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

Painters of the same country and the same era were in relation to the arts of drawing in general. The Churches of Italy possess the Counterpoints of C. Porta, of Palestrina, and of several other great masters, which are inimitable models. How advantageous would it not be, by re-establishing the Roman Chant in all the Churches of France, to provide the means to introduce these Counterpoints, the study of which is so important for the improvement of the Musical Art!

In summarizing what precedes, one therefore sees that the Chant of the Church of Rome unites all the qualities that ensure its incontestable preeminence: pure origin, venerable antiquity, recognized superiority, almost absolute universality, and immense utility relative to the Art. Such are the principal considerations that lead me to request that, during the general reformation of the liturgy—which must have as its object the establishment of the highly desirable unity in this area—this precious Chant be forever reinstated, according to its primitive purity, in all the Churches of the Empire. Moreover, nothing is simpler or easier to carry out than this operation, which will consist of adopting the Roman customs purely and simply in whole or in part, or of transposing the Chants onto the analogous texts that one would judge appropriate to substitute for the old ones. This operation will, furthermore, have the double advantage of avoiding discussions relative to preference, and of sparing the expenses, the delays, the embarrassments, and the inconveniences of every kind that would be entailed by the composition of new Chants.