Liber Usualis
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The Liber usualis is a book of commonly-used Gregorian chants compiled by the monks of the Abbey of Solesmes in France.
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 (a priest's daily prayers) 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 the ninth century and through the present day. After the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council (opened by Pope John XXIII in 1962) allowed in the constitution on the liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium the vernacular (local language) to be used in Church rites, its use has decreased, although the same council mandated that Gregorian Chant should retain "pride of place" in the liturgy [Sacrosanctum Concilium] para. 116. Gregorian chants are still sung in some monasteries and churches and in performances by groups dedicated to preserving this incomparable musical heritage. The de-emphasis on chant in most of the Catholic world meant that for most of the 1980s and '90s, the Liber usualis was not easy to find. Recently, the book has been reprinted and is easily available.
An extensive introduction explains how to read and interpret the medieval musical notation (neums or neumes). A complete index makes it easy to find specific pieces.
In Catholic celebration today, Gregorian chant usually should be sung by order of the Council following the book Graduale Romanum which contains only the new order of chant propers for the Masses of the church year. However, the versions found in the Liber Usualis, or other versions in the manuscripts upon which the Liber was based, are still most commonly sung in primarily musical (i.e., non-liturgical) performances of chant.
