A Lauds antiphon for Advent: Ecce Dominus veniet ("Behold the Lord comes")

Ecce Dominus veniet ("Behold the Lord comes") is a Psalm antiphon at Lauds on the First Sunday of Advent.



 These are the words, from CPDL:

Ecce dominus veniet et omnes sancti ejus cum eo
et erit in die illa lux magna alleluia.

Behold, the Lord comes and all his saints with him
and on that day there will be great light, alleluia.

(The Psalm verses sung here come from Psalm 148:

1  Alleluja. Laudate Dominum de caelis; laudate eum in excelsis.
2  Laudate eum, omnes angeli ejus; laudate eum, omnes virtutes ejus.)

So here's a clear example of a text referring to the Second Coming, as was (and still is) the theme in late Pentecost (or Trinity) and early Advent.   The footnote at the Roman Breviary (1879) says that the text comes from Zechariah 14:5-6 - and that's this:

5 And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.

6 On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost.

Intriguing to see that the text of the antiphon reverses the second verse of the citation!  I love it when that happens.  Although I should point out, too, that a footnote at verse six notes that "Compare Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate, Targum; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain."  And that verse 7 goes on to say:

And there shall be a unique^[b] day, which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light.

So perhaps it doesn't actually count as a "reversal."  It's an odd text in any case.

It's interesting to look at the other 4 Psalm antiphons for this day, too.  Here are all 5, which show up various arrangements of order in the manuscripts below:

1.  In illa die * stillabunt montes dulcedinem, et colles fluent lac et mel, alleluia.

2.  Iucundare * filia Sion, et exsulta satis filia Ierusalem, alleluia.

3.  Ecce Dominus veniet, * et omnes Sancti eius cum eo et erit in die illa lux magna, alleluia.

4.  Omnes sitientes * venite ad aquas quaerite Dominum, dum inveniri potest, alleluia.

5.  Ecce veniet * Propheta magnus, et ipse renovabit Ierusalem, alleluia.

1.  In that day * the mountains shall drop down sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk and honey. Alleluia.

2. Sing, O daughter of Zion, * and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. Alleluia.

3.  Behold, the LORD shall come, * and all His saints with Him ; and it shall come to pass in that day that the light shall be great. Alleluia.

4.  Ho, every one that thirsteth * come ye to the waters : seek ye the LORD while He may be found. Alleluia.

5.  Behold, a great Prophet * shall arise, and He shall build up a new Jerusalem. Alleluia.

These texts are all taken from the various Prophets of Advent:  Zechariah, Joel, Isaiah.  And they all do allude to both the First and Second Coming; that's one of the great things about Advent, to me:  it's not just one thing - and it's cosmic in a way that no other season really is.

At Cantus database, I've found some good, clear instances of Ecce Dominus veniet; it's quite easy to read and follow along with the scores.  You'll see that this melody is indeed the same as what's on the video, and is quite consistent between the manuscripts, too.   The antiphons all start with a highly decorated, larger capital letter, often in another color.

 
For instance, here's a page from a Fourteenth-century antiphoner from Klosterneuburg, Austria, used at the Augustiner-Chorherrenstift.  Ecce Dominus veniet is the 4th Lauds antiphon:

This one comes from the same monastery, but is 200 years earlier ("Twelfth-century antiphoner from Klosterneuburg, Austria").  Interesting to note the difference in musical notation styles!  This is the old style chant notation:

This one's from the Antiphonarium Benedictinum (1400), which comes from the Abbey of Sankt Lambrecht (Steiermark, Austria); here, Ecce Dominus veniet is the 3rd Lauds antiphon.

And this last one is from Einsiedeln, Stiftsbibliothek / Codex 611(89) – Antiphonarium pro Ecclesia Einsidlensi / f. 3r. ("14th-century antiphoner from the monastery of Einsiedeln, Switzerland.")  Ecce Dominus veniet was the 3rd Lauds antiphon at this monastery, too.

One of the interesting things, to me, about this text is that it shows up again, as the 2nd Responsory at Matins on Advent 2 - but includes another interesting bit of content:

R. Ecce Dominus veniet, et omnes Sancti ejus cum eo, et erit in die illa lux magna: et exibunt de Jerusalem sicut aqua munda: et regnabit Dominus in aeternum
* Super omnes gentes.
V. Ecce Dominus cum virtute veniet: et regnum in manu ejus, et potestas, et imperium.
R. Super omnes gentes.

R. Behold, the Lord shall come, and all His saints with Him, and it shall come to pass in that day that the light shall be great; and they shall go out from Jerusalem like clean water; and the Lord shall be King for ever,
* Over all the earth.
V. Behold, the Lord cometh with an host, and in His hand are the kingdom, and power, and dominion.
R. Over all the earth.

Recall that  Advent 2 is notable for its inclusion of references to Jerusalem, something I talked about last year.    Dom Dominic Johner points out, in his Chants of the Vatican Gradual, that:

[On Advent 2] the Introit, Gradual, and Communion speak of Sion, i.e., of Jerusalem.  The Alleluia-verse also alludes to this.  For at Rome the principal service was held in the Church of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, close to the Lateran.  It was a royal palace; now it shelters a most venerable relic of the holy cross.  Our present Sion is the Catholic Church.  It is also our individual soul, and likewise the church building in which we look for the Redeemer today.  Here it is that we are being prepared for the heavenly Sion.

And so we have a preview of that emphasis on Sion at Matins by the addition of the extra text to the previous Sunday's Lauds antiphon, Ecce Dominus veniet: 

Behold, the Lord comes and all his saints with him
and on that day there will be great light, alleluia.

And shall go out from Jerusalem, like pure water.
And the Lord shall reign for ever over all the nations.

The reference to "pure water" is another bit of text from Zechariah 14 - this time, from verse 8:

On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter.

(Revelation 22:1 picks up the theme later on, too:

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb....)

I wish I had a sound file of this Responsory, but alas - I don't.  My plan going forward is to create files in MuseScore and post them, though; it'll be electronic music and without words, but at least we'll get the sense of how the chants sounded.

But Hieronymus Praetorius set this text, and I can post a video of that piece:



Here are all the mass propers for Advent 2, from ChristusRex.org and sung by the monks of St. Benedict's Monastery, Sao Paulo, Brazil:

Hebdomada secunda adventus
Dominica Introitus: Cf. Is. 30, 19.30; Ps. 79 Populus Sion (3m15.8s - 3061 kb) score
Graduale: Ps. 40, 2.3. V. 5 Ex Sion (2m50.7s - 2675 kb) score
Alleluia: Ps. 121, 1 Lætatus sum (2m11.2s - 2057 kb) score
Offertorium: Ps. 84, 7.8 Deus, tu convertens (2m01.6s - 1901 kb) score
Communio: Bar. 5, 5; 4, 36 Ierusalem, surge cum Ps. 147, 12.13 (1m56.7s - 1825 kb) score

Here are posts on Chantblog for the Advent 2 Propers:

• The Introit:  Advent 2: Populus Sion ("People of Zion")
• The Advent 2 Gradual: Ex Sion ("Out of Zion")
• The Advent 2 Alleluia: Laetatus sum ("I was glad")
• The Advent 2 Offertory: Deus, tu convertens ("God, wilt Thou not turn again?")
•  The Communio:  Advent 2: Ierusalem Surge ("Arise, Jerusalem")
•  The Advent Office

Kyrie: Rex immense, Pater Pie

This Kyrie trope/motet comes from the Codex Calixtinus (or, as some call it - and more accurately, too! -  the Liber Sancti Jacobi).   This video comes from the Budapest Schola Cantorum; here's the information about it that they posted at the YouTube page:

Budapesti Énekes Iskola / Schola Cantorum Budapestiensis
Művészeti vezetők / Artistic directors: János MEZEI, Tamás BUBNÓ

Kyrie "Rex immensae" for two voice, from Codex Callixtinus

From the photos I've seen, the Schola appears to be a mixed choir of male and female voices, both young and older.  Very nice! 



Here are the words they are singing; I found them in a German Google book.  Interestingly, there is a bit of Greek mixed with the Latin text.

              Kyrie.
Fulbertus episcopus de sancto Jacobo.

 Rex immense, pater pie,
        eleison,
 Kyrie, eleìson,
 Palmo cuncta qui concludis,
        eleison,
         Kyrie, eleison,
  Sother, theos athanatos,
        eleison,
         Kyrie, eleison.

 Christe, fili patris summi,
      eleison,
        Christe, eleisou,
Qui de coelis descendisti,
      eleìson,
        Christe, eleison,
Tuum plasma redemisti,
      eleìson,
        Christe, eleison.

Consolator, dulcis amor,
      eleison,
        Kyrie, eleison,
Qui Jacobum illustraSti,
      eleison,
        Kyrie, eleison,
Cujus prece nobis parce,
      eleison,
        Kyrie, eleison.


Great King, gentle father,
        have mercy,
      Lord have mercy,
 You hold all things in your hand,
        have mercy,
      Lord have mercy,
  Savior, immortal God,
        have mercy,
      Lord have mercy.


 Christ, Son of the Most High,
        have mercy,
      Christ have mercy,
He came down from heaven,     
       have mercy,
     Christ have mercy,
You have redeemed your creatures,
      have mercy,
    Christ have mercy.


Comforter, sweet love,
      have mercy,
    Lord have mercy,
You are illumined by James,
      have mercy,
    Lord have mercy,
By his prayer spare us,
      have mercy ,
    Lord have mercy.


The words are also here, at a Wikisource site about the Codex Calixtinus; there are some misspellings there, though.

This Kyrie is apparently contained in in an appendix to the Codex.   (I have not been able to find a full digital copy of this manuscript online so far, so this is just an assumption on my part.)   A note at this page says (in reference to the organum included in the Codex) that:

It is possible that the Benedictines of Cluny (France) assembled this collection from various sources and presented it to the Cathedral of Santiago.  The concluding appendix to the codex contains 20 polyphonic pieces and one more appears in the main body of the codex.

Kyrie: Rex Immense is a trope on the Mass 12 (Pater cuncta) Kyrie.  A trope is a musical composition in which something new - either music or text, or both - added to an original chant.

In most cases, the original chant - the Kyrie, in this case - became melismatic (ornate in melody) over time; that is, musical ornament was, over the course of years, added to a simple Kyrie eleison chant.    (The ornament here is in the wandering melody of the "Kyrie" and "Christe" sections.)

Later on (or at the same time), words were written to the melodic ornament on the simple chant; the words - and perhaps the melody? - for this particular Kyrie are apparently attributed to Bishop Fulbert of Chartres.  Fulbert actually lived from the middle of the tenth century until 1028, two full centuries before the era of the Liber Sancti Jacobi (12th Century), so this attribution may not be accurate - although Fulbert was a hymn-writer.  (One of his compositions was the familiar Ye Choirs of New Jerusalem.)

(Just to note:  Mass 12 may originally have been known as Mass 13; I'm finding several references that may indicate this.)

Here's the Mass 12 Kyrie itself:



Here's a score:

Here's a page at DIAMM with some information about the LSJ - although, again, no images of the manuscript itself.  (You can apparently see a few images at this Wikipedia page, though.  I'm not sure where these are coming from.)  This Kyrie is listed as piece #16, folio 189.  (Which is, perhaps, otherwise known as folio 218!  Really, I have no idea, since I can't see what's going on.)

In this video, you can see and hear the original chant, as well as the trope; listen for the complete "Kyrie eleison" and "Christe eleison" chants.  These are included in the words I cited above, but are left out in the video above.




And another, similar interpretation (to start with, anyway!), from Ensemble Nu:n, a favorite group of mine.   They mix medieval chant and jazz improvisation, always to interesting effect.  How could I not like them?

The Second Alleluia for the 3rd Sunday in Easter: Oportebat Pati Christum ("It behoved Christ to suffer")

Here's this chant, beautifully sung by the Benedictine Nuns of Notre-Dame de l'Annonciation, Le Barroux:




Here's the full chant score:

Here's a literal-ish translation of this text:

It was necessary for Christ to suffer, and to rise again from the dead, and so to enter into his glory.

This Latin Vulgate/English translation of Luke 24:26 and Luke 24:46 shows how this text is a mashup of two different verses:

24

26

Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and so, to enter into his glory?

nonne haec oportuit pati Christum et ita intrare in gloriam suam

24

46

And he said to them: Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer and to rise again from the dead, the third day:

et dixit eis quoniam sic scriptum est et sic oportebat Christum pati et resurgere a mortuis die tertia

And this section of Luke, which follows on from the Year A reading for this Sunday describing the supper at Emmaus, is in fact read on this day; the action here, though, takes place back in Jerusalem:

Luke 24:36b-48

Jesus himself stood among the disciples and their companions and said to them, "Peace be with you." They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, "Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence.

Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you-- that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things."

The collect for today is this one, also read on Wednesday of Easter Week:

O God, whose blessed Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread: Open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all his redeeming work; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Hatchett's Commentary says, about the collect, that:

This is a revised version of the collect for the Monday in Easter Week of the 1928 Book, composed by the Rev. Dr. John W. Suter, St.  It is associated with the story of our Lord's appearance to the disciples at Emmaus after the resurrection , when He made Himself known "in the breaking of bread" (Lk 24:35).  The original form of the result clause read, "The we may behold thee in all thy works."  This collect is also appointed for the third Sunday of Easter.

The chant propers for the Easter season seem to have been shifted around quite a bit from the old, Tridentine, version.  Some of these chants were once used for the "Third Sunday after Easter," which I think means that the numbering system was different then as well.  I'll have to take a closer look at that at some point.

Here are a couple of images from a very interesting old chant book housed, I believe, in the Bamberg State Library in Germany.  This chant begins at the bottom of the first page here and continues at the top of the second:

The book itself is quite unusual!  Here's a side-view image of its binding, followed by - if I'm not mistaken - images of its front and back covers.

It looks to me like the book's covers are made of wood, and those are carved images.

I don't read German very well, so can't really follow what's being said there; I don't know what this book actually is - but I can make some guesses.    This page, at the (French) gregorien.info site, links to it and refers to it as "Bamberg, D-BAa lit. 7, Cantatorium de Seeon," which I think probably refers to "Kloster-Seeon," a one-time Benedictine monastery "in the municipality of Seeon-Seebruck in the rural district of Traunstein in Bavaria, Germany."
And, according to this page, "a ‘cantatorium’ is a book that contains the gradual and alleluia chants that a soloist would perform during the Mass."

More, I cannot tell you at this moment; if I do find out something else, I'll come back and post it, as always.


Here are all the chants for this Sunday's mass, from ChristusRex.org, and sung by the Sao Paolo
Benedictines:

Hebdomada tertia paschæ
Dominica Introitus: Ps. 65, 1.2.3 Iubilate Deo (2m58.9s - 2798 kb) score
Alleluia: Lc. 24, 35 Cognoverunt discipuli (2m40.0s - 2504 kb) score
Alleluia: Lc. 24, 32 Oportebat (3m20.3s - 3132 kb) score
Offertorium: Ps. 145, 2 Lauda, anima mea (1m33.8s - 1468 kb) score
Communio:
(anno A) Lc. 24, 34 Surrexit Dominus (44.8s - 702 kb) score
                   (anno B)Ps. 95, 2 Cantate Domino (1m22.5s - 1292 kb) score
                   (anno C) Io. 21, 15.17 Simon Ioannis (1m23.7s - 1310 kb)

Here are posts for the some of the chants for this day on Chantblog:

• The Introit for the Third Sunday of Easter: Jubilate Deo
• Cognoverunt discipuli: The First Alleluia for the Third Sunday in Easter
• The Second Alleluia for the 3rd Sunday in Easter: Oportebat Pati Christum ("It behoved Christ to suffer")..

Seen and heard Sunday at Divine Service

The very beautiful collect for Proper 21:

O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity: Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we, running to obtain your promises, may become partakers of your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Hatchett's Commentary says, about this collect, that:

The Gallican Missale Gothicum includes this as the initial prayer of the first of six Sunday Masses (no. 477); it is the first prayer of the sixth of sixteen Sunday Masses in the Gelasian sacramentary (no. 1198).  The supplement to the Gregorian appoints it (no. 1159) for the eleventh Sunday after (the) Pentecost (octave), and the Sarum missal and previous Prayer Books for the eleventh Sunday after Trinity.  It has undergone several revisions.  The 1549 version reads:

God, which declarest thy almighty power, most chiefly in showing mercy and pity; Give unto us abundantly thy grace that we, running to thy promises, may be made partakers of thy heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The words "mercy and pity" would be more literally translated "sparing and showing compassion."  "Give unto us abundantly thy grace" migth be more literally "multiply upon us your grace."

In 1662 the revised petition read:  "Mercifully grant unto us such a measure of thy grace, that we running the way of thy Commandments, may obtain thy gracrious promises, and be made partakers of thy heavenly treasure."  That revision seemed to make the receiving of heavenly treasure a reward for obedience to the commandments rather than a free gift of grace which we pray that we might run forward eagerly to receive.  In the present revision the collect is revised to make it similar to Cranmer's version.  The preamble states with striking force that the supreme demonstration of God's power is shown not in creation and providence, but in His redemptive love and mercy.

Here's a link to the Missale Gothicum at archive.org.

About the Missale Gothicum of the Gallican Rite:

The Missale Gothicum (Vatican, Queen Christina MSS. 317), described by Delisle, No. 3, is a manuscript dating from the end of the seventh century and once belonging to the Petau Library. The name is due to a fifteenth-century note at the beginning of the book, and hence it has been attributed by Tommasi and Mabillon to Narbonne, which was in the Visigothic Kingdom. Duchesne, judging by the inclusion of Masses for the feasts of St. Symphorian and St. Léger (d. 680), attributes it to Autun. The Masses are numbered, the MS. beginning with Christmas Eve, which is numbered "III". Probably there were once two Advent Masses, as in the "Missale Gallicanum". There are eighty-one numbered sections, of which the last is the first prayer of "Missa Romensif cottidiana", with which the MS. breaks off. The details of the Masses in this book are given in the section of the present article on the liturgical year. The Masses are all Gallican as to order, but many of the actual prayers are Roman. The "Missale Gothicum" has been printed by Tommasi (Codices Sacramentorum, Rome, 1680), Mabillon (De Liturgiâ Gallicanâ, Paris, 1685), Muratori (Liturgia Romana Vetus, Venice, 1748), Neale and Forbes (op. cit.), and Migne's "Patrologia Latina" (Vol. LXXII).

And then, at the Offertory:

 

Alleluia: Angelus domini

This comes, apparently, from the "Antiphonary tonary missal of St. Benigne" (also called "Antiphonarium Codex Montpellier" or "Tonary of Saint-Bénigne of Dijon"), H159.  I don't know who the singers here are,  but it's certainly lovely.



Here's a screen cap of the page in the manuscript (link below) from which this music comes; it's found in the section Alleluia Tetrarda Plagalis.  (Tetrarda Plagalis means something like "Fourth Tone, Second Type"; there were apparently 8 different kinds of melodies - i.e., "tones" - but divided into four 4 groups of two.  This I believe came out of the Byzantine system called oktoechos.)

Although as far as I can tell it doesn't say in the manuscript - it's organized by tone, rather than feast - this is obviously for use on Easter or during Eastertide.  The texts come from Matthew 28 and John 18:

Angelus enim[autem] Domini descendit de coelo, et accedens revolvit lapidem, et super eum sedit. 

Respondens autem angelus dixit mulieribus: Quem quaeritis? Illae autem dixerunt: Jesum Nazarenum.

An angel of the Lord came down from heaven, and rolled back the stone, and sat on it. 

And he asked them again, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.”

This manuscript is known as "Codex H. 159 de la Bibliothèque de l'École de médecine de Montpellier."  IMSPL has what it calls a Preface, Directories (monochrome); this looks to be an add-on analysis and Table-of-Contents to the manuscript itself, here as a 4.5MB PDF.  It also offers the Complete Codex (color scans), in a 20MB PDF; both of these are courtesy of the Boston Public Library, it says.   If I'm reading this correctly, I'm gathering that this was part of the Solesmes chant research project during the 19th Century; Dom Andre Mocquereau was editor of the Preface.  Clearly I need to look more closely at that project, and to learn more about it.

Quite amazing, actually, to be able to casually download these things from a thousand years ago and look them over at home.

Wikipedia has an extensive entry on the Antiphonary of St. Benigne, too; I'm gathering that this means H 159 is rather important among chant manuscripts.   Here are some quotes from that article:

The Antiphonary tonary missal of St. Benigne (also called Antiphonarium Codex Montpellier or Tonary of Saint-Bénigne of Dijon) was supposed to be written in the last years of the 10th century, when the Abbot William of Volpiano at St. Benignus of Dijon reformed the liturgy of several monasteries in Burgundy. The chant manuscript records mainly Western plainchant of the Roman-Frankish proper mass and part of the chant sung during the matins ("Gregorian chant"), but unlike the common form of the Gradual and of the Antiphonary, William organized his manuscript according to the chant genre (antiphons with psalmody, alleluia verses, graduals, offertories, and proses for the missal part), and theses sections were subdivided into eight parts according to the octoechos. This disposition followed the order of a tonary, but William of Volpiano wrote not only the incipits of the classified chant, he wrote the whole chant text with the music in central French neumes which were still written in campo aperto, and added a second alphabetic notation of his own invention for the melodic structure of the codified chant.

....

This particular type of a fully notated tonary only appeared in Burgundy and Normandy. It can be regarded as a characteristic document of a certain school founded by William of Volpiano, who was reforming abbot at St. Benignus of Dijon since 989. In 1001 he followed a request by Duke Richard II and became first abbot at the Abbey of Fécamp which was another reforming centre of monasticism in Normandy.

Here's a bit more about this manuscript itself:

The Tonary of Saint-Bénigne of Dijon is organized in a very rare form of a fully notated tonary, which serves like a fully notated music manuscript for mass (gradual) and office chant (antiphonary).^[8]

The first division of the chant book is between the book's gradual (fol. 13r-155v) and an antiphonary fragment (fol. 156r-162v) which has the Matins for Palm Sunday, St. Blasius and St. Hylarius in the conventional liturgical order, but with tonal rubrics.^[9] The last leaf was added from another book to use the blank versoside for additions on the last pages written by other hands, chant notated in adiastematic neumes but without alphabetic notation and even diastematic neumes with alphabetic notation (fol. 160r-163r).^[10]

The gradual itself with proper mass chant is divided into six parts: The first are antiphons (introiti and communions) (fol. 13r-53r). The next three parts are chant genres which precedes lessons: alleluia verses for gospel readings (fol. 53v-69r), the benedictiones (hymnus trium puerorum) for prophetic readings (fol. 75r-76v), and the graduels for epistel readings (fol. 77r-98v). The last two parts are an offertorial (fol. 99r-151r) and a tractus collection (fol. 69r-74v; 151v-155v), dedicated to the genre which replace the alleluia verses during fasten time for all kinds of scriptural readings.^[11]

The third level of division are the eight parts according to the oktoechos in the order of autentus protus, plagi proti, autentus deuterus etc. In the first part, every tonal section has all introits according to the liturgical year cycle and then all communions according to the liturgical order. The whole disposition is not new, but it is identical with tonaries from different regions of the Cluniac Monastic Association. The only difference is that every chant is not represented by an incipit, it is fully notated in neumes and in alphabetic notation as well, so that even cantors who do not know the chant can memorize it with this tonary together with its tonus.

And this seems to be a page taken from the manuscript.   Here's a description:

As an example might serve the Introitus "Repleatur os meum" used as a refrain for psalm 70 during the procession into the church, at the beginning of the morning mass on Saturday before Pentecost. The introit was written in the first part of the antiphons and is quite at the beginning of the deuterus section (written as heading on each page), hence an introit in the 3rd tone or "autentus deuterus":

Here's another image from the manuscript.  Fortunately there's no information at that page about it, so I'm attempting to decipher the writing to try to figure out where it came from; that's part of the fun, after all.  (The first section definitely starts out with Puer natus est - so we're almost certainly looking at something for around Christmastime; the second starts with Adorate deum; that's currently the incipit of the Introit for the third Sunday after the Ephiphany.  Those are some initial tantalizing clues to work from!)

I'm noticing some other very interesting links at the IMSLP page.  I'll definitely be back with some stuff about those - particularly if I can find some audio or video recordings of some of the music!

O adiutor omnium seculorum

The YouTube page says that this is "medieval chant from Codex Calixtinus," and offers also the following information:

Title: "Graduale" (codex calixtinus f. 110v, 217-217v)
Service: Missa Sancti Iacobi
Performers: Grupo de Musica Alfonso X el Sabio, Director: Luis Lozano Virumbrales

If, though, the folio number there is right, this comes from Matins and not the Mass; I've also seen it listed elsewhere as a "Responsory."    It's from Book I, the "Book of Liturgies."  To me, the interesting part here is the section that begins "Portum in ultimo";  it seems to play the part of a doxology, but sort of acts like trope material too.    I'm not sure where it comes from, since it's not included in other recordings of this material - but it is a beautiful text.  The content itself seems a bit over-the-top even for the celebration of an Apostle's feast day; perhaps the fact that this was a pilgrimage/festival (St. James was celebrated, apparently, twice a year:  July 25 and December 30) explains that.

O adiutor omnium seculorum.
O decus apostolorum.
O lux Clara Gallecianorum.
O advocate peregrinorum.
Iacobe, supplantator viciorum.
Solve nostrorum catenas delictorum,
et duc nos ad salutis portum.

Qui subvenis periclitantibus ad te clamantibus
tam in mare quam in terra.
Sccurre nobis nunc et in periculo mortis.
Et duc nos ad salutis portum.

Portum in ultimo
Da nobis iudicio.

Ita ut cum Deo
Carenti principio.

Et cum eius Nato
Qui est sine termino

Et cum Paraclito
Ab utroque edito

Expulsi a tetro
Tartareo puteo

Angelorum choro
Coniuncti sanctissimo

Purgati vico,
Potiti gaudio,
Cum vite premio,

Te duce patrano,
Intremus cum pio
Paradici voto Ortum.



Oh helper throughout the ages.
Oh glory of the apostles.
Oh shining light to those who dwell in Galicia.
Oh you who aid the pilgrims.
James, remover of hardships,
take off the chains of our sins and lead us to safe harbors.

You who come to the aid of those who call to you in their perils
both at sea and on land,
help us now and when we face the danger of death.
And lead us to the door of salvation.

Grant us a safe harbor
On the day of Judgement

So that with God
Who had no beginning

And with his son
Who is without end

And with the Paraclete
Issuance of both

Saved from the black
Cavern of Hell

And admitted into the
holy choir of angels

Purged of all sin,
Filled with joy
With the reward of life

And, with you as our leader and protector
We may enter with pious sing
Into the garden of Paradise.

You may be interested in reading this online Pilgrim's Guide.  It's apparently a complete English translation of Book V of the Codex Calixtinus; the Latin is taken, says the translator, in great part from the 1882 Le codex de saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle.

The Book opens this way:

Quatuor viae sunt quae ad sanctum Jacobum tendentes, in unum, ad Pontem Regine , in oris Hispanise coadunantur.

(Four roads meet at Puente la Reina in Spain and become one route to Santiago.)

Here's a shorter version of the same chant, which does not include the doxological material above - but does include its own fantastic doxology!



Here are the notes from that YouTube page:

"A certain priest, who was saved by St. James
from shipwreck as he was returning from Jerusalem,
wrote this song, which is in the fist mode."


Help of the ages, Glory of the apostles,
Light of the Galicians,
Protector of pilgrims, Oh St James,
who removes our sins:

Break the chains of our vice and lead us to the port
of salvation.

You who sustain those in peril, those who cry out to you on land and on sea,
Help us now and at the hour of death.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Performers: Coro de Monjes del Monasterio de Santo Domingo de Silos

Recorded live at the church of the Monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos (1969)

An antiphon for Eastertide: Surrexit Dominus Vere

We've been singing this lovely fraction anthem at the Eucharist during Eastertide; it's S167 in the 1982 Hymnal.  The setting cited there is "Mode 6 melody, adapt. Mason Martens (b. 1933)."   The parts in italics below are congregational; the other lines are sung by a soloist in the choir.

The disciples knew the Lord Jesus in the breaking of the bread.
The bread which we break, alleluia, is the communion of the body of Christ.
The disciples knew the Lord Jesus in the breaking of the bread.
One body are we, alleluia, for though many we share one bread.
The disciples knew the Lord Jesus in the breaking of the bread.

I searched for audio or video of this online, but to no avail.  Then, I happened to stumble upon the Easter antiphon Surrexit Dominus Vere - I can't remember how or why - and lo and behold:  this is the very same melody sung by the soloists in the fraction anthem above. (The congregational response is very beautiful, but not part of this antiphon, apparently.)  Here Giovanni Vianini sings it:



Fisheaters mentions the original verse/response on their Easter page:

On this, the holiest day of the entire year, and for the entire Octave of Easter, Latin Catholics greet each other with the words of Luke 24:34, "Surrexit Dominus vere, alleluia!" ("The Lord is risen indeed!"). The person so greeted responds, "Et apparuit Simoni, alleluia!" ("And hath appeared unto Simon!"). Catholics may even answer their telephones with this greeting. An old Ukrainian legend relates that, after His Resurrection, Christ threw Satan into a deep pit, chaining him with twelve iron chains. When Satan has chewed through each of the twelve chains, the end of the world will come. All year long, the Evil One gnaws at the iron, getting to the last link in the last chain -- but too late, for it is Easter, and when the people cry "Christ is risen!" all of Satan's efforts are reversed. When the faithful stop saying the Easter acclamation, the end of time has come...

Searching on "Et apparuit Simoni" brought up this page at Cantus database; and the numerous links to the phrase in various manuscripts, including a few images.  The Verse/Response was used at many different offices throughout at least the Octave of Easter - although DivinumOfficium has it used mainly, as far as I can tell, as the Verse/Response before the first reading at Matins in early Eastertide.  (Searching just "Surrexit Dominus vere" brings up lots of citations - this one, for example - but we're interested in including the "Simoni" ("Simon") language, since that does seem to be part of this antiphon in particular.   The reference for all of these is from Luke, and "Surrexit Dominus vere," with or without "Simoni," is used frequently throughout Eastertide, as you can imagine.)

For instance, this is from the Antiphonarium Massiliense 1201-1300 (a book from Marseille, France):

And this is from Fribourg/Freiburg, Couvent des Cordeliers/Franziskanerkloster: (an "Antiphonary for Franciscan use")

Here, the Schola Cantorum de Regina Pacis (Klaipeda, Lithuania) sings it:

Surrexit Dominus vere, alleluia, alleluia. Et apparuit Simoni, alleluia, alleluia. Glória Patri, et Fíllio, et Spirítui Sancto.

Viešpats tikrai prisikėlė, aleliuja, aleliuja. Ir pasirodė Simonui, aleliuja, aleliuja. Garbė Dievui Tėvui, ir Sūnui, ir Šventajai Dvasiai.

FIlmuota 2010 m. balandžio 25 d. Klaipėdos šv. Kazimiero bažnyčioje.

Schola Cantorum de Regina Pacis choir is based in the church of St. Mary, Queen of Peace (Klaipeda, Lithuania)

More info: www.regina-pacis.org

It seems several composers have set the text; here are the words from Jacquet de Bechem's setting.  He includes the text from the Gradual for Easter Day, Haec dies:

Alleluia. Quia surrexit Dominus vere,
et apparuit Simoni, alleluia.
Exultemus et laetemur
dies ista laetitiae.
Haec dies, quam fecit Dominus
Exultemus et laetemur in ea.
Alleluia.

Alleluia. The Lord has truly risen
and appeared to Simon, alleluia.
Let us rejoice on this day of joy,
which the Lord has made;
let us rejoice in it.

And there's a Taize Surrexit dominus vere, also:

A Rogation Days processional hymn: Ardua spes mundi (Ratpert († c.890))

Described at the YouTube page as a versus ad processionem in diebus dominicis ("hymn for Sunday processions"), Ardua spes mundi was apparently sung at Rogation Day processions, according to David Hiley's Western Plainchant. (The Rogation Days are the three weekdays prior to Ascension Day; we're in the middle of them now.)

Here is a recording of the hymn, sung by "Ensemble Gilles Binchois
Dominique Vellard, direction, en collaboration avec Wulf Arlt":



In a section on "Processional Hymns" (note that "versus" is another word for "hymn"), Hiley says:

Ratpert's Ardua spes mundi may serve as an example of the St. Gall versus....In the Rouen Cathedral manuscript (Paris, Bibliotheque Nationale, lat. 904, thirteenth century), from which [the illustration] is transcribed, both Ardua spes and Humili prece are sung in the procession before Mass on the Rogation Days leading up to Ascension Day (the weekdays following the fifth Sunday after Easter). In both chants, verses in honor of Rouen saints are added to those already present; Ardua spes invokes Romanus and Audoenus.  The same melody is used for the refrain and the strophes (some other processional hymns have two different melodies).

Other examples of "processional hymns" cited by Hiley are the more well-known Pange lingua and Crux fideles.  "Ratpert," who wrote this text, was a monk of St. Gall and a composer of liturgical poetry;  according to BrillOnline, Ratpert:

(after 850 – before 912), was educated at Saint Gall Abbey and lived there as monk and teacher until his death. In the Middle Ages he was known as the author of liturgical poems in Latin, especially an All Saints Day litany. His Old High German Galluslied now survives only in the Latin retro-translation by Ekkehard IV. His Casus sancti Galli form the prelude to the Saint Gall house chronicle that was continued up to the 13th century.

The image in the YouTube video is from the St. Gall manuscript; below  are screenshots from that same manuscript of all four pages (!) of this hymn.  I do not at the moment have an English translation, but will return if I find one (or can work it out myself!).    Spes mundi is "hope of the world" - and Google Translate says that Ardua spes mundi translates as "towering hope of the world":

Hostis Herodes impie: a 14th C. translation

From this page at the University of Alberta website:  Manuscript Studies: Paleographical Sample (Herebert).   It's part of a translation by William Herebert, OFM, of the Epiphany office hymn, Hostis Herodes impie, from the early 14th Century.

[H]Erodes þou wykked fo / whar of 'ys' þy dredinge·
And why art þou so sore a gast / of cristes tocominge·
Ne reueth hé nouth erthlich gód / þat maketh ous heuenekynges·

Þe kynges wenden here way and foleweden þe sterre·
And sothfast ly{yogh}th wyth sterre lyth souhten vrom so verre·
And sheuden wel þat he 'ys' god / in gold / and stor / and mírre·

Crist ycleped heuene lomb / so cóm to seynt Ion·
And of hym was ywas{yogh}e þa't' sunne nadde nón·
To halewen oure vollouth water þat sunne hauet uordon·

William Herebert, OFM (d. ca. 1333); "Hostis Herodes impie," (Index of Middle English Verse No. 1213); from British Library MS Addit. 46919, f. 205r (unique manuscript; author's holograph).

This is the first part of Friar Herebert's translation of a portion of Sedulius's Paean alphabeticus de Cristo, a hymn for Epiphany.

Note that space was left for a decorated initial letter at the start (with a small "h" occupying the space as a guide for the decorator), but the decorated initial was never completed. To the right are Latin tags which correspond to the initial phrases of the stanzas in the original Latin hymn: "Hostis herodes impie &c."; "Ibant magi"; "Lauacra puri gurgitis." Each stanza is preceded by a double inclined stroke (a sort of paraph mark to indicate the beginning of a stanza), and there are lines drawn at the end of the poetic lines to link together visually the rhyme words.

Here's something (that's a PDF file, Medieval Lyric: Middle English Lyrics, Ballads, and Carols, with an Appendix section titled "Poems by William Herebert, Richard Rolle, and John Audelay") about William Herebert:

Friar William Herebert, OFM, may have been born sometime after 1270 (when writing about medieval persons the biographer is often reduced to such subjunctives), and was between 1317 and 1319 Lecturer in Theology at the Franciscan House in Oxford where he was the author of 17 Middle English  poems (many adapted from hymns) and of a number of polished Latin sermons. He may well have been the friend and sometime colleague of the great medieval thinker, philosopher, and activist, the Franciscan William of Ockham (c.1285–1347), whose social attitudes and theological opinions, but not activist politics, he may have shared. Though the best source for Herebert’s later life was written in the sixteenth century, and is so very late, it accords with what little is known, and confirms that he died in or about 1333, and was buried at Hereford, which seems to have been his native convent.

Here's what the hymn sounds like, via the LLPB mp3 labeled "Hymn for the Epiphany of our Lord".  (See chant score #28 below for the notation.)  The words on this recording are taken from the Lutheran Hymnal;  as you can see, the text of Hostis Herodes impie is a clear demonstration that from early days the Feast of the Epiphany was a celebration of not just one but three "manifestations of Christ": the visitation of the Magi, Christ's baptism in the Jordan, and Christ's first miracle at Cana.

1. The star proclaims the King is here;
But, Herod, why this senseless fear?
He takes no realms of earth away
Who gives the realms of heavenly day.

2. The wiser Magi see from far
And follow on His guiding star;
And led by light, to light they press
And by their gifts their God confess.

3. Within the Jordan's crystal flood
In meekness stands the Lamb of God
And, sinless, sanctifies the wave,
Mankind from sin to cleanse and save.

4. At Cana first His power is shown;
His might the blushing waters own
And, changing as He speaks the word,
Flow wine, obedient to their Lord.

5. All glory, Jesus, be to Thee
For this Thy glad epiphany;
Whom with the Father we adore
And Holy Ghost forevermore.

A note at the Lutheran Hymnal says this:

Hymn #131
Text: Matt. 2:9
Author: Coelius Sedulius, c.450
Translated by: John M. Neale, 1852, alt.
Titled: "Hostis Herodes impie"
Tune: "Wo Gott zum Haus"
1st Published in: _Geistliche Lieder_
Town: Wittenberg, 1535

Stolen Codex Calixtinus recovered

I somehow missed this story over the summer;  apparently stolen medieval codices do not rise to the top of the news flotsam and jetsam.  But, here it is now, from BBC News: Santiago de Compostela Codex Calixtinus found in garage.

Police in northern Spain have recovered one of the country's great cultural treasures - a 12th-Century religious manuscript stolen a year ago.

The Codex Calixtinus was found in a garage near Santiago de Compostela and four people were arrested over the theft from the city's cathedral.

The richly decorated book is considered the first guide for those following the ancient pilgrimage route to Santiago.

Police arrested a technician who worked at the cathedral and three relatives.

Christians believe the Santiago de Compostela cathedral to be the burial place of St James the Greater, one of Jesus's apostles.

The manuscript was found after the technician and three members of his family were arrested on Wednesday.

Besides the Codex, police also found other valuable old books stolen from the cathedral and at least 1.2m euros (£963,000) in cash.

A replica of the Codex is on display in a glass case at the cathedral.

Only a handful of people had access to the room in which the original was kept. It is thought to date from around 1150.