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The Liber Usualis is a book of commonly-used Gregorian chant
Gregorian chant

Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainsong, a form of monophony liturgy chant in Western Christianity that accompanied the celebration of Mass and other ritual services....
s 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
Mass (liturgy)

The Mass is the Eucharistic celebration in the Latin liturgical rites of the Roman Catholic Church. The term is used also of similar celebrations in Old Catholic Churches, in the Anglo-Catholic tradition of Anglicanism, and in some largely High Church Lutheranism Lutheranism regions, including the Scandinavian and Baltic states countries....
 (Kyrie
Kyrie

K?rie is from the Greek language word ????e , the vocative case of ?????? , meaning O Lord. It is the common name of an important prayer of Christian liturgy, also called K?rie, el?ison which is Greek language for Lord, have mercy....
, Gloria
Gloria

Gloria may refer to:...
, Credo
Credo

The credo is a statement of religious belief, such as the Apostles' Creed . It especially refers to the use of the creed in the Catholic Mass, either as text, Gregorian chant, or other Mass ....
, Sanctus
Sanctus

Sanctus is the Latin word for holy or saint, and is the name of an important hymn of Christianity liturgy.In Western Christianity, the Sanctus is sung as the final words of the Preface_ of the Eucharistic Prayer, the prayer of consecration of the bread and wine....
, and Agnus Dei
Agnus Dei

Agnus Dei is a Latin language term meaning Lamb of God, and was originally used to refer to Jesus Christ in his role of the perfect sacrificial lamb that atonement for the sins of humanity in Christian theology, harkening back to ancient Jewish Temple sacrifices....
), as well as the common chants for the Divine Office
Liturgy of the hours

The Liturgy of the Hours or Divine Office is the official set of daily prayers prescribed by the Roman Catholic Church to be recited at the canonical hours by the Clergy#Christian_clergy, Christian monasticism, and laity....
 (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).






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Gregorian Chant
The Liber Usualis is a book of commonly-used Gregorian chant
Gregorian chant

Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainsong, a form of monophony liturgy chant in Western Christianity that accompanied the celebration of Mass and other ritual services....
s 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
Mass (liturgy)

The Mass is the Eucharistic celebration in the Latin liturgical rites of the Roman Catholic Church. The term is used also of similar celebrations in Old Catholic Churches, in the Anglo-Catholic tradition of Anglicanism, and in some largely High Church Lutheranism Lutheranism regions, including the Scandinavian and Baltic states countries....
 (Kyrie
Kyrie

K?rie is from the Greek language word ????e , the vocative case of ?????? , meaning O Lord. It is the common name of an important prayer of Christian liturgy, also called K?rie, el?ison which is Greek language for Lord, have mercy....
, Gloria
Gloria

Gloria may refer to:...
, Credo
Credo

The credo is a statement of religious belief, such as the Apostles' Creed . It especially refers to the use of the creed in the Catholic Mass, either as text, Gregorian chant, or other Mass ....
, Sanctus
Sanctus

Sanctus is the Latin word for holy or saint, and is the name of an important hymn of Christianity liturgy.In Western Christianity, the Sanctus is sung as the final words of the Preface_ of the Eucharistic Prayer, the prayer of consecration of the bread and wine....
, and Agnus Dei
Agnus Dei

Agnus Dei is a Latin language term meaning Lamb of God, and was originally used to refer to Jesus Christ in his role of the perfect sacrificial lamb that atonement for the sins of humanity in Christian theology, harkening back to ancient Jewish Temple sacrifices....
), as well as the common chants for the Divine Office
Liturgy of the hours

The Liturgy of the Hours or Divine Office is the official set of daily prayers prescribed by the Roman Catholic Church to be recited at the canonical hours by the Clergy#Christian_clergy, Christian monasticism, and laity....
 (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.

An extensive introduction explains how to read and interpret the medieval musical notation (square notation of neums or neume
Neume

Neumes are the basic elements of Western and Eastern systems of musical notation prior to the invention of five-line staff notation. The word neume is a Middle English corruption of the ultimately Greek language word for breath ....
s). A complete index makes it easy to find specific pieces.

The Liber was first edited in 1896 by Solesmes abbot Dom André Mocquereau (1849–1930). After the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council (opened by Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII

Blessed Pope John XXIII , born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli , known as Blessed John XXIII since his beatification, was elected as the 261st Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and monarch of Vatican City on 28 October 1958....
 in 1962) allowed in the constitution on the liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium
Sacrosanctum Concilium

Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, is one of the constitutions of the Second Vatican Council. It was approved by the assembled bishops by a vote of 2,147 to 4 and promulgated by Pope Paul VI on December 4, 1963....
 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
Sacrosanctum Concilium

Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, is one of the constitutions of the Second Vatican Council. It was approved by the assembled bishops by a vote of 2,147 to 4 and promulgated by Pope Paul VI on December 4, 1963....
, 116.). Gregorian chants are still sung in most monasteries and some churches and in performances by groups dedicated to its preservation.

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