The Sarum Pentecost Office

I have previously posted on hymns for Pentecost, but haven't yet listed the entire Office schedule given at Hymn melodies for the whole year, from the Sarum service-books. Which is as follows:

On Whitsun Day & daily until Trinity Sunday

1st Ev.& Matt. Jam Christus astra ascenderat ... ... 42
Lauds Impleta gaudent viscera ... ... ... 42
2nd Evensong Beata nobis gaudia ... ... ... 25

Here are the chant scores to the above hymns:









And here's a section from my previous post, with links to sound files for these Pentecost hymns, from the Lutheran Liturgical Prayer Brotherhood:

For Lauds: When Christ Our Lord Had Passed Once More (mp3), Jam Christus astra ascenderat in Latin. It's #42 in Hymn-melodies for the whole year from the Sarum service-books; on this page page you will find the words in English and Latin. (The Sarum hymns book calls the Lauds hymn "Impleta gaudent viscera," which again is an extracted portion of the longer Jam Christus astra ascenderat. The latter hymn is listed in the book as the hymn for 1st Vespers and Matins.)

Here's a Versicle for the Feast of Pentecost.

For Vespers: Rejoice, the Year Upon Its Way (mp3), Beata nobis gaudia in Latin. It's #25 in the Hymn-melodies for the whole year from the Sarum service-books; the words in English and Latin (though not this English translation) can be found on this page.

For Compline: it's Veni Creator Spiritus, as above.

And a bonus file! A Solemn Nunc Dimittis, with a Pentecost antiphon.

Some of my favorite (Western) Pentecost art:

Pierre Reymond, from 1550:




An El Greco, from around 1610:




A Giotto, from around 1305:




A Duccio di Buoninsegna, from around 1310:




My favorite of all, though, is this one, from "the end of the 15th Century," and attributed to "Meister des Salemer Heiligenaltars" (in English: "Master of the Salem Heiligenaltar"), which, as far as I can see, is an anonymous credit (see this page in German, too). This is something I've never seen before, but how gorgeous:

Byzantine and Orthodox Chants for Pentecost

The (Byzantine Catholic) Metropolitan Cantor Institute is a treasure-trove of liturgical and musical resources.

For instance: Here is an mp3 of the hymn "O Heavenly King", for the Pentecost Divine Liturgy; here is the "Communion Hymn." Other chant items for the Pentecost Divine Liturgy can be found on this page.

Also from the Metropolitan Cantor Institute: here is a PDF of Vespers of the Day of the Holy Spirit (Kneeling Vespers). From the same source, here is a PDF called "Vespers - music in the Order of Vespers for Sundays after Pentecost," along with many music samples:

• Beginning Prayers
• Psalm 103 - setting A (chanted)
• Psalm 103 - setting B (festal melody)
• Litany of Peace
• First Kathisma - "Blessed is the man"
• Hymn of the Evening - "O Joyful Light"
• Evening Prokeimenon
• Saturday evening
• Sunday evening
• Monday evening
• Tuesday evening
• Wednesday evening
• Thursday evening
• Friday evening

• Litany of Fervent Supplication
• Hymn of Glorification
• Litany of Supplication
• Litany of the Litija
• Canticle of Simeon 
• Trisagion prayers
• Blessing of bread;  dismissal

Goarch.org (the website of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in America) offers its own version of the Pentecost Vespers liturgy, a web page of "The Office of the Great Vespers of Pentecost (THE KNEELING)." Here's the Goarch.org page about Pentecost.

There is a detailed article about Vespers at OrthodoxWiki.org, with a section covering the "General Structure of Great Vespers" and another called "Vesperal Services," which outlines various divergent forms. It all seems quite complicated, but of course that's because I really know very little about it and am only learning.

Here's the main orthodoxWiki page about Pentecost.

There is also some really interesting (Eastern) Pentecost art out there.

First, from the "Rabula Gospels," a "6th century illuminated Syriac Gospel Book":




Google Translate tells me that this - described as "Собор 12-ти апостолов с Константином Великим" on this Wikimedia page - is an "Icon: Cathedral of 12 Apostles of Constantine the Great." Don't know from what time period:





Here's an icon described as "from the latter half of the 18th Century":




Then, an interesting painting from around 1902 called "To the Pentecost," by Sergey Korovin. I assume this is a painting of farmers on their way to Pentecost services, but don't really know; I'm looking more in to it.

You'll thank me

Because you really don't want to miss The Tone Matrix.

(Here's what the programmer says about it:

This proofs it. The simpler the better.

I visited the Frankfurter Musikmesse 2 weeks ago and played with the Yamaha TENORI-ON. I thought, it would be much nicer when the triggered notes would force a wavemap to oscillate. It took me just a few hours to implement. The sound generation is basically a polyphone synthesizer with a simple delay with a variing read-offset to make the tones vibrating in the end. I am already addicted for myself to the cute sequences it always generates.

After uploading it on my laboratory the run began. I am counting more than 250.000 impressions, endless feedback, suggestions and even videos on Youtube. I will definitely put the sequencer in our AudioTool. But don't expect an update before autumn. We are trying to make 1.0 a serious music application with sequencing, automation, modulation, audio-tracks, synthesizers and what not. So there is no time to enhance this little toy. But I have added at least Clipboard support to let you save your pattern to sequence of numbers. Unfortunately the audio output is very glitchy when the context-menu is running.

Audio is the next big thing in Flash.)

An Ascension anthem

Listen, if you have time, to the recording of the Festal Eucharist for the Seventh Sunday of Easter from St. Thomas (direct .asx file here) - and check out the Offertory Anthem by Patrick Gowers (it begins at about 56:35 into the recording). Wikipedia refers to the "much-performed Viri Galilaei," and I assume that's what this is - but I've never heard it before. (Here's the service leaflet, which will be up only for this week.) I think the citation in italics at the end means that the text was taken from two sources; the first section comes from the mass propers for Ascension Day, and there is a hymn called "See the conqueror mounts in triumph," text by one Christopher Wordsworth (I think that's him, in the photo on left - whew!). Anyway, it's some interesting music, and worth a listen, I think.

Alleluia. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven
as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
Which said unto them, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up to heaven?
In like manner as ye have seen him going up into heaven, so shall he come again.
God is gone up with a merry noise, and the Lord with the sound of the trumpet.
Christ to highest heaven ascending, led captivity captive.
Sing ye to the Lord who ascended to the heaven of heavens to the sun rising.

See the conqueror mounts in triumph, Ssee the King in royal state,
Riding on the clouds his chariot to his heavenly palace gate.
Hark! the choirs of angel voices Joyful Alleluias sing.
And the portals high are lifted to receive their heavenly King. Alleluia.

Proper of the Mass, Ascension; Bishop Christopher Wordsworth

The Mass Ordinary is a very beautiful one, too: Zoltán Kodály's Missa Brevis. The "Music Notes" from St. Thomas tell its story:

The Missa Brevis of Zoltán Kodály (1882-1967) was originally written as an organ mass during a holiday that the composer took in Galyateto in the Summer of 1943. The composer had been asked to play the harmonium at a low mass in the church at Galyateto and, feeling that the music that he played ought to reflect the text, he made a number of sketches before the service, later converting these into the Missa Brevis for organ and choir. The subtitle of the setting, Tempore belli (Time of war), adopted from Haydn’s Mass in C major of 1796, gives a clue to the unfortunate and unusual circumstances surrounding the piece’s first performance. During the siege of Budapest, Kodály and his wife took shelter in the cellars of the Opera House and it was on 11th February 1945 in one of the cloakrooms that the first performance of this version of the Mass was given by a group of the House’s principal soloists accompanied by harmonium. In 1948 Kodály orchestrated the piece and it was premiered at the Three Choirs Festival in Worcester. The work shows many influences including Gregorian chant and the works of Handel, Bach, Palestrina and an organ mass by Franz Liszt dating from 1879.

And there are two selections - the Prelude and Postude from the service - from Messiaen's L'Ascension, if you like that sort of thing.

There are two collects available for Ascension Day - I'm interested in why two, and where they came from, and will try to find out - one of which is one of my favorites for the year:

Almighty God, whos blessed Son our Savior Jesus Christ ascended far above all heavens that he might fill all things: Mercifully give us faith to perceive that, according to his promise, he abides with his Church on earth, even to the end of the ages; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

The Seventh Sunday of Easter

Crown Him with many crowns, the Lamb upon His throne.
Hark! How the heavenly anthem drowns all music but its own.
Awake, my soul, and sing of Him who died for thee,
And hail Him as thy matchless King through all eternity.

Crown Him the Son of God, before the worlds began,
And ye who tread where He hath trod, crown Him the Son of Man;
Who every grief hath known that wrings the human breast,
And takes and bears them for His own, that all in Him may rest.

Crown Him the Lord of life, who triumphed over the grave,
And rose victorious in the strife for those He came to save.
His glories now we sing, who died, and rose on high,
Who died eternal life to bring, and lives that death may die.

Crown Him of lords the Lord, who over all doth reign,
Who once on earth, the incarnate Word, for ransomed sinners slain,
Now lives in realms of light, where saints with angels sing
Their songs before Him day and night, their God, Redeemer, King.

Crown Him the Lord of Heaven, enthroned in worlds above,
Crown Him the King to Whom is given the wondrous name of Love.
Crown Him with many crowns, as thrones before Him fall;
Crown Him, ye kings, with many crowns, for He is King of all.

"His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns." Revelation 19:12.

Some garden shots

There's really nothing nicer than putting your tomato, pepper, and basil plants in each year. I'd bought seeds on sale this year, meaning to plant from them earlier on in the year, but never got around to doing it, so I bought one small flat of a few things - the aforementioned items, plus two packs of impatiens (red and white is my color scheme this year) to put in the front.

Hopefully I'll use those seeds next year - but meanwhile, I'm taking great pleasure from my plantings the other night. It's so nice to add some ash from the fireplace, and some manure and peat moss, and to turn over the earth and get it ready for tomatoes (especially)! And then to get out the chicken wire and fence them in from the deer and other hazards. Nice to go out in the morning and see them already soaking up sun; I planted some in my not-really-sunny-enough tomato garden (next year, if I'm still here, I will dig a garden in another place, because this one just doesn't get that daylong sun that tomatoes love), and then again some scattered around the perennial garden. The latter really do better, but they are not fenced in and I have to drape them in deer netting and watch them carefully, picking the fruits as soon as they start getting red, because somebody likes to taste them once they turn, leaving them on the ground with holes poked in them - not even eating them all, the scoundrels!

So, here are some shots I took this afternoon. Everything's very little, but I'm very happy with them all:

The tomato garden.




Tomatoes and peppers in the perennial garden.




More tomatoes and peppers in the perennial garden.




Oregano, basil, and (the variegated thing in the back, which is spreading nicely this year) dead nettle.




The butterfly bush getting bushy, plus an iris.




The Japanese iris just getting into flower.




These ferns seeded (spored?) themselves; haven't done a thing to them since.




This is my Stewartia tree, which is doing really well! I'll see if I can find a picture of when I first put it in about 3 years ago, for compare and contrast.

"Credo: More than a brief flight through warmth and light"

An article about the Venerable Bede, by Roderick Strange, in yesterday's London Times:

An old monk lay dying but still he had work to complete. He dictated to a scribe the last lines of a book he had been writing on St John’s Gospel and distributed what few small treasures he possessed to his fellow monks. He gave glory to God, singing, “Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit”, and then he died. It was the morning of Ascension Day.

These events are not recent. Far from it. They took place in 735. The monk was Bede, known as the Venerable. He is the only English Doctor of the Church and his feast is celebrated in the coming week.

We may respect him, but we may also wonder what to make of him. He lived so long ago.

Bede was born in Sunderland in 673 and brought up in a monastery at Wearmouth from the age of 7, before becoming a monk himself at Jarrow and living there for the rest of his life. It seems probable he never left northeast England. How could so isolated a life be significant for us? Yet that very isolation may itself be the clue.

Most of us too have times when we feel fairly isolated and we wonder what difference our lives make or what value they have. However long we may live, in fact our time is short. Bede once compared human life without faith to a sparrow flying through a banqueting hall in winter, where, as he wrote, “the fire is burning on the hearth in the middle of the hall and all inside is warm, while outside the wintry storms of rain and snow are raging”. Then “a sparrow flies swiftly though the hall. It enters in at one door and quickly flies out through the other . . . So this life of man appears but for a moment; what follows or indeed what went before, we know not at all.”

The image may chill us. It may seem all too likely. However, Bede was using the image to suggest that there is more to life than that brief flight through warmth and light from darkness to darkness. And his own life was devoted to exploring that deeper possibility.

In his monastery he gave himself up to scholarship. He has declared that he loved to learn, to teach, and to write. And he was fortunate that at that very time great monastic libraries were being assembled, placing at his disposal the resources he needed. So among his many writings there were commentaries on Scripture, lives of the saints, and in particular that Ecclesiastical History of the English People, which many regard as his greatest work because of the new standards it set: its sense of time, its instinct for a good story, its mastery of readable Latin, and the start it even made in using sources critically. And those three strands of writing can be seen as linked. What is brought out by contemplating and studying Scripture is made real in the lives of holy men and women, the people who come to be recognised as saints. And the saints themselves are not to be viewed simply as individuals; their lives are a part of the Church’s life, its complex, sometimes blemished, history.

Contemplation can shape who we are, and who we are has its influence on others. Prayer and study, identity and action are not separate. They need to be integrated and made coherent.

Although he lived a hidden, scholarly life long ago, Bede is not forgotten. He is, for example, patron of this college where I am rector, where men are prepared for ordained ministry in the English-speaking world, and where the integration of prayer and study, identity and action, is fundamental. It gives meaning to a sparrow’s flight beyond the banqueting hall.

Next month men from here who later will be ordained as priests, will become deacons, for Malaysia, Zimbabwe and America, for Australia and for England. All five continents will be represented. Bede’s imagination, if he could ever have imagined it, would have reeled at the prospect of his influence spreading in such a way. And how can we calculate the impact of our own lives and actions?

Monsignor Roderick Strange is Rector of the Pontifical Beda College, Rome

"The Derriere Guard"

Well, we finally have a name to pin on ourselves - those of us "caught in the middle" between the orthodoxies of the left and right and who don't subscribe to either. We're apparently part of the the "Derriere Guard":

In virtually all the manifestations of the culture wars, the right has favored tradition over evolution, and Western culture over multiculturalism. The left has usually favored gender-, class-, and race-based analyses, and excoriated the West for colonialism and bigotry. For both sides the stakes have been high: The winners hope to write the history of the arts in America, and control the nation's cultural future.

Enter, now, a group of artists and scholars who reject the ethnocentrism of the right, the demonization of the West and identity politics of the left, and the dogmatism of both. For them, great art can include--but ultimately transcends--political goals. They include Christians and atheists; WASPs and recent immigrants; blacks, whites, Hispanics, and Asians; straights and gays. The cultural battle lines are being redrawn.

A week after 1995's Realist protest, Assael faced Whitney director David Ross in a radio debate. "Sometimes the present created the future by breaking the shackles of the past," he said. "But sometimes the past created the future by breaking the shackles of the present." Assael was borrowing the words of University of Texas at Dallas Professor Frederick Turner, words describing the apparently cyclical nature of cultural movements. Like Turner, Assael hopes that a decaying modernism will lead to an aesthetic rebirth.

Turner, in fact, was a key guest at the Derriere Guard Festival. Dubbed by Kirkus Reviews as "Apollo to Camille Paglia's Dionysus," Turner is, like Paglia, an intellectual maverick, but lacks her sensationalistic strategies crafted to garner media attention. Like Wolfe, Turner has also prophesied a cultural shift. In his 1995 book, The Culture of Hope, he wrote that "a growing number of artists in various fields" have rejected modernist orthodoxy and, like the World War I-era artists who broke with their aesthetic establishments, "are preparing their Armory Show." Turner's phrase for those artists who are attempting to shift the cultural regime is the "radical center."

Apart from having published five books of poetry--including two book-length epic poems--and a novel, Turner served as editor of The Kenyon Review, one of the most influential literary magazines in America, in the early 1980s. (He is also a contributing editor to REASON.) The Culture of Hope serves as an artistic manifesto (some attendees at the Derriere Guard Festival had the book under their arms). In that book, Turner calls on the artists of today to bridge the gap between the elitist avant-garde world and the general public, and celebrates the conflation of high and low culture which is now occurring.

According to Turner, artists who fall under the "radical center's" umbrella because they exploit world classical traditions include Frederick Hart, sculptor of Three Soldiers at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and Ex Nihilo at the Washington Cathedral; earthworks sculptor James Turrell; Tom Wolfe, who has criticized the self-absorption of modern fiction and called for realistic storytelling; composer Philip Glass; "world music" practitioners; Peter Brook and his "ethnodrama," which makes use of Kathakali, Japanese Noh Theater, and ballet; dance troupes such as Sankai Juku, Momix, and Mark Morris; and pop artists such as Laurie Anderson and David Byrne.

Some of these artists, such as Frederick Hart and Tom Wolfe, are aware of the cultural trends they embody, and consciously support a specific cultural movement. Others may not be aware of the larger trend. Some, like Laurie Anderson or Philip Glass, have long been classified as "avant-garde" due to their experimentalism, yet they also use classical traditions.

Turner describes the "death of the avant-garde"--a trendy topic among many academics in the disciplines of English and cultural studies, most of whom agree that the avant-garde has died. But he also deals with the question, "What's next?" And he suggests answers for the questions that preoccupy artists: Why create art? For whom? What kind? In response, he has developed a philosophy of the arts based on what he calls "natural classicism." Based on recent advances in neuroscience and Turner's own collaborative research with neuropsychologist Ernst Poppel, it suggests that human beings are biologically hard-wired to appreciate the classical genres of art--visual representation, narrative, melody in music, verse in poetry, and dramatic mimesis.

It is no coincidence, Turner argues, that these genres manifest themselves in the arts of all world traditions. Artists of the future, he predicts, will eschew the cynical and desperate mannerisms of postmodernism, and exploit these multiple classical vocabularies to make art of lasting value. These artists will tap into the fundamental artistic principles that are recognizable across cultural barriers. During the 20th century the artist was commonly perceived as a denunciatory prophet, whose main goal was to expose the hypocrisies of the bourgeoisie--a notion that still dominates the avant-garde art world. Turner's "radical center" envisions artists as pan-cultural shamans whose purpose is to dramatize the multiple voices in a culture, bourgeois or otherwise.

Full Homely Divinity's Pentecost Novena

New this year, I believe, from this page:

The nine days from Ascension Day to the Eve of Pentecost are the original novena--nine days of prayer. Before he ascended, Jesus ordered the disciples not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there to be baptized by the Holy Spirit. After his Ascension, they returned to the upper room in Jerusalem where they devoted themselves to prayer. These last days of the Great Fifty Days of Easter can be a time for us to prepare for the celebration of Pentecost. As we anticipate the coming of the Holy Spirit, this can be a time to pray for renewal in the Spirit and a time to reflect on the gifts which the Spirit bestows on the Church. The prayer for the newly baptized, p. 308, in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer is the traditional prayer for the seven gifts of the Spirit, based on the prophecy of Isaiah 11:2-3. This prayer could be the basis for daily reflection on the gifts of the Spirit in the days between the Ascension and Pentecost and the following adaptation of it could be used daily as a simplified novena.

Heavenly Father, we thank you that by water and the Holy Spirit you have bestowed upon us the forgiveness of sin, and have raised us to the new life of grace in your Son Jesus Christ. Sustain us, O Lord, in the gifts of your Spirit: an inquiring and discerning heart, the courage to will and to persevere, a spirit to know and to love you, and the gift of joy and wonder in all your works. Amen.

Or, here is a fuller novena, based on the sevenfold gifts of the Spirit. It may be used at the conclusion of the Daily Office or as a separate act of devotion.

A Novena for the Gifts of the Spirit

Come, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire,
and lighten with celestial fire.
Thou the anointing Spirit art,
who dost thy sevenfold gifts impart.
Thy blessed unction from above
is comfort, life, and fire of love.
Enable with perpetual light
the dullness of our blinded sight.
Anoint and cheer our soiled face
with the abundance of thy grace.
Keep far our foes, give peace at home:
where thou art guide, no ill can come.
Teach us to know the Father, Son,
and thee with both to be but One,
that through the ages all along,
this may be our endless song:
praise to thy eternal merit,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Come, great Paraclete, Father of the poor, Comforter of the blest, fulfill the promise of our Savior who would not leave us as orphans. Enter our minds and hearts as you descended on the day of Pentecost upon the Mother of Jesus and upon his Apostles. Grant that every member of the Church may have a part in those gifts which were bestowed that day. O Holy Spirit, giver of every good and perfect gift, may the Father's will be done in us and through us, and may you, O mighty Spirit, equal to the Father and the Son in Being and majesty, be praised and glorifed for ever and ever. Amen.

Here may be added any of the following prayers: Our Father, Hail Mary, Trisagion, Kyrie eleison, Gloria Patri, concluding with the prayer appropriate to the day of the novena.

First Day
Come, O Holy Spirit, the Lord and Lifegiver: Take up your dwelling within my soul and make of it your sacred temple. Make me live by grace as an adopted child of God. Pervade all the energies of my soul, and create in me a fountain of living water springing up into life everlasting; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Father, one God, in Trinity of Persons, now and forever. Amen.

Second Day - Wisdom
Come, O Spirit of Wisdom, and reveal to me the mysteries of divine things, their greatness, and power, and beauty. Teach me to love them above and beyond all the transient joys and satisfactions of the mortal world. Show me the way by which I may be able to attain to them and participate in them forever; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Father, one God, in Trinity of Persons, now and forever. Amen.

Third Day - Understanding
Come, O Spirit of Understanding, and enlighten my mind, that I may know and believe all of the mysteries of salvation and discern your hand at work in the world. Teach me to see with your eyes that I may apply my heart unto wisdom in this life and be made worthy to attain to the vision glorious in the life to come; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Father, one God, in Trinity of Persons, now and forever. Amen.

Fourth Day - Counsel
Come, O Spirit of Counsel, help and guide me in all my ways, that I may always do your holy will. Incline my heart to that which is good, turn it away from all that is evil, and direct me by the path of him who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life to the goal of eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Father, one God, in Trinity of Persons, now and forever. Amen.

Fifth Day - Fortitude
Come, O Spirit of Fortitude, and give courage to my soul. Make my heart strong in all trials and in all distress, generously pouring strength into it that I may be able to resist the allurements of the world, the flesh, and the devil; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Father, one God, in Trinity of Persons, now and forever. Amen.

Sixth Day - Knowledge
Come, O Spirit of Knowledge, and make me understand the emptiness and chaos of life without you. Give me grace to recognize the goodness of the whole creation and to honor the Creator by using the world only for your glory and for the benefit and the salvation of all whom you have made; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Father, one God, in Trinity of Persons, now and forever. Amen.

Seventh Day - Piety
Come, O Spirit of Piety, possess my heart; incline it to a true faith in you, to a holy love of you, my God, that with my whole being I may seek you, and find you to be my best, my truest joy;through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Father, one God, in Trinity of Persons, now and forever. Amen.

Eighth Day - Holy Awe [Fear]
Come, O Spirit of Holy Awe, penetrate my inmost heart, that I may set you, my Lord and God, before my face forever. In joy and wonder may I be made worthy to appear before the pure eyes of your divine Majesty and behold your glory face to face in the heaven of heavens, where you live and reign in the unity of the Ever-blessed Trinity, now and forever. Amen.

Ninth Day
Come, O Holy Comforter, come in all your fullness and power. Enrich us in our poverty, inflame us in our feebleness, melt our hearts with your love. Make us wholly yours, until your gifts are ours and we are lost in you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Father, one God, in Trinity of Persons, now and forever. Amen.

A video of the Pentecost hymn Veni, Creator Spiritus (the English words of which are above, just under the title "A Novena for the Gifts of the Spirit"), sung by the Rochester Cathedral Choir:

The Sarum Ascension Office

I have previously posted about the Ascension Day Music for the Mass and also put up an Office Hymns for Ascension post.

But I haven't actually posted the listing from Hymn Melodies for the whole year from the Sarum service books before - so I will now:

On Ascension Day, & daily until Whitsun Day :

Ev. & Matt. Eterne Rex altissime ... ... ... 41

[Matt. (York) Hymnum canamus glorie ... ... ... 42]

Lauds Tu, Christe, nostrum gaudium ... ... 41

And now I can just quote from the Office Hymns post, because it does match with I had there, taken from the Lutheran Liturgical Prayer Brotherhood's prescriptions for these hymns:

Here is an mp3 file of "a Hymn for First Vespers of the Feast of the Ascension of our Lord", from the Lutheran Liturgical Prayer Brotherhood. This hymn in English is "O Eternal Monarch"; in Latin, it's Eterne Rex altissime. You can find the Latin words to this hymn, and some interesting facts about it, on page 157 of Britt's Hymns of the Breviary and Missal (a large PDF file), and the English ones on page 43 of The Hymner: Containing Translations of the Hymns from the Sarum Breviary, at Google Books. This was originally, apparently, a Matins hymn.

Here is an mp3 file of "a Hymn for Morning Prayer of the Feast of the Ascension of our Lord", also from the LLPB. This hymn in English is "O Christ Thou Art Our Joy Alone"; in Latin: Tu, Christe, Nostrum Gaudium. Here's a page from a site called "A MIDI Collection of Traditional Catholic Hymns" that includes the words in Latin and English (a J.M Neale translation), and gives the source of this hymn as "Anon. 5th Cent." (The tune there is listed as "a Grenoble church melody"; it's the same tune as the one in #448 in the 1982 Hymnal, "O Love, How Deep, How Broad, How High." listed there as "Deus tuorum militum, from Antiphoner, 1753.") The words in English can be found on on page 43 of The Hymner: Containing Translations of the Hymns from the Sarum Breviary, at Google Books.

Here's a chant score of this hymn from my sources, one that uses a different set of words:






Here is an mp3 file of "a Hymn for Second Vespers of the Feast of the Ascension of our Lord," also from LLPB. This hymn in English is "O Hymn of Glory"; in Latin, it's Hymnum canamus glorie; here's a page at CCEL with the words from the Lutheran hymnal, which are used on the mp3. The author is given as "The Venerable Bede, 735" on that page.

The LLPB also includes "a Versicle for Exaudi, the Sunday after Ascension": The text, from Psalm 47, is: "God is gone up with a shout, alleluia. The Lord with the sound of the trumpet, alleluia."

Apparently York did it differently than Salisbury - but as the Lutherans did! It's always interesting to see these regional various.

Here are the words to Eterne Rex altissime from the source mentioned above; they don't match exactly with the LLPB sound file, though:

Eternal Monarch, King most high,
Whose Blood hath brought redemption nigh,
By whom the death of Death was wrought
And conquering Grace's battle fought:

Ascending to the throne of might,
And seated at the Father's right,
All power in heav'n is Jesu's own,
That here his Manhood had not known.

That so, in Nature's triple frame,
Each heav'nly and each earthly name,
And things in hell's abyss abhorr'd,
May bend the knee and own him Lord.

Yea, Angels tremble when they see
How changed is our humanity;
That Flesh hath purged what flesh had stain'd,
And God, the Flesh of God, hath reign'd.

Be thou our Joy, and thou our Guard,
Who art to be our great Reward:
Our glory and our boast in thee
For ever and for ever be.

All glory, Lord, to thee we pay,
Ascending o'er the stars to-day:
All glory, as is ever meet,
To Father and to Paraclete. Amen.

And here are the words to Tu, Christe, Nostrum Gaudium, from the same source:

O Christ ! thou art our Joy alone,
Exalted on thy glorious throne ;
Who o'er earth's fabrick bearest sway,
Transcending earthly joys for aye.

We suppliants, therefore, ask of thee
To pardon our iniquity;
And of thine own supernal grace
Uplift our hearts to seek thy face.

When, cloud-throned 'mid the reddening sky,
In glory thou, our Judge, art nigh ;
O then, remitting guilt and pain,
Restore our long-lost crowns again.

Be thou our Joy, and thou our Guard,
Who art to be our great Reward :
Our glory and our boast in thee
For ever and for ever be.

All glory, Lord, to thee we pay,
Ascending o'er the stars to-day:
All glory, as is ever meet,
To Father and to Paraclete. Amen.

Here are the chant scores for the above hymns from Hymn melodies for the whole year:









Here's a terrific Giotto Ascension:





And this Tintoretto - completely different - is pretty great, too:

An interior life

From Thomas Merton's The Seven Storey Mountain, which I've just begun reading. In the section describing his youth in the south of France, Merton talks about his experiences at the local regional high school (Lycée):

The children I had associated with at St. Antonin [Merton's home town] had not been by any means angels, but there had at least been a certain simplicity and affability about them. Of course, the boys who went to the Lycée were of the same breed and the same stamp: there was no specific difference, except that they came from families that were better off. All my friends at St. Antonin had been the children of workmen and peasants, with whom I sat in the elementary school. But when a couple of hundred of these southern French boys were thrown together in the prison of that Lycée, a subtle change was operated in their spirit and mentality. In fact, I noticed that when you were with them separately, outside the school, they were mild and peaceable and humane enough. But when they were all together there seemed to be some diabolical spirit of cruelty and viciousness and obscenity and blasphemy and envy and hatred that banded them together against all goodness and against one another in mockery and fierce cruelty and in vociferous, uninhibited filthiness. Contact with that wolf-pack felt very patently like contact with the mystical body of the devil: and especially in the first few days, the members of that body did not spare themselves in kicking me around without mercy.

I'm fairly sure the paragraph quoted above can describe what happens in many or most schools in America (and maybe elsewhere?) today; bullying is rampant, as we all know, and lots of kids - gay kids in particular, but others, too - get brutalized within the system.

In any case, the memory of the Lycée leads Merton to write, a few paragraphs later (where he is comparing the behavior of the students above with those who attended the local Catholic school):

Is it any wonder that there can be no peace in a world where everything possible is done to guarantee that the youth of every nation will grow up absolutely without moral and religious discipline, and without the shadow of an interior life, or that spirituality and charity and faith which alone can safeguard the treaties and agreements made by governments?

Obviously, religious organizations have many problems as well - and those have to be combatted, too - but I think the modern world does not recognize how important religious underpinnings are to our general health as a society. In the case of the West, religious - Christian - ethics underpin our entire society, and I think this goes quite unnoticed most of the time. But there's nothing that says this will always and automatically continue to be the case - and sometimes I think we are the proverbial frog in the pot, oblivious to the fact that the fire underneath has been turned up high and we are about to be boiled alive, having never reacted to the change until it's too late.....

Vocem iucunditatis

Vocem iucunditatis is the Introit for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, and is a very lovely, melodic piece. Here is Giovanni Viannini's version of this entrance song:



Here's the chant score, so you can follow along.





The text is a reference to Isaiah 48:20, followed by a verse from Psalm 66:

Vocem iucunditatis annuntiate, et audiatur, alleluia: nuntiate usque ad extremum terræ: liberavit Dominus populum suum, alleluia, alleluia.
Ps. Iubilate Deo omnis terra: psalmum dicite nomini eius, date gloriam laudi eius.


Speak out with a voice of joy; let it be heard, alleluia, to the ends of the earth: The Lord has set his people free, alleluia, alleluia.
Ps. Shout for joy to God, all the earth; sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise!

The other mass propers (with one exception) are all taken from the Gospel of John. For Year B, the Alleluia I is Exivi a Patre (mp3), full of mystical drama and emotion, and taken from John 16:28:

Exivi a Patre et veni in mundum, iterum relinquo mundum et vado ad Patrem.

"I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father."

Here is the chant score:





The Alleluia II (mp3), and the Communio (mp3), are both called "Ego vos elegi," taken from John 15:16:

Ego vos elegi de mundo, ut eatis, et fructum afferatis et fructus vester maneat.

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

Sound files above taken from the website of the Benedictines of Brazil, and the chant scores come from there, too:









Here's another version of the Ego vos elegi (Alleluia II), along with some images and a bit of commentary.



The Offertory is Benedicite, gentes, also from Psalm 66 (vv 8-9 and 20):

Benedicite gentes Dominum Deum nostrum et obaudite vocem laudis ejus: qui posuit animam meam ad vitam et non dedit commoveri pedes meos. Benedictus Dominus qui non amovit deprecationem meam et misericordiam suam a me. Alleluia.


O nations, bless the Lord our God, let the voice of His praises resound: He has restored my soul to life and He has not suffered my feet to stumble. Blessed be the Lord who has neither rejected my prayer nor turned His mercy away from me. Alleluia.

Here's the chant score:





You can also find chant scores at JoguesChant; I think he's still working on the mp3s for this section, though, as they are not working for me.

It's interesting to go through all the propers to see what's used for the various pieces; I've been enjoying listening to the Gospel of John this year - especially last week's reading, "I am the true vine." I've always loved the Prologue of John, but then the rest - the long monologues in particular - not so much. But they grow on you.

This week, I realize, is very poignant, since Ascension is this coming Thursday; the chant propers are all, in fact, saying "Goodbye" to the Risen Christ as he prepares to return to God the Father.

English: Icon of Good Shepherd:





Christ feeding the multitude (Coptic icon):





Спас Лоза Истинная/ Christ True Vine:

"Russian lesbians denied country's first gay marriage"

From Reuters:

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A lesbian couple challenged the Russian legal system on Tuesday when they applied for a marriage license but it was swiftly rejected on the grounds that such a union must be between a woman and a man.

It was the first attempt by a gay couple to get a marriage license in Russia.

Irina Fyet, a 30-year-old PR worker, and beauty parlor owner Irina Shepitko, 32, said they would marry instead this summer in Toronto, where gay marriage is legal and no residency is required.

Clad in tuxedos and holding bouquets of white flowers, the pair, from southern Russia, said a gay marriage could improve the "dangerous" situation for homosexuals in Russian society.

"If society will know about us, see that we are normal, there would be a better relationship for (gays) at work, things would be simpler for us," Shepitko said before kissing Fyet.

"We have love, we have happiness. We want to be together forever and get married, in Russia," Fyet said after the pair sped in a sports car through the entrance of a register office in Moscow, where mayor Yuri Luzhkov once described gay pride marches as "satanic."

The Soviet Union banned homosexuality and any type of nudity on TV, and Russia did not decriminalize gay sex until 1993, two years after the USSR's collapse.

Unlike other major European cities, Moscow has no gay-friendly district and the homosexual scene is still largely underground, although there are some openly gay bars.

Despite one of Russia's most popular musical groups abroad, Tatu, trading on their fictionalized lesbian image, same-sex couples are rarely seen being affectionate in public. "We're scared of the extremists, but I hope that they won't be too harsh on us as we're two sweet girls. But being gay is dangerous in Russia," Fyet told Reuters.

Russian nationalists threatened on Tuesday to "cure" any homosexuals who join a Gay Pride parade on Saturday. [nLC381673] The march, which Moscow city has said will be banned, will coincide with its hosting of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Gay rights activist Nikolai Alekseyev stepped in after a register office worker breached Russian law by at first refusing to let the couple even apply for the marriage license.

"This is about the private rights of citizens ... and today they (Fyet and Shepitko) were denied this. That means that this country violates a person's rights," he told reporters.

While most marriage applications receive a response within 10 working days, the pair were rejected in just under an hour.

"By the Russian family code, a marriage must be between a man and a woman. This is the law and also my personal opinion," said director of the register office, Svetlana Potamoshneva.

Shepitko said they expected a rejection so they were not disappointed. They are banking on a loophole in Russian law which bans gay marriage at home but does not prevent the recognition of a same-sex marriage that has taken place abroad.

"The Russian constitution must accept our Canadian union," she said.

Potamoshneva acknowledged a grey area existed but said any decision regarding a foreign gay marriage would "have to be one for the court."

More from the "Food Shortages" SciAm article

More from "Could Food Shortages Bring Down Civilization?":

In the past, most famously when the innovations in the use of fertilizer, irrigation and high-yield varieties of wheat and rice created the “green revolution” of the 1960s and 1970s, the response to the growing demand for food was the successful application of scientific agriculture: the technological fix. This time, regrettably, many of the most productive advances in agricultural technology have already been put into practice, and so the long-term rise in land productivity is slowing down. Between 1950 and 1990 the world’s farmers increased the grain yield per acre by more than 2 percent a year, exceeding the growth of population. But since then, the annual growth in yield has slowed to slightly more than 1 percent. In some countries the yields appear to be near their practical limits, including rice yields in Japan and China.

Some commentators point to genetically modified crop strains as a way out of our predicament. Unfortunately, however, no genetically modified crops have led to dramatically higher yields, comparable to the doubling or tripling of wheat and rice yields that took place during the green revolution. Nor do they seem likely to do so, simply because conventional plant-breeding techniques have already tapped most of the potential for raising crop yields.

As the world’s food security unravels, a dangerous politics of food scarcity is coming into play: individual countries acting in their narrowly defined self-interest are actually worsening the plight of the many. The trend began in 2007, when leading wheat-exporting countries such as Russia and Argentina limited or banned their exports, in hopes of increasing locally available food supplies and thereby bringing down food prices domestically. Vietnam, the world’s second-biggest rice exporter after Thailand, banned its exports for several months for the same reason. Such moves may reassure those living in the exporting countries, but they are creating panic in importing countries that must rely on what is then left of the world’s exportable grain.

In response to those restrictions, grain importers are trying to nail down long-term bilateral trade agreements that would lock up future grain supplies. The Philippines, no longer able to count on getting rice from the world market, recently negotiated a three-year deal with Vietnam for a guaranteed 1.5 million tons of rice each year. Food-import anxiety is even spawning entirely new efforts by food-importing countries to buy or lease farmland in other countries.

In spite of such stopgap measures, soaring food prices and spreading hunger in many other countries are beginning to break down the social order. In several provinces of Thailand the predations of “rice rustlers” have forced villagers to guard their rice fields at night with loaded shotguns. In Pakistan an armed soldier escorts each grain truck. During the first half of 2008, 83 trucks carrying grain in Sudan were hijacked before reaching the Darfur relief camps.

No country is immune to the effects of tightening food supplies, not even the U.S., the world’s breadbasket. If China turns to the world market for massive quantities of grain, as it has recently done for soybeans, it will have to buy from the U.S. For U.S. consumers, that would mean competing for the U.S. grain harvest with 1.3 billion Chinese consumers with fast-rising incomes—a nightmare scenario. In such circumstances, it would be tempting for the U.S. to restrict exports, as it did, for instance, with grain and soybeans in the 1970s when domestic prices soared. But that is not an option with China. Chinese investors now hold well over a trillion U.S. dollars, and they have often been the leading international buyers of U.S. Treasury securities issued to finance the fiscal deficit. Like it or not, U.S. consumers will share their grain with Chinese consumers, no matter how high food prices rise.

It's important to remember how really stupid some of our disputes and obsessions are, when considered against the desperate problems of people in the world....

Giles

I finally picked up the tedious, hectoring tome, Creating Uncommon Worship, by Richard Giles, that I was given at some point last year as "resource." Here's a sample:

When, in the 1950s, the Parish Communion Movement achieved a remarkable success in replacing Matins with the Eucharist in the vast majority of English parishes, it made only one mistake. It failed to kill off the 8 o'clock Holy Communion. This early service was necessary in the bad old days when it was the only opportunity to receive the Sacrament, leter services being either Matins or non-communicating High Mass. When the Sung Eucharist became the principal liturgy of the day, the early service was rendered superfluous.

It survived this crisis, however, and has now developed a new lease of life as a 'special service' at the other end of the spectrum: for those who wish to take no part in the principal liturgy of the parish, nor in anything that anyone else is doing. To misquote Dr. Johnson, the 8 o'clock is the last refuge of the liturgical scoundrel.

The 8 o'clock needs to be discontinued wherever possible, and where it is not, needs to be brought into the same liturgical framework as the principal eucharist(s), so that there is no safe haven from the message of liturgical renewal. Introducing a homily, a little music and change in venue or seating plan will soon thin out the ranks.

Well, it certainly worked at the Philadelphia "Cathedral," didn't it? After all, the average Sunday attendance is 70 - count 'em, 70. Way to "thin out the ranks," there, Dick! And such a "pastoral" approach! Mess up the spiritual lives of your own parishioners, in any way you can, to get your own way!

This - the change of venue, the introduction of music, etc. - is exactly what went on in my parish at the early service. And I'd thought it was original to the liturgical scoundrels in our place! I should have known better; there didn't seem to be much in the way of original thought going on.

Some of the best, most generous, and kindest people in my parish go to the 8 o'clock service, too. (And no, not everybody is like this - but that's not the point.) What an underhanded, self-absorbed, passive-aggressive way to treat other people.

I'm seriously thinking about where to go next....

Congaudeant Catholici

At YouTube, a version of this Benedicamus trope, found in the Codex Calixtinus, sung by Anonymous 4:



Here's another version, sung by male voices, that actually sounds quite different:



That last YouTube page gives this citation:

Title: "Offertorium: Congaudeant catholici"
Service: Missa Sancti Iacobi

From CPDL, the Latin words:

Congaudeant catholici,
letentur cives celici

Refrain: die ista

Clerus pulcris carminibus
studeat atque cantibus.

Hec est dies laudabilis,
divina luce nobilis.

Vincens herodis gladium,
accepit vite bravium.

Qua iacobus palatia,
ascendit ad celestia.

Ergo carenti termino
benedicamus domino.

Magno patri familias
solvamus laudis gratias.

Will post a translation as soon as I find it. There's actually a PDF of the score, in modern notation, out there, too.

From a page at Vanderbilt University:

An illustrative example of the variations in transcription caused by such differences of opinion is the Benedicamus trope, Congaudeant Catholici. It is probably the most famous polyphonic piece of music from the Codex Calixtinus. It is the only piece that is scored for three voices, and it is the earliest known example of a three-voice texture. In the past, some scholars, including Peter Wagner, had argued that it wasn't really a three-voice texture, but was a two-voice texture with an optional tenor part. Their justification for this opinion was that one lower voice is written in black ink, the other in red ink. Helmer points out that the different colored inks did nothing more than distinguish between the two parts; since the two lines cross one another, it would be a necessary feature in the notation (pg. 80).

The primary difference in the Karp transcription (Vol. 2, pg. 206) and the Helmer transcription (pg. 243) is that the former is in triple meter and the latter, duple. (Actually, the Helmer score is notated in free rhythm, but a duple meter is suggested. A grouped notation of the Helmer version can be found in the Norton Anthology of Western Music, Vol. 1, pg. 51.) Naturally, this affects the other important element of polyphony, the alignment of the notes. The only places on which the two versions agree on the alignment are the cadences because their placement is governed by rules which are more consistent and better understood.

And more from the same page, in re: the Codex itself and Compostela:

The city of Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain has been a popular destination for pilgrims since the middle ages. The origin and nature of this tradition are described by the twelfth century Codex Calixtinus. Especially noteworthy is the inclusion of music, some of which is polyphonic. The study of this early organum has provided new and often controversial insights into the development of the genre, owing to the fact that it is some of the earliest polyphony in our literature.

The Cult of St. James

In the late 8th century, Charlemagne had a "vision" in which a knightly figure appeared to him, identifying himself as St. James, the apostle (Santiago in Spanish). St. James described to Charlemagne that his body was resting in a tomb in the furthest reaches of western Europe, finis terrae, or "the ends of the earth." However, the path to his resting place was blocked by the "infidels," i.e., the Moors that had conquered most of the Iberian Peninsula. Charlemagne was to follow the path of the stars, the Milky Way, through Spain, liberating this holy ground from Islamic influence.

So recounts Book IV of the Codex Calixtinus. The book continues on to describe the various battles of Charlemagne and other men in the reconquista of Spain. Throughout these "crusades" the name of St. James was invoked as a rallying point and became central to uniting all Christendom against the Moors.

The enormous influence of the figure of St. James contributed to a phenomenon known as the "cult of St. James." Legends of miraculous healings and blessings attributed to the power of St. James began to spread. The faithful Christians of Europe, seeking to magnify their piety and devotion, began making pilgrimages to the site which had been designated as his final burial place, a small town in northwestern Spain called Santiago de Compostela.

Santiago de Compostela

According to legend, after the martyrdom of James in Jerusalem at the hands of Herod, his body was carried in a boat to Galicia by some of his disciples. (Galicia is the name of the northwestern region of Spain.) Although the various stories differ significantly, the actual tomb was purported to have been discovered by one of two people in the 9th century: Pelayo, a local hermit, or Theodomir, a local bishop in Galicia. Nearly all the legends describe how the discovery of the tomb was accompanied by bright lights or stars above the wooded area where the tomb rested, and angels who proclaimed the divinity of the location. A small church was constructed on the spot, which would later be replaced by the stately cathedral now present. The place was called Campus Stellae, or "Field of the Stars," later shortened to Compostela. (Edwin Mullins, in his book The Pilgrimage to Santiago, points out that the true derivation of Compostela is the Latin Compositium or Compostum, meaning "burial ground." [pg. 7])

The popularity of the pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela was surpassed only by Jerusalem and Rome. There are a couple of reasons for such popularity. First was the idea of "divine grace," or the intercession of saints either to provide a miracle (such as a healing) or pardon from sins. Traveling long distances to pay homage to a saint was considered a worthy price to pay to merit forgiveness. The other motivation for pilgrims was the medieval fascination with relics. Oftentimes, these relics were believed to be endowed with healing or restorative powers. Less significant relics located in other places, such as slivers of wood from the Cross, or individual bones of some saint, attracted fewer people. The entire body of St. James was considered to be one of the more significant relics of the Middle Ages.

The Codex Calixtinus

The Codex Calixtinus, housed at the cathedral in Santiago, is a manuscript of the book entitled Liber Sancti Jacobi written between 1130 and 1140. It is considered by many to be the first tourist promotional book in history. Its several books describe the history of St. James and his importance in liberating Spain from the Moors, the miracles of St. James on behalf of pilgrims and others, and information about the principal route leading to Santiago de Compostela (popularly called the "Camino de Santiago" or more specifically, the camino francés). It wasn't actually written in Spain; evidence suggests that monks in southern France may have authored parts of it. Scholars believe that it was carried to Spain in the early 12th century by a man named Aymery Picaud, who also happens to be the editor of the Liber Sancti Jacobi, and perhaps the author of Book V, which is the pilgrims' guide. Aymery Picaud was the chancellor of Pope Calixtus II, and in order to give the book more authority and authenticity, he inserted into the text forged letters from the pope and from other important historical figures.

It is not known exactly why those of southern France would be so interested in promoting the pilgrimage to Santiago. One reason may be that people of Europe first had to pass through southwestern France on their way to Spain. Fernando López Alsina, in his article, "La Formación del Camino de Santiago," attributes a more religious significance to the area of Galicia: ". . . The location of the tomb of the apostle James certified the sure fulfillment of the Master's charge to carry the good word to the ends of the earth." (Translation by the author.)

The books of the Codex Calixtinus are as follows:

Book I

Book I contains sermons and other liturgical material, much of which is set to plainchant. Although much of the material is attributed to important historical figures, scholars doubt their authenticity. Since the codex is written in honor of St. James, it is fitting that the liturgy provided revolves around two occasions: July 25th, the Feast of the Passion of St. James; and December 30, the Feast of the Translation and Election of St. James. A collection of poetry and pilgrims' hymns is also included.

Book II

This book contains 22 chapters which describe various miracles that were performed through the power of St. James. Many of them occurred in cities along the Camino de Santiago, and the recipients of such miracles were often pilgrims.

Book III

The story of how James ended up in Spain is told in Book III. It is the shortest of the books of the Codex Calixtinus.

Book IV

After Charlemagne's vision of St. James, he began a series of campaigns against the Moors. The battles are described in this book. It was supposedly written by Turpin, an archbishop who accompanied Charlemagne in these military expeditions. Nevertheless, Book IV is often called the pseudo-Turpin because it is doubtful that Turpin had anything at all to do with the book or with the expeditions.

Book V

Book V is often labeled as Book IV because of King Philip, who ordered that Book IV be removed from the Codex. Later, of course, it was restored, but the numbering is often based on the unrestored version.

Book V is the pilgrims' guide, probably written by Aymery Picaud. It describes conditions along the camino for the traveler. Obviously, the travelers couldn't carry copies of the manuscript with them, but the information was available in copied manuscripts, especially in France.

Of interest musically is a supplementary section of polyphonic settings which augment the music available in Book I. There are a total of twenty pieces, each set for two voices with the exception of one which is probably a three-voice texture. It seems that, when performing this music (usually the polyphony was reserved for the masses, not the offices) the choirmasters were at liberty to substitute any particular section of the mass from Book I with a polyphonic equivalent from Book V. The most common substitutions seem to be tropes of the Kyrie and the Benedicamus Domino.

Here's another piece, apparently, from the Missa Sancti Iacobi, Codex Calixtinus, with this designation:

Medieval chant from Codex Calixtinus.
Title: "Graduale"
Service: Missa Sancti Iacobi

"The Sarum gradual and the Gregorian antiphonale missarum" online

Here, "Extracted from Graduale Sarisburiense published for members of the Plainsong and Medieval Music Society. Traces the "development of the Sarum Gradual from the Gregorian Antiphonale missarum." By Walter Frere, and published in 1895:

The Sarum gradual and the Gregorian antiphonale missarum: a dissertation and an historical index
By Walter Howard Frere, Plainsong and Mediaeval Music Society (Great Britain), Catholic Church, Plainsong and Mediaeval Music Society (Great Britain).
Published by published for members of the Plainsong and Mediaeval Music Society [by] B. Quaritch, 1895
Original from Harvard University
Digitized Oct 29, 2007
102 pages

You can download a 3M PDF of the book, too (that's the link right there).

Haven't looked very closely at this yet, but I'm sure it will be very interesting. There are some (black and white) samples of illuminated chant manuscripts, too, such as the one below, which I believe is Plate 1, and is described this way:

1. From Brit. Mus. MS. Additional, 12194—tne MS. which is the main basis of the reproduction given in the complete work. Sec p. xxxv.

This page contains the end of the Service for Saturday in the September Ember Week, and the beginning of the Procession on the Dedication Festival.

Pérotin 'Alleluia nativitas'

As sung by the Hilliard Ensemble, per this YouTube entry:

Pérotin (fl. c. 1200), also called Perotin the Great, was a European composer, believed to be French, who lived around the end of the twelfth and beginning of the 13th century. He was the most famous member of the Notre Dame school of polyphony. He was one of very few composers of his day whose name has been preserved, and can be reliably attached to individual compositions; this is due to the testimony of an anonymous English student at Notre Dame known as Anonymous IV, who wrote about him and his predecessor Léonin. Anonymous IV called him "Perotin Magister", which means "Pérotin the master or expert." The name Pérotin is itself derived from "Perotinus," the Latin diminutive of Petrus, the Latin version of the French name Pierre.

"Alleluia nativitas"

Choral Alleluya V. Nativitas gloriose virginis is a three-part organum, which is attributed to the medieval French composer Perotinus (fl c.1200), who is also known as Pérotin. Written for three male voices, it contains many common aspects of organa composition, including particularly the frequent and interweaving juxtaposition of intervalic consonance with extreme discord. Following the tradition of tropes and sequences in the 10th and 11th centuries, organa were composed for feast days. They were used in both the Offices (small services held throughout the day) and the Ordinary of the Mass (The part of the mass that could use changeable texts). Alleluya Nativitas forms the Alleluia from the Mass of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is celebrated on September 8. As such, it consists of an the sung word "Alleluia" followed by three verses (the first line of which is "Nativitas gloriose virginis") ~ All Music Guide

And now we know where the women's vocal ensemble, Anonymous 4, got their name, too! More about the original Anonymous IV here.

And here, apparently, is the chant score: