Liber Usualis
St. Bonaventure Publications
No. 801
ASIN: B0017O0NDM
http://www.libers.com/liber.htm
The Liber Usualis, is the unique book used for chanting the parts of the Sacred Liturgy according the traditional Latin Rite. The Liber was first edited in 1896 by Abbey of Solesmes under Abbot Dom André Mocquereau (1849–1930). This 1,900-page book contains most versions of the ordinary chants for the Mass (Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei), as well as the common chants for the Divine Office (daily prayers of the Church) and for every commonly celebrated feast of the Church Year (including more than two hundred pages for Holy Week alone). The “usual book” or “common book” also contains chants for specific rituals, such as baptisms, weddings, funerals, ordinations, and benediction. This modal, monophonic Latin music has been sung in the Catholic Church since at least the sixth century and through the present day.
St. Bonaventure Publications has successfully restored this book to its pristine 1953 edition that Solesmes had originally published in Belgium. The Liber is essential to any singer in the Schola Cantorum which according to Pope St. Pius X is a real liturgical office. It contains the necessary notations of Chant for the Ordinary Parts of Mass (Ordo Missae) that must be sung in plainsong according the Decrees of St. Pius X on Sacred Music. This St. Bonaventure edition is very fine Smyth (sewn) binding, with 6 colored ribbon markers, and even has the late Pius XII additions of the Glorious Assumption of the B.V.M. It’s worth to note, that the rubrics are translated into English for the readiness of the English speaking world. The Liber is a “must have” for any Catholic cleric, singer, and scholar of the Sacred Liturgy.
