The Rhythm of Plainsong

by Dom Joseph Gajard The Solesmes method has lacked a defense in our times, so the discovery of this fascinating and thrilling study from 1943 is a moment of great excitement. Dom Gajard, the leading disciple of Dom Mocquereau, explains that ＂Gregorian rhythm is a true musical rhythm; it has a character all its own, but it is as definite as the rhythm of modern music. Every kind of piece, be it a small syllabic antiphon or a long elaborate Alleluia, possesses its precise rhythm, clear and fixed, which must be discovered at all costs, otherwise the melody will be robbed of all its beauty and all its raison d’être.＂