Tones for the Martyrology on Friday

A commenter asked the other day about the chant for the solemn chanting of the Martyrology on the Vigil of the Nativity.

The chant is is given in the introductory pages of the Martyrologium:


The photograph above (click on it to expand) is from the 1914 editio typica. One can note (pun intended) the cadence as found in the old chant for the Evangelist of Passion. In later editions of the Martyrology this was simplified to match the revised tone in the Passion books.

Alternatively, that wonderful collection of chants by Dom Reiser, Laudes Festivae, gives the first part nicely printed out. The tone can be found on page 27 of the pdf file, page 1 of the actual publication. The Martyrology letter is 'p' so the moon to be announced Luna undevicesima.

Laudes Festivae also has some rather nice tones for the lessons of Christmass Mattins. They are given, not surprisingly, in the form found in the Monastic Breviary but a little cutting and pasting can bring them into a suitable format for the Roman rite (if one is going to do this better do the cutting and pasting now). There are also two very attractive settings of the Gospels for the first and third Masses!

'Twas the week before Christmass

The Liturgy of Advent intensifies from the 17th December. From that day not only are the Great 'O' Antiphons sung at Vespers but at Lauds and the Hours special sets of antiphons are sung for each weekday preceding the Vigil of the Nativity. From the 17th all Octaves of local feasts cease and private Votive and Requiem Masses are prohibited.

Both the Great 'O' Antiphons and the antiphon sets are to be found in the Breviary after the Third Sunday of Advent. Today, being Monday, the set of antiphons Ecce veniet etc are sung. At Lauds and the Hours the ferial preces are sung, with the choir kneeling. Today is also the Vigil of St. Thomas the Apostle but this does not get commemorated in the Office. However, Mass is of the Vigil of St. Thomas celebrated after None. The texts of the Mass come from the Common of Vigils, Ego autem etc. The ministers wear violet dalmatic and tunicle - a rare sight in Advent - there is no Gloria, the second collect is of Advent feria (Note the typo in Ordo MMX, mea culpa) the third collect of the BVM in Advent Deus, qui de beate. As the Gloria has not been sung Benedicamus Domino is sung as the dismissal. Vespers are first Vespers of St. Thomas, a commemoration of the Advent feria is made, O clavis David is the 'O' antiphon used.

Tuesday is the feast of St. Thomas, a Double of the Second Class. At Lauds the commemoration of the Advent feria is made with an antiphon proper to the 21st of December, Nolite timere. Mass is sung after Terce. The Gloria is sung, the Advent feria is commemorated, the Creed is sung and the preface is of the Apostles. At Vespers the Advent feria is commemorated with the Great 'O' Antiphon O Oriens.

On Wednesday at Lauds and the Hours the antiphon set Prophetae praedicaverunt etc are sung. The ferial preces are sung, kneeling, at Lauds and the Hours. Mass, of the preceding Sunday, is celebrated after None. There is no Gloria, the second collect is of the BVM in Advent, Deus qui de beate, the third collect Ecclesiae or Deus omnium. The Alleluia and its verse are omitted. The dismissal is Benedicamus Domino. At Vespers the antiphon is O Rex Gentium, the ferial preces are sung, kneeling. At Compline the preces are sung, kneeling, too.

On Thursday at Lauds and the Hours the antiphon set De Sion etc are sung. At Lauds the antiphon on the Benedictus is proper to the day, Ecce completa sunt. The ferial preces are sung, kneeling, at Lauds and the Hours. Mass, of the preceding Sunday, is celebrated after None. There is no Gloria, the second collect is of the BVM in Advent, Deus qui de beate, the third collect Ecclesiae or Deus omnium. The Alleluia and its verse are omitted. The dismissal is Benedicamus Domino. At Vespers the antiphon is O Emmanuel, the ferial preces are sung, kneeling. At Compline the preces are sung, kneeling, too.

The Fourth Sunday of Advent

The Fourth Sunday of Advent is a semi-double Sunday of the second class. The liturigcal colour is violet. The Gospel pericopes from St. Luke concern the preaching of St. John the Baptist preaching the baptism of repentance by the Jordan and the reference to Isaias "Prepare ye the way of the LORD: make straight His paths: every valley shall be filled: and every mountain and hill shall be brought low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways plain: and all flesh shall see the salvation of God."

'Every valley' instantly associates in Rubricarius' mind with that musical genius G.F. Handel and 'Messiah':

(Here an extract taken from YouTube with Jon Humphrey and Robert Shaw. A very fine recording of 'Messiah', and one that suits Rubricarius' tastes, is with Rene Jacobs directing on Harmonia Mundi with the Choir of Clare College and Freiburger Barockorchester HMC 901928.29)

At Vespers yesterday afternoon the antiphons proper to the Sunday, Canite tuba., were sung with the psalms of Saturday. The Office hymn was Creator alme siderum and the Great 'O' Antiphon O Adonai in its entirety both before and after the Magnificat, with the choir standing. At Compline the Dominical preces were sung.

At Mattins the invitatory is Prope est jam Dominus: Venite adoremus and the hymn Verbum supernum prodiens. In the first nocturn the lessons are taken, as usual in Advent, from Isaias. In the second nocturn the lessons are again taken from St. Leo's sermon on the fast of the tenth month. The homily in the third nocturn is from the twentieth homily of St. Gregory on St. Luke's Gospel. At Lauds the antiphons that were sung at Vespers, Canite tuba etc., are sung with the Dominical psalms.

At the Hours the antiphons from Lauds are used in the usual sequence. At Prime the versicle in the responsory is Qui venturus es in mundum and the Dominical preces are sung.

Mass is sung after Terce. The ministers wear violet folded chasubles. The Gloria is not sung. The second collect is of the BVM in Advent, Deus qui de beate, the third collect Ecclesiae or Deus omnium. The Creed is sung and the preface that of the Trinity. As the Gloria is not sung the dismissal is Benedicamus Domino.

At Vespers the antiphons Canite tuba etc are sung with the Dominical psalms. The hymn is again Creator alme siderum. The antiphon on the Magnificat is the Great 'O' Antiphon appointed for the 19th December O radix Jesse. The antiphon is sung in its entirety both before and after the canticle with the choir standing. At Compline the Dominical preces are sung.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' Mattins is cut down to one nocturn of three lessons as usual. At Prime the Dominical preces are omitted. At Mass the ministers wear dalmatic and tunicle, there is only one collect and the dismissal is Ite, missa est. At Compline the Dominical preces are omitted.

Art: Jerome Nadal

Ember Saturday in Advent

Today is the Ember Saturday in Advent. It ranks as a greater, non-privileged ferial day, of simple rite.

At Mattins the invitatory Prope est jam Dominus etc is sung and the hymn is Verbum supernum prodiens. The nocturn has three lessons from a homily of St. Gregory on St. Luke's Gospel. After the third responsory the second scheme of Lauds is sung (Pss. 50, 91, 63, the Canticle of Moses & 150) with the set of antiphons Intuemini etc. This set of antiphons for the Saturday before Christmas Eve is actually rather a modern introduction to the series of antiphons at Lauds and the Hours that are used from the 17th December. Prior to the 1911-13 reform on the Saturday before Christmas Eve the particular set of antiphons that fell on the day of the week of St. Thomas' feast were either anticipated or transferred to the Saturday. The hymn at Lauds is En clara vox. The antiphon on the Benedictus is Quomodo fiet istud etc. After the antiphon is sung in full after the canticle the choir kneels and the ferial preces are sung .

At the Hours the antiphons Intuemini etc are used in sequence. At Prime the fourth psalm is added (the one displaced by the Miserere in the schema of Lauds II, Ps. 149) and the chapter is Pacem et veritatem. The Dominical and ferial preces are sung with the choir kneeling. At the other Hours the short set of ferial preces are sung, again with the choir kneeling.

Mass is sung after None and has the usual, ancient, form, common to Ember Saturdays. The ministers wear folded chasubles. Four candles are on the altar. After the Kyrie there are a series of five structural units comprising of the invitation Oremus, followed by Flectamus genua, Levate, a collect, O.T. reading and gradual. Four of these readings are from Isaiah and the last from Daniel. After the pericope from Daniel instead of a gradual the hymn of the Three Men in fiery furnace is sung, Benedictus es, Domine, Deus patrum nostrorum and its collect Deus, qui tribus pueris. After this collect the second collect is of the BVM, Deus, qui de Beate and the third collect for the Church, Ecclesiae, or Deus omnium. Mass then continues as usual (with of course kneeling for the orations and from the Canon through to the Fraction as usual on penitential days) with Benedicamus Domino sung as the dismissal.

Vespers of the fourth Sunday in Advent are sung. The antiphons Canite tuba etc are sung with the Saturday psalms. The Office hymn is Creator alme siderum and the Great 'O' Antiphon O Adonai is sung. The Great 'O' Antiphons are sung from December 17th in the Roman rite (and from the previous evening in various Western variants on the Old Roman rite). These antiphons are 'doubled', i.e. they are sung entire both before and after the Magnificat even on days of simple rank. At Compline the Dominical preces are sung, standing.

Following the 'liturgical books of 1962' the Canticle of Moses at Lauds gets shortened from 65 to 27 verses. At Prime the fourth psalm is not added and the ferial chapter Pacem et veritatem is replaced by the festal (!) Regi saeculorum. The ferial preces are omitted at Prime and the Hours. The Mass has the option of the 'mini-Ember Day' consisting of just one additional unit of collect, pericope and gradual. There is no additional collect for the Blessed Virgin or for the Church. The dismissal is Ite, missa est and the ministers wear dalmatic and tunicle. The doubling of the Great 'O' antiphons is no different to all other antiphons throughout the year. The Dominical preces are omitted at Compline.

Ember Friday in Advent

Today is Ember Friday in Advent. It ranks as a greater, non-privileged ferial day of simple rite.

At Mattins the invitatory Prope est jam Dominus etc is sung and the hymn is Verbum supernum prodiens. The nocturn has three lessons from a homily of St. Ambrose of Milan on St. Luke's account of the Visitation. After the third responsory the second scheme of Lauds is sung (Pss. 50, 142, 84, the Canticle of Habacuc & 147) with the set of antiphons Constantes estote etc. This set of antiphons is the first used this year of six sets for the ferial days before the Vigil of the Nativity. The hymn at Lauds is En clara vox, the antiphon on the Benedictus is Ex quo facta est etc. After the antiphon is sung in full after the canticle the choir kneels and the ferial preces are sung.

At the Hours the same antiphons, Constantes estote etc., are used in sequence. At Prime the fourth psalm is added (the one displaced by the Miserere in the schema of Lauds II, Ps. 98) and the chapter is Pacem et veritatem. The Dominical and ferial preces are sung with the choir kneeling. At the other Hours the short set of ferial preces are sung, again with the choir kneeling.

Mass is sung after None. The ministers wear folded chasubles. Four candles are on the altar. The second collect is of the BVM, Deus, qui de Beate, and the third collect for the Church, Ecclesiae, or Deus omnium. Mass then continues as usual (with of course kneeling for the orations and from the Canon through to the Fraction as usual on penitential days) with Benedicamus Domino sung as the dismissal.

Vespers are ferial. The Office hymn is Creator alme siderum and the first of the Great 'O' Antiphon's, O Sapientia, is sung. These antiphons are 'doubled', i.e. they are sung entire both before and after the Magnificat even on days of simple rank. After the antiphon has been repeated after the Magnificat the choir kneels and the ferial preces are sung. The collect is of the previous Sunday, Aurem tuam. At Compline the Dominical preces are sung, again kneeling.

Following the 'liturgical books of 1962' at Prime the fourth psalm is not added and the ferial chapter Pacem et veritatem is replaced by the festal (!) Regi saeculorum. The ferial preces are omitted at Prime and the Hours. At Mass there is no additional collect for the Blessed Virgin or for the Church. The penitential kneeling is reduced. The dismissal is Ite, missa est and the ministers wear dalmatic and tunicle. One strange feature of 1962 Ember Wednesdays and Fridays is that whilst traditionally the Ember Day liturgy ended with the Mass sung after None, in the 1962 books Vespers becomes formally part of the Ember Day. In the traditional rite if Vespers were ferial, the collect from the preceding Sunday was sung as noted above. In the 1962 rite the collect from the Ember Day is used at Vespers, so today Excita, quaesumus is sung.

The Third Sunday of Advent

The third Sunday of Advent, often referred to as Gaudete Sunday from the words of its introit, Gaudete in Domino semper: iterum dico gaudete sees a lightening of the Advent mood. 'Rejoice in the LORD always; again I say rejoice.' The same words begin the Epistle from Philippians (4:4). The Sunday's rank is a semi-double of the second class. The Gospel pericopes from St. John contain 'The Record of John', so beautifully set to music by Orlando Gibbons, with the Baptist's famous words "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the LORD."

(A recording of Gibbon's masterpiece from YouTube above.)

For this Sunday, mirroring Laetare Sunday in Lent, the penitential mood is lightened with the deacon and sub-deacon wearing violet dalmatic and tunicle rather than their folded chasubles or, with the use of rose vestments. The absence of folded chasubles means that the organ may be played.

At Vespers yesterday the antiphons were proper to the Sunday, Veniet Dominus etc., sung with the psalms of Saturday. Although within an Octave of the Blessed Virgin the concluding verse of Creator alme siderum was in the ordinary form as the Doxology is not sung on the Sunday within the Octave following the 1911-13 reform. After the collect of the Sunday commemorations were sung of the preceding Office of St. Damasus and of the Octave. At Compline the Dominical preces were omitted due to the occurring Octave.

At Mattins the invitatory is Prope est jam Dominus: Venite adoremus. This invitatory is now used until the 23rd of December inclusive. In the first nocturn the lessons are taken, as usual in Advent, from Isaias. In the second nocturn the lessons are taken from St. Leo's sermon on the fast of the tenth month. The homily in the third nocturn is from the writings of St. Gregory on St. John's Gospel and the record of the Baptist. At Lauds the antiphons that were used at Vespers are again sung. After the collect of the Sunday a commemoration of the Octave is sung.

At the Hours the antiphons from Lauds are used in the usual sequence. At Prime the versicle in the responsory is Qui venturus es in mundum and the Dominical preces are omitted due to the occurring Octave.

(A 'rose' chasuble of Adrian Fortescue DD. Purplish-rose ground with a large gold pattern woven into the fabric, velvet silk orfreys with gold edging)

Mass is sung after Terce. The ministers wear dalmatic and tunicle. The Gloria is not sung. The second collect is of the Octave. There is no third collect, as is the normal rule for Sundays within Octaves. The Creed is sung and the preface that of the Trinity. As the Gloria is not sung the dismissal is Benedicamus Domino.

(The veil and stole from Dr. Fortescue's extant rose set of vestments. Note the decoration and width of the stole ends.)

At Vespers commemorations are sung of the following feast of St. Lucy and of the Octave. At Compline the Dominical preces are omitted.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' at both Vespers there are no commemorations. The Octave of the Virgin has been abolished. Mattins is stripped down to one nocturn of three lessons. At Lauds there are no commemorations. At Mass there is only one collect and the dismissal is Ite, missa est.

Art (top): Jerome Nadal depicts today's Gospel where the Jews sent priests and Levites to interrogate St. John the Baptist.

The Second Sunday of Advent

The second Sunday of Advent (and the third and fourth) are semi-doubles of the second class in rank. The Gospel pericopes, from St. Matthew, concern St. John the Baptist in prison sending two of his followers to meet the LORD.

At Vespers on Saturday the proper antiphons from Lauds were sung, Ecce in nubibus caeli etc, with the psalms of Saturday. Commemorations were sung of St. Sabbas and St. Peter Chrysologus. At Compline the Dominical preces were omitted because of the occurring double feast.

At Mattins in the first nocturn the lessons are a continuation of Isaiah and today contain the beautiful symbolism of the Rod of Jesse. In the second nocturn this theme is continued as the lessons are taken from St. Jerome's Expositon on Isaias the Prophet. Like so much of the Advent liturgy these readings are exquisite:

Therefore upon this flower, which shall suddenly come forth from the stock and root of Jesse through the Virgin Mary, the Spirit of the LORD shall rest: for truly in him all the fulness of the Godhead was pleased to dwell corporeally: the spirit was not poured out upon him by measure, as it was upon the other Saints: but as we read in the Hebrew Gospel used by the Zazarenes: The whole fountain of the Holy Ghost shall be poured forth upon him. For the LORD is a Spirit; and where the Spirit of the LORD is, there is liberty.

(Lesson VI, Stanbrooke Abbey translation.) In the third nocturn the homily is from St. Gregory.

At Lauds the antiphons are proper, Ecce in nubibus caeli etc as were sung at Vespers. A commemoration is sung of St. Sabbas. At Prime the Dominical preces are sung.

Mass is sung after Terce, the deacon and subdeacon wear folded chasubles. The Gloria is not sung in the seasonal liturgy of Advent. The second collect is of St. Sabbas, the third collect of the BVM in Advent, Deus, qui de beate. The Creed is sung and the preface that of the Trinity. Benedicamus Domino is sung as the dismissal.

At Vespers the antiphons from Lauds are, again, used. A commemoration is sung of tomorrow's feast of St. Nicholas.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' there are no commemorations at either Vespers, Lauds or Mass. Mattins is cut down to one nocturn of three lessons. At Mass the ministers wear dalmatic and tunicle and the dismissal is Ite, missa est.

Art: Jerome Nadal