Sancta et immaculata virginitas is the sixth responsory of Christmas Matins, but as CPDL notes, it is "frequently used for Marian feasts as well." It's sung here by Ensemble Officium:
R. Sancta et immaculata virginitas, quibus te laudibus efferam nescio:
* Quia quem coeli capere non poterant, tuo gremio contulisti. V. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui. R. Quia quem coeli capere non poterant, tuo gremio contulisti.
V. Glória Patri, et Fílio, * et Spirítui Sancto. R. Quia quem coeli capere non poterant, tuo gremio contulisti.
R. O Mary, how holy and how spotless is thy virginity! I am too dull to praise thee!
* For thou hast borne in thy breast Him Whom the heavens cannot contain. V. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. R. For thou hast borne in thy breast Him Whom the heavens cannot contain.
V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost. R. For thou hast borne in thy breast Him Whom the heavens cannot contain.
Here's the chant score, from the Liber Usualis 1961:
This
Responsory contains one of those rare extra-Biblical citations; I'm
trying to find the origin of the notion that "The highest heavens cannot
contain God whom you carried in your womb"; that is an old idea. But I
haven't been able to pin down the coiner of that phrase so far; will
return to edit this when I do. It's a quite beautiful thought, and one
of the reasons I wanted to post on this chant today.
[EDIT: This cite may belong to Augustine, who said in Sermon 184, on the Nativity:
“He who sustains the world lay in a manger, a wordless Child, yet the
Word of God. Him whom the heavens do not contain the bosom of one woman
bore. She ruled our King; she carried Him in whom we exist; she fed our
Bread.” And in fact, it's not totally extra-biblical anyway; Auggie
was clearly riffing on 1 Kings 8:27 (or its clone, 2 Chronicles 6:18): "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you...." ]
Several other composers have set this text; here's Gabrieli's:
ecce video Dei potentiam venientem: et nebulam totam terram regentem. † Ite obviam ei et dicite ‡ nuncia nobis si tu es ipse †† qui regnaturus es ‡‡ in populo Israel. V Quique terrigene et filii hominum: simul in unum dives et pauper. † V Qui regis Israel intende: qui deducis velut ovem Joseph. ‡ V Excita Domine Potentiam tuam et veni: ut salvos factias nos. †† V Gloria Patri et Filio: et Spiritui Sancto. ‡‡ R
R I look from afar:
and lo, I see the power of God coming,
and a cloud covering the whole earth.
† Go ye out to meet him and say:
‡ Tell us, art thou he that should come
†† to reign over thy people Israel? V High and low, rich and poor, one with another. † V Hear, O thou shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a sheep. ‡ V Stir up thy strength, O Lord, and come. †† V Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. R
Here's
another chant recording, sung by the "Choeur des Moniales cisterciennes
de Boulaur et Rieunette." It's also quite beautiful:
Again, here are the words in Latin and English from that page:
Use of Sarum, Latin text
R Aspiciens a longe,
ecce video Dei potentiam venientem:
et nebulam totam terram regentem.
† Ite obviam ei et dicite
‡ nuncia nobis si tu es ipse
†† qui regnaturus es
‡‡ in populo Israel. V Quique terrigene et filii hominum: simul in unum dives et pauper. † V Qui regis Israel intende: qui deducis velut ovem Joseph. ‡ V Excita Domine Potentiam tuam et veni: ut salvos factias nos. †† V Gloria Patri et Filio: et Spiritui Sancto. ‡‡ R
R I look from afar:
and lo, I see the power of God coming,
and a cloud covering the whole earth.
† Go ye out to meet him and say:
‡ Tell us, art thou he that should come
†† to reign over thy people Israel? V High and low, rich and poor, one with another. † V Hear, O thou shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a sheep. ‡ V Stir up thy strength, O Lord, and come. †† V Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. R
The most general definition of a responsory is any psalm, canticle,
or other sacred musical work sung responsorially, that is, with a
cantor or small group singing verses while the whole choir or
congregation respond with a refrain. However, this article focuses on
those chants of the western Christian tradition that have traditionally
been designated by the term responsory. In the Roman Rite and rites strongly influenced by it, such as the pre-reformation English rite and the monastic rite of the Rule of St. Benedict, these chants ordinarily follow readings[1]:61[2] at services of the Divine Office (also called the Liturgy of the Hours); however, they have also been used as processional chants.[1]:91 A responsory has two parts: a respond (or refrain), and a verse.[3]:181–182,331
Methods of performance vary, but typically the respond will be begun
by the cantor then taken up by the entire choir. The verse is then sung
by a cantor or a small group; or the verse can be begun by the cantor
and continued by the entire choir.[3]:196–198
The chant concludes with a repetition of all or part of the respond.
Sometimes the second repetition of the respond is followed by a half-doxology, Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto, sung by the cantor, followed in turn by a third repetition of all or part of the respond.
That same article elaborates on Aspiciens a longe, as well:
Most responsories have a single verse, but a few have multiple verses.[3]:184–185 One of the most famous of the latter is the responsory Aspiciens a longe,
sung on the first Sunday of Advent after the first reading in the
night office of the Latin secular (non-monastic) rite. The version that
was sung in the medieval rite of Salisbury cathedral was worded as
follows:[5]
Respond:Aspiciens
a longe et ecce video Dei potentiam venientem et nebulam totam terram
tegentem. Ite obviam ei et dicite, Nuntia nobis si tu es ipse qui
regnaturus es in populo Israel. (I look from afar, and behold I
see the power of God coming, and a cloud covering the whole earth. Go
out to meet him and say, tell us if you are the one who is to reign
over the people of Israel.)
1st verse (sung by a boy) Quique terrigenae et filii hominum simul in unum dives et pauper (Whoever are earth-born, the sons of men, together in one rich and poor) Partial respond (sung by the choir) Ite obviam ei et dicite, Nuntia nobis si tu es ipse qui regnaturus es in populo Israel. (Go out to meet him and say, tell us if you are the one who is to reign over the people of Israel.)
2nd verse (sung by a boy) Qui regis Israel intende, qui deducis velut ovem Joseph (Hear, O shepherd of Israel, who leadest Joseph like a sheep) Partial respond (sung by the choir) Nuntia nobis si tu es ipse qui regnaturus es in populo Israel. (Tell us if you are the one who is to reign over the people of Israel.)
3rd verse (sung by a boy) Excita Domine potentiam tuam et veni ut salvos facias nos (Stir up your power O Lord and come that you may save us) Partial respond (sung by the choir) Qui regnaturus es in populo Israel. (O you who are to reign over the people of Israel.)
Half-doxology (sung by all three boys) Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto (Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost) Partial respond (sung by the choir) In populo Israel. (In the people of Israel.)
The three boys then sang Aspiciens a longe whereupon the choir took up the full respond: et
ecce video Dei potentian venientem et nebulam totam terram tegentem.
Ite obviam ei et dicite, Nuntia nobis si tu es ipse qui regnaturus es in
populo Israel. (I look from afar, and behold I see the power
of God coming, and a cloud covering the whole earth. Go out to meet him
and say, tell us if you are the one who is to reign over the people of
Israel.)
This responsory, Aspiciens a longe, has become familiar in the English-speaking world in an arrangement published in the second volume of Carols for Choirs edited by David Willcocks and John Rutter,[6] where it is given the title "Matin Responsory", and is set to music adapted from a setting by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina of the Nunc dimittis (free score of the Nunc dimittis here on CPDL) - and not of the Magnificat
as stated by the editors. The structure of the Willcocks/Rutter
arrangement, however, differs somewhat from what is shown above since it
does not repeat the refrain after each verse in the traditional
English way. For example, in the traditional English form (shown above)
after the first verse, the choir sings all the words of the refrain
from ite obviam ei to the end. In the Willcocks/Rutter
arrangement, on the other hand, after the first verse the choir sings
(in English translation) only the portion of the refrain corresponding
to the Latin words ite obviam ei et dicite.
And this is from the services of Mattins itself for the first Sunday in Advent, and from the "Trident 1570" version at Divinum Officium:
R.Aspíciens
a longe, ecce video Dei poténtiam veniéntem, et nébulam totam terram
tegéntem. * Ite obviam ei, et dícite: * Núntia nobis, si tu es ipse, *
Qui regnatúrus es in pópulo Israël. V.Quique terrígenæ, et fílii hóminum, simul in unum dives et pauper. Ite obviam et, et dícite. V.Qui regis Israël, inténde, qui dedúcis velut ovem Joseph. Núntia nobis, si tu es ipse. V.Tóllite portas, príncipes, vestras, et elevámini portæ æternáles, et introíbit Rex glóriæ. Qui regnatúrus es in pópulo Israël. V.Glória Patri, et Fílio, * et Spirítui Sancto. R.Aspíciens
a longe, ecce video Dei poténtiam veniéntem, et nébulam totam terram
tegéntem. * Ite obviam ei, et dícite: * Núntia nobis, si tu es ipse, *
Qui regnatúrus es in pópulo Israël.
R.I
look from afar, and behold I see the Power of God, coming like as a
cloud to cover the land with the hosts of his People: * Go ye out to
meet him and say: * Tell us if thou art he, * That shalt reign over
God's people Israel. V.All
ye that dwell in the world, all ye children of men, high and low, rich
and poor, one with another. Go ye out to meet him and say. V.Hear, O thou Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a sheep. Tell us if thou art he. V.Lift
up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors,
and the King of Glory shall come in. That shalt reign over God's people
Israel. V.Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost. R.I
look from afar, and behold I see the Power of God, coming like as a
cloud to cover the land with the hosts of his People: * Go ye out to
meet him and say: * Tell us if thou art he, * That shalt reign over
God's people Israel.
I haven't found a chant score for this so far; still looking. EDIT: I did finally find it, in the Liber Hymnarius:
I've never heard it used, but this Responsory is prescribed for use
upon the (re-)entrance into the church after the Palm Sunday procession,
just before the mass itself begins.
Here's an English translation from Cantica Nova; it's easy to see why it is used at this particular moment in the liturgy. The chant score is below.
R.
As the Lord entered the holy city, the children of the Hebrews
proclaimed the resurrection of life. Waving their branches of palm, they
cried: Hosanna in the highest.
V, When the people
heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, they went out to meet him.
Waving their branches of palm, they cried: Hosanna in the highest.
[The
assembly] followed the Rue Saint-Pierre, which led from the Benedictine
house of Saint-Père up the hill and into the upper town (haute ville).
Along the route the succentor intoned and the multitude sang after him a
succession of antiphons and responsories, the texts of which were
mainly reworkings of the four evangelists' accounts of Christ's entry
into Jerusalem: A. Ceperunt omnes, A. Cum audiesset populus, A. Ante sex dies, R. Cum audisset turbe, R. Dominus Jhesus ante sex dies, and R. Ingrediente domino.
At the Porte Cendreuse, one of the half-dozen gates leading through the
old walls into the upper town of Chartres, the clergy sang this last
responsory, Ingredient domino. This chant, a Matins responsory
of Palm Sunday at Chartres and elsewhere, was reserved for this special
moment of "entry into Jerusalem" here in Chartres and in most of the
other dioceses in northern France. Finally, as the procession passed
through the west door of the cathedral of Notre-Dame, the spiritual
theme, as communicated in the text of the plainsong, switched from on
extolling Christ's triumph to one honoring the Virgin Mary (A. Letare virgo v. Post partum virgo).
Ingrediente domino has definitely been used in this way at the Palm Sunday mass since at least the Tridentine (1570) era (see this page; change the date to 4-13-2014); however, I have not been able to find Ingrediente dominolisted as a Palm Sunday Matins Responsory at Divinum Officium (or anywhere else), as described in the above paragraph. [EDIT: I was wondering here why this was called a "Responsory," rather than an antiphon. Fr. Michael in comments points out that "It's a responsory because it has a Verse, sung by the cantor alone, and
then everyone again sings the latter half of the first portion." I hadn't ever really understood what defined a "Responsory" in particular, or why it was different from the many other kinds of call-response chants that exist - so thanks much to him.]
Although
this was a standard liturgical practice - to change to chants honoring
the patron of the church at the moment of entry - the transition from
chants for Palm Sunday to one for the Virgin is of interest here, for it
occurred beneath a similar thematic transition represented in sculpture
and glass. The typmpanum of the west side of the famous royal portal,
as is well known, is constructed around an imposing sculpture of Christ
in Majesty surrounded by four apocalyptic animals symbolizing the four
evangelists. Those in the procession celebrating the First Coming of
Christ looked up to vision of the ultimate prophecy, the majestic Second
Coming of Christ, when He would judge the quick and the dead.
Passing
through the portal and into the church, the sudden darkness brought to
light, then as now, three of the finest examples of stained glass ever
created, the dazzling twelfth-century lancet windows immediately below
the great west rose. The largest and most central of these lancet
windows, the one directly above the royal portal, is the Incarnation
Window, which recounts the story of the principal events in the life of
Christ up to, but not including, His passion and resurrection. At the
top of the central Incarnation Window are three panels depicting
Christ's entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. The telling in glass of
the story of Palm Sunday concludes the history of His earthly life.
Accordingly, these panels are then immediately surmounted by a great
crowned Virgin and Child in Glory, a fitting capstone to the theme of
the Word made flesh. Thus, just as the processional chants proceed from
a theme commemorating Christ's final triumphant arrival to one honoring
the Virgin, so the sculpture and stained glass directly above the heads
of the clergy and laity of Chartres depict the same subjects. At this
moment musical and visual arts stood in perfect harmony.
As
the faithful reentered the cathedral the bells of the church rang
again. Inside a candelabrum holding seven candles was illuminated, and
the crosses and relics were left uncovered for the remainder of the
day. Having entered the chancel and mounted to their choir stalls, the
canons and chaplains of the cathedral again celebrated the office of
Terce, just as they had earlier that morning at Saint-Cheron. High Mass
then immediately followed.
Finally, this is the "great crowned Virgin and Child in Glory" at the top of the window, described above:
Here's some general introductory stuff about the Palm Sunday procession, from the beginning of the same chapter:
The
origin of the Palm Sunday procession in the Latin West can be traced
back to Jerusalem and the scriptural account of Christ's triumphant
entry into the Holy City as a prelude to His final great work of
Redemption. The joyful scene, described in varying degrees of detail in
the four Gospels, naturally lent itself to vivid re-creation. As early
as the late fourth century the nun Egeria, a pilgrim to the Holy Land
from Spain or southern France, observed the people of Jerusalem
reenacting the entry of the conquering Christ. From the top of the
Mount of Olives they led their bishop back to the celestial City, the
children running before him shouting "Blessed is he who comes in the
name of the Lord." From Jerusalem the Palm Sunday ceremony moved
westward, to th elands of the Gallican rite, undoubtedly carried by
pilgrims such as Egeria and by later monastic refugees fleeing the Holy
Lands. The Bobbio Missal, a Gallican source of the early eighth
century, contains a blessing of the palms ("Benedictio palme et olivae
super altario"), which implies that a procession followed thereafter
(Hermann Graef 1959, II; and Tyrer 1932, 50). And although there are
suggestions that a procession was known in Spain by this time, documents
of the ninth century originating in northern France are the first to
prove incontrovertibly its existence. Most important among these is the
statement by Amalarius of Metz indicating that the tradition of a Palm
Sunday procession was already widespread. Later, the custom was carried
into Italy, though apparently not until the twelfth century was it
officially adopted in Rome.
Thus, invoking Amalarius as
the witness, we can say with confidence that the clergy of the
principal monasteries and cathedrals of the Carolingian Empire were
accustomed to celebrate Palm Sunday with an appropriate procession by
the ninth century.
Accordingly
at the seventh hour all the people go up to the Mount of Olives, that
is, to Eleona, and the bishop with them, to the church, where hymns and
antiphons suitable to the day and to the place are said, and lessons in
like manner. And when the ninth hour approaches they go up with hymns to
the Imbomon, that is, to the place whence the Lord ascended into
heaven, and there they sit down, for all the people are always bidden to
sit when the bishop is present; the deacons alone always stand. Hymns
and antiphons suitable to the day and to the place are said,
interspersed with lections and prayers.
And as the
eleventh hour approaches, the passage from the Gospel is read, where the
children, carrying branches and palms, met the Lord, saying; Blessed is
He that cometh in the name of the Lord, and the bishop immediately
rises, and all the people with him, and they all go on foot from the top
of the Mount of Olives, all the people going before him with hymns and
antiphons, answering one to another: Blessed is He that cometh in the
name of the Lord.
And all the children in the
neighbourhood, even those who are too young to walk, are carried by
their parents on their shoulders, all of them bearing branches, some of
palms and some of olives, and thus the bishop is escorted in the same
manner as the Lord was of old.
For all, even those of
rank, both matrons and men, accompany the bishop all the way on foot in
this manner, making these responses, from the top of the mount to the
city, and thence through the whole city to the Anastasis, going very
slowly lest the people should be wearied; and thus they arrive at the
Anastasis at a late hour. And on arriving, although it is late,
lucernare takes place, with prayer at the Cross; after which the people
are dismissed.
As you can see,
the procession in Jerusalem was stational; it moved from place to place
on the way to the Church of the Resurrection (called "the Anastasis" by
Egeria) many hours later. This was also the case in the Chartres
procession; in fact, the route of the procession was laid out to recall
the geography of Jerusalem itself. Again according to "The Palm Sunday Procession in Medieval Chartres," and moving back to the beginning of the procession as it leaves the cathedral:
To
the sounds of now a great general pealing, they exited [the cathedral]
through the royal west door, preceded by crosses, Gospel books for the
clergy of each church, and feretories bearing the relics of saints. The
succentor soon sang forth the incipit of the first of the responsoria de historia,
the succession of nine great responsories that tell the story of
Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem. This cycle had already been
sung at the cathedral that morning at Matins and now was chanted again
as the procession made its way through the streets of Chartres. Moving
towards the east, the assembly passed beyond the walls of the city and
to the first station, a cemetery outside the priory of Saint-Barthélemy,
where it was joined by processions coming from other churches. The
route of the procession had obviously been chosen so as to traverse a
topography reminiscent of that of ancient Jerusalem. The cemetery at
Saint-Barthélemy corresponds to Golgotha, the site of Christ's
crucifixion to the east and beyond the walls of Jerusalem. From there
the procession of Chartres ascended a hill to the abbey church of
Saint-Cheron. Again, the topography was perfectly chosen.
Saint-Cheron, then as now, sits atop a hill, a substitute Mount of
Olives, whence one can see the celestial Jerusalem of Chartres some four
kilometers distant to the west.
.....
At
the great cross in the cemetery the clergy and populace stopped in
station and divided themselves into two distinct performing groups. The
bishop, cantor, priests, and deacons, and the multitude of townsfolk (populus multus)
remained on the est side of the cross looking west. The succentor,
subdeacons, and choir-boys, all in a prearranged order, moved to their
customary place (consuetus locus) on the west side and faced the
other group to the east. With the choirboys singing the verses and the
bishop's group and succentor's group alternating with the refrain, the
chanted the ninth-century processional hymn Gloria laus et honor [Palm Sunday: Gloria, laus et honor tibi ("All Glory, Laud, and Honor")]. This antiphonal singing of the Gloria laus was a musical and dramatic high point of the ceremony.
Sounds great! And this was followed by an "Adoration of the Cross," including prostrations, to the singing of antiphons.
Here's another chant version of the responsory, sung by Giovanni Viannini:
And here's a polyphonic setting by Pandolfo Zallamella (1551 - 1591), sung by the Czech group Dyškanti: "Sacred Music from the Rosenberg Library," 14 May 2011 at the Church of the Virgin Mary in Ceské Budejovice:
The name dies cinerum (day of ashes) which it bears in the Roman Missal
is found in the earliest existing copies of the Gregorian Sacramentary
and probably dates from at least the eighth century. On this day all
the faithful according to ancient custom are exhorted to approach the altar before the beginning of Mass, and there the priest, dipping his thumb into ashes previously blessed, marks the forehead — or in case of clerics upon the place of the tonsure — of each the sign of the cross, saying the words: "Remember man that thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return." The ashes used in this ceremony are made by burning the remains of the palms blessed on the Palm Sunday of the previous year. In the blessing of the ashes four prayers are used, all of them ancient. The ashes are sprinkled with holy water and fumigated with incense. The celebrant himself, be he bishop or cardinal, receives, either standing or seated, the ashes from some other priest, usually the highest in dignity of those present. In earlier ages a penitentialprocession often followed the rite of the distribution of the ashes, but this is not now prescribed.
There can be no doubt that the custom of distributing the ashes to all the faithful arose from a devotional imitation of the practice observed in the case of public penitents. But this devotional usage, the reception of a sacramental which is full of the symbolism of penance (cf. the cor contritum quasi cinis of the "Dies Irae") is of earlier date than was formerly supposed. It is mentioned as of general observance for both clerics and faithful in the Synod of Beneventum, 1091 (Mansi, XX, 739), but nearly a hundred years earlier than this the Anglo-Saxon homilist Ælfric assumes that it applies to all classes of men. "We read", he says,
in the books both in the Old Law and in the New that the men who repented of their sins bestrewed themselves with ashes and clothed their bodies with sackcloth. Now let us do this little at the beginning of our Lent that we strew ashes upon our heads to signify that we ought to repent of our sins during the Lenten fast.
And then he enforces this recommendation by the terrible example of a man who refused to go to church for the ashes on Ash Wednesday and who a few days after was accidentally killed in a boar hunt (Ælfric, Lives of Saints, ed. Skeat, I, 262-266). It is possible that the notion of penance which was suggested by the rite of Ash Wednesday was was reinforced by the figurative exclusion from the sacred mysteries symbolized by the hanging of the Lenten veil before the sanctuary. But on this and the practice of beginning the fast on Ash Wednesday see LENT.
Ad benedictionem et impositionem cinerum
Antiphona: Cf. Ioel 2, 13 Immutemur habitu (1m21.5s - 1276 kb) score
Responsorium: Cf. Bar. 3,2. V. Ps. 78,9 Emendemus in melius (2m24.7s - 2264 kb) score
Ad liturgiam eucharisticam
Offertorium: Ps. 29, 2.3 Exaltabo te (1m37.7s - 1528 kb) score
Communio: Ps. 1, 2b.3b Qui meditabitur (45.3s - 710 kb) score
Here are posts on Chantblog about other propers on the day:
I wanted to call attention to this fantastic post for Candlemas at Fides Quaerens Intellectum.
I'm just reblogging here the portion with the video, the text, and a
bit of the post itself; I'd very much encourage you, though, to click
over and read the whole thing.
For
the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin Mary and the Presentation
of the Lord in the Temple, a Responsory for the Virgin by St. Hildegard
of Bingen
V. O clarissima
mater sancte medicine,
tu ungenta
per sanctum Filium tuum
infudisti
in plangentia vulnera mortis,
que Eva edificavit
in tormenta animarum.
Tu destruxisti mortem,
edificando vitam.
R. Ora pro nobis
ad tuum natum,
stella maris, Maria.
V. O radiant bright,
O mother of a holy medicine,
your ointments
through your holy Son
you’ve poured
upon the plangent wounds of death,
by Eve constructed
as torture chambers of the soul.
This death you have destroyed
by building life.
R. Pray for us
to your child,
O sea star Mary.
V. O vivificum instrumentum
et letum ornamentum
et dulcedo omnium deliciarum,
que in te non deficient.
R. Ora pro nobis
ad tuum natum,
stella maris, Maria.
Gloria Patri et Filio
et Spiritui sancto.
R. Ora pro nobis
ad tuum natum,
stella maris, Maria.
V. O instrument of life
and joyful ornament,
and sweetener of all delights,
that in you will not fail.
R. Pray for us
to your child,
O sea star Mary.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit.
R. Pray for us
to your child,
O sea star Mary.
As the Feast of the
Presentation and Purification (Candlemas) places the final cap on the
lengthy season of celebrating the Incarnation in its first small steps,
it seems appropriate to look today at this responsory, which is
closely linked with the responsory with which we began Advent more than
two months ago, Ave Maria, o auctrix vita
(Symphonia 8). Their most consonant shared theme is Hildegard’s
treatment of the paired relationship between Mary and Eve, which in both
of these pieces uses the peculiar imagery of architecture—Eve
constructing one set of buildings, e.g. the “torture chambers of the
soul;” and Mary tearing down those mortal halls and building life in
their place.
Despite the arresting image of “the wounds
of death” themselves lamenting their pain as Eve built them into our
torments and tortures, however, this piece devotes more thematic space
to the opening image of Mary’s role as healer of those wounds. The
lengthy melismas of the opening five lines confirm the piece’s focus,
especially as tu ungenta both reaches to the piece’s next-to-highest note and introduces a key motif repeated once on sanctum Filium and twice on infudisti.
Indeed, the lengthy melisma on that verb draws particular attention to
this other even more arresting image that invests the Virgin Mother
with significant salvific agency: Mary herself pours out the ointment
through her Son upon the wounds of death.[2]
We see here Hildegard’s symbolist theological mind in action as she
identifies Mary’s mediation of the Incarnation as mother with the
doctor’s mediation of the healing powers of medicinal balm.
Much more at the link. Go read! I'm sure you'll want to add Fides Quaerens Intellectum.to your blog list, too.
Immutemur habitu and Emendemus in melius are an antiphon and responsory sung during the imposition of ashes at the Ash Wednesday Liturgy.
First, here's Immutemur habitu:
Here's the full chant score:
Divinum Officum provides, in addition to its Daily Office texts, the mass texts for everything from "Trident 1570" to "1960 NewCalendar" (which to me is just plain amazing!). This text doesn't show up in this form until "Rubrics 1960," so I'm not quite sure where it might have come from.
I've read in several places - including on the DO site - that this text come from Joel 2:13 (and another section, not used here, from Joel 2:17) - but I disagree! Joel 2:13 is the famous "Rend your hearts and not your garments," which has really nothing to do with the text here:
Immutemur habitu in cinere et cilicio; jejunemus, et ploremus ante Dominum; quia multum misericors est dimittere peccata nostra Deus noster.
Let us change our garments for ashes and sackcloth; let us fast and lament before the Lord; for our God is plentious in mercy to forgive our sins.
(Translation supplied by The St. Ann Choir, directed by William Mahrt)
In fact, I've written on "let us change our garments for ashes and sackcloth" before. This citation actually originates, I believe, in Jerusalem, Surge, the second of the Tenebrae Responsories for Holy Saturday (which itself is an "answer" to the Advent 2 Communion song of the same name). It's a constructed text, which CPDL says originates in Jonah 3:6 and Lamentations of Jeremiah 2:18. Here's that Tenebrae Jerusalem, surge; as you can see, "the changing of garments" and cinere et cilicio make the same appearance, in the same order:
Jerusalem, surge, et exue te vestibus jucunditatis; induere te cinere et cilicio: quia in te occisus est Salvator Israel. Deduc quasi torrentem lacrimas per diem et noctem, et non taceat pupilla oculi tui.
Arise, O Jerusalem, and put off thy garments of joy; put on ashes and sackcloth: For in thee was slain the Saviour of Israel. Shed thy tears like a torrent, day and night, and let not the apple of thine eye be dry.
There is a second antiphon prescribed for this part of the service (it's not included here - see the chant score above) that does come from Joel 2:17:
Juxta vestibulum et altare plorabunt sacerdotes et levitae, ministri Domini, dicentes: Parce Domine, parce populo tuo; et ne dissipes ora clamantium ad te, Domine.
Near the porch and the altar the priests and levites shall weep, the Lord's ministers, and shall say: Spare, O Lord, spare thy people; and do not scatter the mouths of those crying to thee, O Lord.
As mentioned, this verse is not included in this version of the antiphon but Cristobal Morales (for one) set this text and did include it. This is mysterious, to me; where and how was the text originally used? I don't know, at the moment, but am definitely on the hunt.
José Maurício Nunes García (1767 - 1830) set the text, and didn't include the second part, though:
I can tell you more about Emendemus in melius; it has, for a very long time (Divinum Officum cites it as "pre-Trident monastic"), been the verse-response that follows the fourth reading of Matins on the First Sunday in Lent. (I believe that Ash Wednesday as "the first day of Lent" is a rather later development, which may explain this Responsory showing up in both places now; I'll try to work this out and will return to this page to post what I find.)
The texts come from Esther 13 and Joel 2, according to this page at CPDL. I'm not exactly clear on what "Esther 13" actually is; apparently some of Esther appeared two centuries after the rest of the book, and not in Hebrew but in Greek. This extra material was found in, I believe, the Septuagint and then the Latin Vulgate, but was expunged - or perhaps included with the Apocrypha - after the Reformation. I am going to have to go through these extra chapters to see if I can find the text cited.
Emendemus in melius quae ignoranter peccavimus; ne subito praeoccupati die mortis, quaeramus spatium poenitentiae, et invenire non possimus. Attende, Domine, et miserere; quia peccavimus tibi. Adjuva nos, Deus salutaris noster, et propter honorem nominis tui libera nos.
Let us amend for the better in those things in which we have sinned through ignorance; lest suddenly overtaken by the day of death, we seek space for repentance, and be not able to find it.
Hearken, O Lord, and have mercy: for we have sinned against thee. Help us, O God of our salvation, and for the honour of thy name deliver us.
(English translation by William Mahrt)
(Ps. 78:9; Distribution of Ashes, Ash Wednesday; First Sunday of Lent, Matins Responsory; cf. Esther 13, Joel 2)
They sure like citing Joel 2 for these propers, don't they? Again, I demur. I'm not certain yet about the first half of the text - but as you can clearly see, the second part of this Responsory is nothing more than the refrain of "The Lent Prose"! That is:
Attende Domine, et miserere, quia peccavimus tibi.
Hear us O Lord, have mercy upon us, For we have sinned against thee.
William Byrd (among others) set this text; here's his version, sung (according to notes at the YouTube page) :
Deller Consort directed by Mark Deller singing a cappella: Rosemary Hardy, Elizabeth Lane - soprano Mark Deller, Christopher Royall - countertenor Paul Elliott, Rogers Covey-Crump - tenor Maurice Bevan - baritone Michael George - bass
Here's the Ash Wednesday entry from the Catholic Encyclopedia 1913:
The name dies cinerum (day of ashes) which it bears in the Roman Missal is found in the earliest existing copies of the Gregorian Sacramentary and probably dates from at least the eighth century. On this day all the faithful according to ancient custom are exhorted to approach the altar before the beginning of Mass, and there the priest, dipping his thumb into ashes previously blessed, marks the forehead — or in case of clerics upon the place of the tonsure — of each the sign of the cross, saying the words: "Remember man that thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return." The ashes used in this ceremony are made by burning the remains of the palms blessed on the Palm Sunday of the previous year. In the blessing of the ashes four prayers are used, all of them ancient. The ashes are sprinkled with holy water and fumigated with incense. The celebrant himself, be he bishop or cardinal, receives, either standing or seated, the ashes from some other priest, usually the highest in dignity of those present. In earlier ages a penitentialprocession often followed the rite of the distribution of the ashes, but this is not now prescribed.
There can be no doubt that the custom of distributing the ashes to all the faithful arose from a devotional imitation of the practice observed in the case of public penitents. But this devotional usage, the reception of a sacramental which is full of the symbolism of penance (cf. the cor contritum quasi cinis of the "Dies Irae") is of earlier date than was formerly supposed. It is mentioned as of general observance for both clerics and faithful in the Synod of Beneventum, 1091 (Mansi, XX, 739), but nearly a hundred years earlier than this the Anglo-Saxon homilist Ælfric assumes that it applies to all classes of men. "We read", he says,
in the books both in the Old Law and in the New that the men who repented of their sins bestrewed themselves with ashes and clothed their bodies with sackcloth. Now let us do this little at the beginning of our Lent that we strew ashes upon our heads to signify that we ought to repent of our sins during the Lenten fast.
And then he enforces this recommendation by the terrible example of a man who refused to go to church for the ashes on Ash Wednesday and who a few days after was accidentally killed in a boar hunt (Ælfric, Lives of Saints, ed. Skeat, I, 262-266). It is possible that the notion of penance which was suggested by the rite of Ash Wednesday was was reinforced by the figurative exclusion from the sacred mysteries symbolized by the hanging of the Lenten veil before the sanctuary. But on this and the practice of beginning the fast on Ash Wednesday see LENT.
Ad benedictionem et impositionem cinerum Antiphona: Cf. Ioel 2, 13 Immutemur habitu (1m21.5s - 1276 kb) Responsorium: Cf. Bar. 3,2. V. Ps. 78,9 Emendemus in melius (2m24.7s - 2264 kb)
Ad liturgiam eucharisticam Offertorium: Ps. 29, 2.3 Exaltabo te (1m37.7s - 1528 kb) Communio: Ps. 1, 2b.3b Qui meditabitur (45.3s - 710 kb)
Here are posts on this site about other propers on the day:
The English Tudor period composer John Sheppard's "Laudem dicite Deo" was composed as a respond to be given at First Vespers on All Saints' Day
Text: Latin
Laudem dicite Deo nostro omnes sancti eius, et qui timetis Deum, pusilli et magni: quoniam regnavit Dominus Deus noster omnipotens. Gaudeamus et exsultemus et demus gloriam ei. Genus electum, gens sancta, populus acquisitionis, memores memorum laudate Deum. Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto.
English Translation
Speak praise to our God, all you who are his saints, and all who fear God, both small and great: for our Lord God almighty is king. Let us rejoice and exult and give him glory. O chosen race, O holy nation, O you people who are his, be mindful of God and praise him. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
The first part of the respond, Laudem dicite Deo nostro omnes sancti eius, et qui timetis Deum, pusilli et magni: quoniam regnavit Dominus Deus noster omnipotens. Gaudeamus et exsultemus et demus gloriam ei, existed as an antiphon used on All Saints' Day in various places (and in the Antiphonale Sarisburiense); see the Cantus database for a listing of some of these. Here's an image of the chant score there - from, it says, Augsburg in around 1580:
This is coded "V2" at that site; I'm assuming this is 2nd Vespers - but I've found this antiphon used at Lauds and Matins as well, in other sources.
I'm interested in learning more about what Sheppard was up to in writing this as a Vespers "respond." It's incredibly beautiful - Sheppard is quite amazing, in my opinion! - but would like to understand how it was used; responsories are sometimes used today as processionals. He lived, of course, during the time of the English Reformation and the writing of the first Book of Common Prayer.
There's quite a bit more about Sheppard here at this Hyperion Records page. His works, apparently, had been lost for a long time, and there's not much known about him even now, except that he was "appointed informator choristarum at Magdalen College, Oxford, in 1543, and that he was a Gentlemen of the Chapel Royal in the 1550s." The article also notes that "With the exception of a handful of works for the Anglican church, Sheppard’s surviving output consists entirely of Latin music for the Sarum rite: Masses, responds and hymns."
I will try to find out more about this piece. Meantime, enjoy it for All Saints' Day - in my view, one of the greatest feasts of the year.
