CUSPID - C. of the church of St Michael (14th–15th cent.). Bordeaux.
A certain feeling for rhythmic phrasing is present. Many oremus composed in the nineteenth century, however, are unfortunate.
In recent years, in the composition of liturgical prose, efforts have been made to follow the rules on c. from antiquity. This is absolutely necessary if one wishes such prose to flow harmoniously and for the chant to be easy and pleasing. Indeed, it is impossible to apply the ancient melodies of Gregorian chant to a modern liturgical composition unless it is rhythmically constructed. In every speech delivered aloud, as in every well-delivered reading, there is a latent song: cantus obscurior, as Cicero says. In the early centuries of Christianity, the reading of the Pauline epistles and the Gospels, the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer, the orations, and the prefaces was a kind of declaimed discourse that assumed the form of a very simple melody. The prayers that the bishop recited during the Eucharistic Sacrifice were delivered in a loud and solemn voice, with a well-accented melodic tone, yet without losing their recitative character, for they had to be understood by the faithful. Among the Jews as well, the readings during divine service had something of a sung quality. The rhythm of the ancient Gregorian cantor arises and is shaped by the rhythm of oratory. Gregorian chant is a kind of recitation with specific