| 6 |
| If this be so, we have to establish a proper method by which we may define the liturgico-musical 'provenance' of the sources. We think that the concordance of several sources makes this possible. After we have studied a large enough number of sources we shall find that there emerge strong, coherent, groups and configurations as signs of living traditions. They will be, as it were, concentrated around some types which can give a picture of an overall model (manifested in the contents). We shall then be in a position to raise the question of the provenance of this model, of the liturgical usage hidden in this model - and not of the provenance of the individual sources. A group of sources held together by their inner substance always reveals the place of origin. Certain sources bear unambiguous evidence of origin which other sources corroborate, turning probability into certainty. It is at this point that the information about the provenance of the individual manuscripts comes into its own in the demonstration. Some of the sources will appear as the main group and push others into the periphery. After having established a clear picture of the stable points and configurations we may start investigating the causes of the transitional or obscure features of 'peripheral' sources of the same tradition. |
| As a result, the sources surviving from the Middle Ages cannot be treated as a homogenous whole; the comparison of a single source with another single source will not yield satisfactory results, nor will work with a large, unorganized set of sources. Statistical methods are also misleading because the results depend on the number and distribution of the surviving and analyzed sources - or else would require a conscious selection for which we ought to predict the final results in advance. Research of this kind remains unfounded even if we try to interpret the statistical data with occasional - and often rather inaccurate - information concerning provenance. In my opinion this is the case with the immense and otherwise remarkable opus of Dom Hesbert, for example, which can hardly be evaluated in a strictly historical context. |
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