The New Catholic Encyclopedia
"Among the most beautiful creations of the late Middle Ages are the
Antiphons
in praise of the Virgin Mary, known as Marian Antiphons (antiphonae B.M.V., that is Beatae Mariae Virginis.) A great number of such
chants
were composed during the eleventh, twelfth, and later centuries, but only four of them have survived in present-day usage: Alma redemptoris mater, Ave regina caelorum, Regina coeli laetare, and Salve regina, the first and possibly the last composed by Hermannus Contractus (1015-54), the other two dating from the twelfth or thirteenth century. In spite of their considerable
extension and elaborateness
, they were originally used as real Antiphons, with a number of psalm verses and assigned to specific
Office Hours;
for instance, Alma redemptoris was assigned to
Sext
of the Feast of the Assumption. Beginning with the thirteenth century, they lost their psalmodic connection and received a much more important liturgical position, which they have retained to the present day. Each of them is assigned to one of the
four seasons
of the year and is sung, during that season, at the end of Office Hours, particularly
Lauds and Compline
."
Willi Apel, Gregorian Chant (Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1958), p. 404.
As Apel notes, all four of the Marian anthems exist in longer and in shorter ("Simple Tone") versions; he adds (p. 404, fn. 22) that the later "probably date from the seventeenth century or later."
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"It should be clear from the example of Alma Redemptoris Mater . . . that the Marian antiphons differ considerably from the style of the older Office antiphons. Not only are their texts much longer, but they are given more elaborate settings, with wider ranges, greater emphasis on tonal organization, and even occasional melismas, which are particularly extended in Regina coeli. Undoubtedly, it was this 'modernity' that earned the Marian antiphons their prominent liturtical position and their place in the affections of composers throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance. The texts with their melodies were frequently given polyphonic settings, and the melodies alone served as the basis for many polyphonic Masses. . . . In the later Middle Ages . . . the Alma Redemptoris Mater seems to have enjoyed the greatest popularity. Written by Hermannus Contractus (1013-54), it is perhaps the oldest of the Marian antiphons and may therefore have been the most widely known in medieval times." Richard H. Hoppin, Medieval Music (New York: Norton, 1978), p. 104.
Hoppin goes on (p. 105) to note its role in "The Prioress' Tale" which, he says "brings up an interesting musical sidelight. Usually, Chaucer calls the chant an antiphon, but once he uses the term anthem (antym). It may come as a surprise to find that the word anthem is merely an English corruption of antiphon. Before the Reformation, it was chiefly used to designate independent chants such as Marian antiphons, both in the monophonic and polyphonis settings."
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"Antiphon":
"counter-voice." Monks or nuns "in choir" stood or sat in two ranks on either side of the santuary, facing each other. They took turns when singing the psalms, one side singing one verse, the other side answering with the next--"antiphonal" singing. "Antiphons" were originally short pieces of music sung between the verses (e.g. between each verse, between every two verses). The Alma and other Marian antiphons are much longer than typical antiphons, and for them to have been used "antiphonally" is somewhat unusual.
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Chant
"Gregorian Chant" (named for Pope Gregory--which one is a subject of discussion) or "plainsong" is the term used to designate the liturgical song of the Latin church. It was employed most notably in the Office (psalms, antiphons, responsories, hymns) and at Mass. Apel's book (from which the quotation you were reading is taken) is a standard introduction. Another, very accessible introduction is Richard H. Hoppin's Medieval Music (quoted and fully cited in the second long quotation on this page). The most accessible collection of chant is The Liber Usualis ("The Common Book"), a convenient source for the chants of the Mass and daytime office, with an introduction to Gregorian musical notation, modalities, and psalmody.
- The Liber Usualis with Introduction and Rubrics in English. Tournai: 1952 (and subsequent editions).
Hoppin discusses the Liber in Medieval Music, pp. 51-53. The Alma is printed in the Liber on p. 273; it can also be found reprinted as the first item in Richard H. Hoppin, ed., Anthology of Medieval Music (New York: Norton, 1978).
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extension and elaborateness:
These Marian antiphons are somewhat "melismatic": that is, they frequently have an elaboration of many notes for a single, important syllable (witness the singer gasping for breath). Much chant was considerably simpler, with usually one, sometimes two, rarely as many as three notes of melody for each syllable.
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Hours of the (Divine) Office:
the "canonical" hours (those established by the monastic rule) were the following:
- matins (also called "nocturns"), the longest and most elaborate of the "hours," sung in the middle of the night
- lauds (also called "matins"), sung at dawn
- prime, terce, sext, none: the "little" hours, sung during the day at the first, third, sixth, and ninth hour of the monastic day
- vespers: "evensong" sung at the end of the day
- compline: the night prayer of the office, sung before bed.
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Four Seasons:
that is, of the liturgical year. They are:
- Advent, which begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas and goes to the day before Christmas
- Christmas "tide" (time), which lasts from Christmas to the feast of the Epiphany (6 Jan.); the following Sundays were called "Sundays after Epiphany" and continued until the next major liturgical season, Lent
- Lent, which comprises the six and a half weeks before Easter, from Ash Wednesday through Holy Saturday
- "Eastertide" (or "Paschaltide"), beginning with Easter Sunday and continuing until Pentecost ("Whitsunday," (50 days after Easter). In Chaucer's time, Eastertide extended until Trinity Sunday (the Sunday after Pentecost).
The rest of the year, from Trinity Sunday until the beginning of Advent, was reckoned by counting "Sundays after Pentecost" or "Sundays in ordinary time." The liturgical year began afresh with Advent.
For a full discussion, see John Harper, The Forms and Orders of Western Liturgy from the Tenth to the Eighteenth Centuries (Oxford: Clarendon, 1991).
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