Well, maybe that is the wrong title for the Cantus Selecti of 1957 and that headline should apply to the Hymnarius. In any case, the Cantus Selecti is absolutely dazzling. It contains hundreds of hymns for parish use, nearly all of them strophic with texts that are either familiar or once familiar. If you are tired of the same old Tantum Ergo, for example, you can choose among 15 of them here! This edition is particularly great because it contains detailed annotations in the back that show the oldest known printed editions of the chant in question. Every once in a while you will find chant roots of songs that have modern metric renderings that are familiar.
I’ve wanted to see this book online for many years so a special thank you to the Anon. donor who gave it it a fantastic 600 dpi scan (none better for web use). So far as I’m concerned, this is another milestone in getting the world’s editions of Gregorian chant online.
A warning for chant geeks: opening this file will consume an entire evening. It is almost impossible to resist singing through them all one by one. If you are like me, you like them all, and each one as much as the last. It becomes impossible to chosen. Each chant hymn has intriguing elements that delight and fire up the imagination.
Thanks for the posting, and thanks to whoever did the scanning.
Any chances this gets published in book form by the CMAA?
It is already in print in a pretty and more modern edition from Solesmes. http://www.paracletepress.com/cantus-selecti.html good price.
Really amazing.
Ah! I didn't realize it was the same book. Nevermind, and thanks for the info.
It's a great book and we use it all the time here. Thanks for posting this, Jeffrey.