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

Practice of the Church regarding what pertains to plain-chant
will doubtless always remain a problem.
preceding the French Canticles, the use of which, of
several centuries already, appears to be one of those traditions
inimitable. Could one not have, however, by
establishing plain-chant in all the Churches of
France, provided the means to introduce there the Counter-
points, the study of which is so important for the improvement
of the Musical Art!

In judging what precedes, one sees clearly enough that the
Chant of the Church must be simple: all the qualities that
ensure its incontestable predominance—pure origin,
venerable antiquity, ravishing simplicity, proper
accentuation, melody, style, harmony—all tend toward the
universal. The principal reasons that move me
to request that, during the restoration of the plain-chant, the
liturgy, which must have as its object the expansion of this part
of the cult and to carry it, among us, to a high degree of
perfection, according to its own nature, in all the Churches of
the Empire. As for the rest, nothing is simpler and
easier to effect than this operation, which consists of
adopting the known bases purely and simply in
whole or in part, or of transposing the Chants onto the
recognized texts that one judged appropriate to substitute for the
old ones; an operation which, moreover, will have the double advantage
of avoiding discussions relative to preference; and of sparing
the expenses, the delays, the hindrances, and the incon-
veniences of every kind that one would gather with the most
new Chants.