Gueranger, Dom Prosper Louis Pascal

views updated

Gueranger, Dom Prosper Louis Pascal

Gueranger, Dom Prosper Louis Pascal, French ecclesiastic scholar; b. Sable-sur-Sarthe, April 4, 1805; d. Solesmes, Jan. 30, 1875. As abbot of the Benedictine monastery at Solesmes, he carried out research and produced writings that gave the impetus to and laid the foundations for scholarly investigations leading to the restoration of Gregorian melodies. Dom Gueranger and the Benedictines of Solesmes played a role of prime importance in the accomplishment of this work. He wrote Institutions liturgiques (3 vols., 1840-53; 2nd ed., 4 vols., 1878-85), L’Annee liturgique (15 parts, 1840-1901; continued by Fromage), and Ste. Cécile et la Société Romaine (1873; 8th ed., 1898).

Bibliography

G. Guépin, Prosper G. (Le Mans, 1876); Chamard, G. et I’abbé Bernier (Angers, 1901); P. Delatte, Dom G., abbé de Solesmes (2 vols., Paris, 1909).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire