medieval.org
LP, 1982: EMI Deutsche Harmonia mundi 1C 165 99 925/26
CD, 1999: BMG Deutsche Harmonia mundi 05472 77 814 2
medieval.org
LP, 1982: EMI Deutsche Harmonia mundi 1C 165 99 925/26
CD, 1999: BMG Deutsche Harmonia mundi 05472 77 814 2
This recording is based on a concert of the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis which was performed under the auspices of the association „Freunde alter Musik in Basel”.
[Side 1][CD 1]
Drame Liturgique de Pâques
VISITATIO SEPULCHRI
Easter Play from Fleury | Osterspiel aus Fleury
1. Ad faciendam [28:30]
Orléans, Bibliothèque de la Ville, 201
• singers:
Michael Collver, Richard Levitt, Henk van Benthem
Josep Cabré, Robert Greenlee, Harlan Hokin
• Instrumentalists:
Randall Cook, shawn
Jason Paras, rebec
Xenia Schindler, harp
Kenneth Zuckerman, lute
direction: Thomas Binkley
Messe de Pâques de Notre Dame de Paris
MISSA IN DOMENICA RESURRECTIONIS
Easter Mass from Notre Dame de Paris | Ostermesse aus Nostre Dame de Paris
2. Rex omnipotentiae [1:36]
Conductus — Pluteus 29.1
[Side 2]
3. Alleluia! Ad sepulchrum [0:54]
Paris, BN fl 1112
4. Resurrexi et adhuc tecum sum [4:19]
Introitus — Paris, BN fl 1112
5. Cunctipotens genitor [3:49]
Kyrie — Wolfenbüttel, Helmstedt 628
6. Gloria in excelsis Deo [2:40]
Gloria — Paris, BN fl 1112
7. Dominus vobiscum - Oremus. Deus qui hodierna [1:08]
Oratio — Paris, B. Mazarine 411
8. Haec est dies triumphalis [4:50]
Conductus — Pluteus 29.1
9. Regi perennis gloriae [3:19]
Epistel (1. Cor. 5, 7-8) — Madrid, BN, MS 289
10. Benedicite. Benedictus tu et sermonis tui [0:25]
Benedictio — Madrid, BN, MS 289
11. Haec dies [9:24]
Graduale Organaliter — Pluteus 29.1
[Side 3][CD 2]
12. Alleluia [12:47]
Alleluia Organaliter — Pluteus 29.1
13. Victimae paschali [1:25]
Sequentia — Paris, BN fl 1112
14. Resurgente Domino [3:18]
Conductus — Pluteus 29.1
15. Jube Domine benedicere [0:29]
Benedictio — Pluteus 29.1
16. Sequentia sancti Evangeli secundum Marcum [2:09]
(Marc. 16, 1-7) — Paris, B. Mazarine 411
17. Credo in unum Deum [7:48]
Credo — London, BL, Egerton 2615
18. Dominus vobiscum [0:15]
— London, BL, Egerton 2615
[Side 4]
19. Terra tremuit er quievit [1:53]
Offertorium (Ps. 75, 9-10) — Paris, BN fl 1112
20. Vere dignum et iustum est [1:19]
Praefatio — Paris, B. Mazarine 411
21. Sanctus, Christe ierarchia [7:00]
Sanctus — Paris, BN fl 1112 | Wolfenbüttel, Helmstedt 628
22. Oremus. Praeceptis salutaribus moniti [1:59]
Pater Noster — Paris, B. Mazarine 411
23. Agnus dei qui tollis peccata mundi [4:01]
Agnus dei — Paris, BN fl 1112 | Wolfenbüttel, Helmstedt 628
24. Pascha nostrum immolatus [1:11]
Communio — Paris, BN fl 1112
25. Oremus. Spiritum nobis [1:12]
Postcommunio — Paris, B. Mazarine 411
26. Ite, Missa est [0:55]
Paris, BN fl 1112
• soloists:
Michael Collver, Robert Greenlee, Harlan Hokin
Thomas Binkley, dir.
• Choral-Schola:
André Baltensperger, Andreas Besteck, Josep Cabré, Timothy Doughty,
Jorge Espinach, Christoph Hungeburth, Pedro Memelsdorff, Heinz Meyer, Pere Ros, Henk van Benthem, Stephan Wolf
direction: Christopher Schmidt
Complete direction | Gesamtleitung: Thomas Binkley
Sources:
(Visitatio)
#1 Orléans, Bibliothèque de la Ville, 201
(Missa)
#2, 8, 11, 14-15 — Firenze, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Pluteus 29.1
#3, 4, 6, 13, 19, 21, 23, 24, 26 — Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, fonds latin 1112
#5, 21, 23 - Wolfenbüttel, Herzog-August Bibliothek, Helmstedt 628
#7, 16, 20, 22, 25 — Paris, Bibliothèque Mazarine 411
#9, 10 — Madrid, Biblioteca Nacional, MS 289
#17, 18 —London, British Library, Egerton 2615
Ⓟ 1982 BMG Entertainment
&#copy; 1999 BMG Entertainment
Recording: Pere Casulleras, Kurt Deggeller
Recorded: 27-30. May 1981 Kirche Seewen (Kanton Solothurn, CH)
Front cover: Christus, Kirche Königsfelden
All rights reserved
BMG Classics
DHM deutsche harmonia mundi
A MEDIEVAL PARISIAN EASTER MASS AND LITURGICAL DRAMA
Introduction
The
liturgy as celebrated in the appropriate institutions during the Middle
Ages included the Canonical Hours (the “Offices”) and the Mass. The
Hours began with Matins at night and Lauds at dawn, through Prime,
Tierce, Sext and None leading to Vespers at sundown and Compline before
retiring. These Offices, designed originally as occasions for private or
communal prayer, became organized monastic services which included
lessons, songs and prayers prescribed for each day and each Hour.
Matins, for example, important for our Easter play (see below), opened
with Psalm 94, Venite exultemus (so-called “invitatory psalm”
because it invites the populace to “rejoyce unto the Lord”); the service
also contained 12 psalms with antiphons, hymns, canticles, 12 lessons
with responds, and the Te Deum. Whereas the Offices, having a devotional
purpose, were composed chiefly of psalms, antiphons, hymns, prayers,
and lessons, the Mass was quite another thing. It consisted of two
sections, called the Mass of the Catechumens (learners) and the Mass of the Faithful.
The point of separation was the Gospel according to Jungmann's Missarum Solemnia.
Osborne B. Hardison (The Mass of the Roman Rite)
sees the first part of the Mass as reflecting the “rising excitement”
of the service, a quality of gaining momentum towards a climatic event,
the representation of the Passion, Entombment and Resurrection all
contained in the second part of the Mass.
We are fortunate to
have a 12th century interpretation of the Mass from Honorius
Augustodunensis which equates the celebration of the Mass to a
theatrical performance (translation by Hardison): “It is known that
those who recited tragedies in the theaters presented the actions of
opponents by gestures before the people. In the same way our tragic
author (celebrant) represents by his gestures in the theater of the
church before the Christian people the struggle of Christ and teaches
the victory of His redemption. Thus when the presbyter says the Oratio
he expresses Christ placed for us in agony, when He commanded His
apostles to pray. By the silence of the Secreta he expresses Christ as a
lamb without voice, being led to sacrifice. By the extension of his
hands he represents the extension of Christ on the cross. By the
Prefacio he expresses the cry of Christ hanging on the cross; for He
sang ten psalms, that is from the Deus meus respice to In manus tuas commendo spiritum meum
and then died. Through the Secret Prayers of the Canon he suggests the
silence of Holy Saturday. By the Pax and its communication (Kiss of
Peace) he represents the peace given after the resurrection and the
sharing of Joy. When the sacrifice has been completed, peace and
Communion are given by the celebrant to the people.” Whereas the Offices
provide an opportunity for prayer and praise, the Mass brings before
one a representation of the sacrifice of Christ replete with the symbols
and commentary. It is the Mass rather than the Offices that is
embellished with a great variety of elaborations, for the eye, for the
mind, and, as described below, for the ear. Easter, being the most
magnificent feast, requires the greatest ornaments.
THE EASTER PLAY, VISITATIO SEPULCHRI
The Visitatio sepulchri within the Medieval cloister
The Visitatio sepulchri,
the play about the three Marys at Christ's grave, is found in a 13th
century manuscript (Orléans, Bibl. de la Ville, Ms. 201) which comes
from the library of the Benedictine cloister, St. Benoît-sur-Loire. The
play is part of a long tradition; there are more than 400 works of this
sort from the period between the 10th century and the late Middle Ages.
The Fleury Easter play already had its place in 13th century Benedictine
cloisters (St. Benoît-sur-Loire or St. Lomer in Blois). It was
performed for the faithful on Easter Sunday in the morning following the
Matins in accordance with the quotation from the Bible: “And very early
in the morning the first day of the week, they [the Marys] came unto
the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.” (St Mark, 16,2).
What is
the significance of this morning presentation of the Easter events
within or in front of the Medieval cloister walls? First of all, the
Easter message was supposed to be visually brought home to the faithful,
the majority of whom, of course, could neither read nor write, by means
of a scenic representation of the Bible text. Secondly, the Easter
play, performed under the auspices of the cloister, established the link
to “God's Kingdom on earth” as well as to the idea of the imitation of
Christ. Originally the monk's cloister community was understood to be
God's Kingdom; according to the prophets and the Apocalypse of St. John
this was really located in the heavenly Jerusalem, the city, with its
encirclement of city gates and walls, in whose center the heavenly
throne room with God and His angels singing his praise are found. The
monk in his life within the cloister strives for the close proximity of
the angels to God, seen here. His goal is the vita angelica,
“life like that of the angels”. He breaks off his ties with the world
and, by fasting, vowing chastity, and denying himself sleep, emulates
the angels with their lack of physical needs and their complete
concentration on praising God day and night. In addition, the monk also
perceives himself to be imitating Christ's life, in which poverty,
suffering, and death lead to God. By mortifying his ego through
asceticism and obedience he attempts to understand the essence of Jesus
and to base his life upon his.
In imitating Christ and the
angels, the monk strives for a spiritual rather than carnal life. He
organizes his environment accordingly. In the Middle Ages the cloister
church was perceived not only as the place of worship, but also as a
representation of the heavenly Jerusalem. The Western part of a
Romanesque church, such as the one at St. Benoît-sur-Loire, is not only
seen as an entrance, but also as the city gate to the heavenly
Jerusalem, the transept as the heavenly throne room, and the point where
the nave and, the transept intersect as the place where God's throne is
located. The pillars symbolize the Apostles, the buttresses of the
heavenly Jerusalem. The devils and monsters on the capitals represent
Lucifer, the fallen angel, and hell and thus the dark world opposed to
the heavenly Jerusalem. The Hours refer to Christ's suffering and death;
the liturgical songs which determine the structure of the divine
service are understood as an earthly version of the angel's songs of
praise which fill the heavenly throne room.
Because the monks in
the cloister community make life like that of the angels and in
imitation of that of Christ the center of their existence, they, as well
as the world around them, perceive themselves to be the representatives
on earth of God's Kingdom. With the vita angelica they strive for a
spiritual anticipation of God's nearness and set an example to all of
their fellow people (and serve simultaneously as their representatives)
in their aspiration of this common goal. In a way understandable to all,
they anchor the notion of life in Paradise in earthly reality. Based
upon this, the question about the significance of the Easter play within
a monastic framework may be answered in the following manner. For all
participants, performers as well as the congregation, the scenic and
musical presentation of the Resurrection of Christ within the cloister,
God's Kingdom on earth, by the monks, who took on the forms of Christ
and the angels for this purpose, the forms of those upon whom they based
their lives, was more than just a portrayal of the Bible text. It is a
solidification and representation of the process of salvation, by which
everyone is able to once again experience certainty about their own
resurrection and God's close proximity. The Visitatio sepulchri is therefore not only a ludus,
something that is “played”, but also a movement towards the process of
salvation, one brought about by the place and time of day, by the
performers and the songs.
An apparent contradiction to this is
the fact that neither the text nor the music of the Easter plays is
taken from the liturgical repertory (this is also true for the Visitatio sepulchri
from Fleury). Instead the texts, in verse or in prose, are based on
those of the four Evangelists; the music is adapted from chant as well
as from the hymn and sequence repertories. The Bible and chant,
authentic sources, as it were, for God's word and the angel's songs of
praise, serve as a basis for more or less free creative work. In spite
of this, these new works have a liturgical nucleus, one which makes
reference to the concept of the imitation of Christ. The question the
angel asks the Marys, “Quem quaeritis in sepulchro, o christicolae?”,
and their answer, “Jesum Nazarenum crucifixum, o caelicolae” was
originally part of a trope which was sung before the introit in the
Easter Sunday liturgy. This short dialogue was the basis for the
Medieval Easter play and was developed and expanded through the
centuries. A part of the Easter liturgy was thus its nucleus. This
quotation is present in the earliest 10th century forms of the Easter
play to the complex and elaborate stage of development represented by
the Visitatio sepulchri from Fleury. It is evidence, in literature and
music, of Medieval man's aspiration to the vita angelica.
The Visitatio Sepulchri of Fleury and its Performance
The dramatic action of our performance is not unlike that found in the Regularis Concordia,
a 10th century English tract, which appears below. According to the
preface, it is based on the customs in Fleury (the following description
can be compared with the directions contained in the Easter play):
“While the third lesson is being read, four of the brethren shall vest,
one of whom, wearing an alb as though for some different purpose, shall
enter and go stealthily to the place of the sepulchre and sit
there quietly, holding a palm in his hand. Then, while the third respond
is being sung, the other three brethren, vested in copes and holding
thuribles in their hands, shall enter in their turn and go to the place
of the sepulchre, step by step as though searching for something. Now
these things are done in imitation of the angel seated on the tomb and
of the women coming with perfumes to anoint the body of Jesus. When,
therefore he that is seated shall see these three draw near, wandering
about as it were and seeking something, he shall begin to sing softly
‘Quem queritis’. As soon as this has been sung right trough the three
shall answer together, ‘Jesum Nazarenum’. Then he that is seated shall
say, ‘Non est hic. Surrexit sicut praedixerat. Ite, nuntiate quia
surrexit a mortuis’. At this command the three shall turn to the choir
saying ‘Alleluia. Resurrexit Dominus’. When this has been sung he that
is seated as though calling them back shall say the antiphon, ‘Venite et
videte locum’, and then, rising and lifting up the veil, he shall show
them the place void of the Crucified and with only the linen in which
the Crucified had been wrapped. Seeing this the three shall lay down
their thuribles in that same ‘sepulchre’ and, taking the linen, shall
hold it up before the clergy; and, as though showing that the Lord was
risen and was no longer wrapped in it, they shall sing this antiphon,
‘Surrexit Dominus de sepulchro’. They shall then lay the linen on the
altar.”
The instruments employed in this performance, harp, lute,
rebec and soft shawn, are pervayers of mood and carriers of symbol.
They are not required from the standpoint of completing an otherwise
incomplete sound picture - indeed the play in no way requires their
participation. They introduce action and they fill time taken up with
actions that have no song, such as the discovery of the lintea in the tomb.
The
notation of the music in the original manuscript does not suggest
rhythm, (certainly not modal rhythm). We have placed the initial lament
in rhythms we consider appropriate to conform to the idea that it is the
secular world that is lamenting (i.e. secular rhythms); the
organization of the melody as a strophic song supports this. Thereafter,
the rhythms are free as in chant. Word rhythm is the major determining
factor in the rhythm. If this performance were at Matins, it would
conclude with the Te Deum, as mentioned in the rubrics, which
would lead to Lauds and then to Mass. We have responded to the exigency
of the Long Playing Record in by-passing this point, abbreviating what
would have been certainly a more lengthy and spectacular procession
leading to the preparations for Mass.