation and texts is also to be commended. And lastly, a satin purple marking ribbon has been included. For size, the 252-page book is about 7” (inches) high, 5” wide and 0.75” thick, and weighs a mere 10.9 ounces.

 

This great resource for the traditional rites of Holy Week can be obtained for only $16.00 and PCP has stated that they can have the book(s) delivered by the Saturday before Palm Sunday at the very latest.

 

Again, my gratitude to Preserving Christian Publications for compiling such an important resource to enable the spread of the Roman Rite’s great patrimony of Gregorian Chant, and for her holiest of days!