Cantus Mariales

I have decided to make available again an exceptionally rare book containing the most delightful selection of medieval and modern Gregorian chants in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was prepared by the famous chant maestro Dom Joseph Pothier, abbot of Wandrille, and published in Paris in 1903 under the full title: “Cantus Mariales quos e fontibus antiquis eruit aut opere novo veterum instar concinnavit.” The only reason I have a copy of this book (actually, 3 copies) is that a friend of mine, visiting Jerusalem, happened to explore the choir loft of a monastery called Saint-Pierre de Sion. There he found a stash of dusty old chant books and asked the proprietor if he could buy any of them. The proprietor said: “Go ahead and take the books, they’d probably just get thrown away otherwise.” This friend gave them to me in Austria. Once I began to sing the chants inside, I knew that I had stumbled on a goldmine.