Toni Psalmorum.
The Toni Psalmorum contains the material needed to sing the psalmody of the Office. The content is edited from two sources:
Each source has a slightly different manner of presentation, which has been hybridized in the present edition. The order of each is summarized in the following table.
| Sion | Cosin | Edition |
|---|---|---|
| type-melody | --- | type-melody |
| neuma | psalm tone | neuma |
| terminations | neuma | psalm tone |
| psalm tone | terminations | terminations |
| Benedictus | Magnificat | Magnificat |
| Magnificat | Benedictus | Benedictus |
The terminations generally appear in similar order between the two sources. When there is a discrepancy, preference is given to Sion for the simple reason that this was the first source available to the editor for study.
The pointing system was developed by William Renwick. A full description may be found in Companion to D: Toni communes et appendices (see “Pointing the Psalms in English”, “Symbols”, and “Pointing in the Latin Psalms”). In short, the symbols indicate when to move from the reciting tone. The tilde (~) counts syllables before the final accented syllables: two syllables in the first half of the verse; and three in the last half. The circumflex is used to represent the secondary accent in tones of that nature. White notes account for extra syllables.