Back in 1974, the Vatican published a booklet of simple Gregorian chants called, "Jubilate Deo" (Rejoice in God). The purpose of this publication was to provide the Christian Faithful with a basic repertoire of plainsong Latin chants to be learned and sung in the sacred liturgy of the Catholic Church. The Fathers of Vatican II had clearly stated that Gregorian Chant "should be given pride of place in liturgical services" (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 116). But since they also allowed other forms of music and vernacular texts, the timeless and matchlessly beautiful chant of the Roman Church soon was eclipsed. In an effort to prevent this rich patrimony from being completely lost, Jubilate Deo was published and promulgated.
Unfortunately, this little gem did not receive wide acceptance, and is virtually unknown to the average Catholic today (even though it was intended for just such Catholics). Perhaps this booklet never "caught on" because most Catholics don't know how to read Gregorian musical notation and don't know how the melodies should sound. Moreover, a translation was never provided which would aid the Faithful in comprehension and participation.
This current project is an effort to remedy both these difficulties.
On the pages following, high-quality JPEG images are provided for all of the chants. For the most part, they are not scanned from the pages of Jubilate Deo, but from a much older book called, Chants of the Church. Published by the Gregorian Institute of America in 1953, this book appeared in two editions: one in Gregorian notation and one in modern notation (by a great stroke of luck - or perhaps grace - I happen to have both editions!). A wonderful advantage of this book is that it includes an interlinear literal English translation of the Latin texts. This translation is not singable, but it is a big help to comprehension for those whose Latin is a little rusty (or even nonexistant!).
For each chant in Jubilate Deo, it is my intention to scan the corresponding music and text from both editions of Chants of the Church. Because this book has long been out of print, I assume that its contents are in the public domain and may be freely reprinted and copied. Nevertheless, a bibliographical citation is always recommended, and this appears at the bottom of each of my HTML pages.
In addition to the chant images, I will also provide an MP3 recording of myself singing each chant. Admittedly, this is not the Abbey of Santo Domingo de Silos! These MP3s (which may also be freely copied and distributed) are provided merely as an aid to learning how to sing the chants. The MP3s are embedded in each page with a small Java applet (you must have Java(TM) Plug-in 1.3 installed on your system for the applet to work). Just press the play button to hear the chant! You may also download the MP3s and the JPEGs directly from the Contents page.
It is my sincere hope that this labor of love will help others to learn and to love Gregorian Chant - so that once again this music may be heard in the liturgy of the Catholic Church - to the glory of God!
-- Fr. Timothy W. Castor,
2003, Rapid City, South Dakota