Considerations on the Necessity of Restoring the Chant of the Church of Rome in All Churches of the Empire

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King Charles, returning to France, sent one Cantor to the City of Metz, the other to the City of Soissons, ordering the masters of the school of all the Cities of France to hand over the Antiphonaries to them for correction, and to learn to sing from them. Therefore the Antiphonaries of the Franks were corrected, which each one had vitiated according to his own judgment, adding or subtracting; and all the Cantors of France learned the Roman notation which they now call the French notation; except that the Franks could not perfectly express the tremulous or wavering, or the collide-able or cut voices in the Chant, breaking the voices in the throat with a natural barbarian voice, rather than expressing them. Moreover, the greater Mastery of Singing remained in Metz; and by as much as the Roman Mastery surpasses the Metz [mastery] in the art of Singing, by so much does the Metz Chant surpass the other schools of the Gauls. Similarly they taught

to Soissons, ordering all the Chant masters of the cities of France to give them the Antiphonaries to correct and to learn to sing from them. Thus the French Antiphonaries were corrected, which each had altered by additions and subtractions of his own fashion, and all the Cantors of France learned the Roman Chant, which they now call the French Chant; but as for the trembling, flattered, beaten, and cut sounds in the Chant, the French could never render them well, making bleating sounds instead because of the natural and barbaric hardness of their throats. For the rest, the principal School of Chant remained always at Metz; and as much as the Roman Chant surpasses that of Metz, so much does the Chant of Metz surpass that of the other French schools. The Roman Cantors likewise taught the aforementioned French Cantors the art of organizing, that is to say, Discant: and the Lord-King Charles having again brought with him to