Officium de Cruce
Voces Æquales

Officium de Cruce
Gregorian chants from the Pauline Antiphonal (15th Century) and the Franciscan Hymnarium of Csíksomlyó (15th Century)
The works of Rore, Compère, Josquin

THE OFFICE, as a praise of God which sanctifies the hours of the day has been the official prayer of the Church for centuries. The system, which was settled by St. Benedict in the 5th century, appoints eight "horas" in a sequence of about three hours for the community, and its moments were combined with the events of the Passion. In accordance with tradition, the structure of the record is built upon Matutinum-Laudes, the night-morning prayer contracted from two horas. Matutinum-Laudes begins in the dark and finishes with the first rays of the sun. Its dramatic character contributes to the representation of Christ's sufferings in the liturgy of the Holy Three Days. As light is growing outside, illumination in the church is gradually decreased. There is a triangle (triangular candle-stick) in the sanctuary with fifteen candles which are blown out one by one till only the top candle is burning at the end of the rite to symbolise the abandoned Jesus.

The movements of the office constituting the core of the record are performed by with Rore's music and Gregorian chants. The readings of the Matutinum, i.e. the laments sound on three different melodies on the three different days. Five-part responsories reply to them, of which the third alone is a Holy Week theme. The first piece was probably written on a humanistic text, while the second is part of the morning liturgy on the first Sunday of Lent. The Laudes psalm is interrupted by three Holy Saturday antiphons, while a poem on the Holy Cross is sung in two sections according to monastic tradition as a hymn of two horas. The para-liturgic text inserted in between consists of three parts. Its first line was written for the feast of Christ's name, the second is a Holy Week theme on the obedience of Christ, while the third, largest part of the text is a mediaeval rhymed hora-song, well-known all over Europe, which is telling the events of Good Friday from the capture of Christ till the sepulture, combining them with the moments of the office.

Almost nothing is known about the position of the motet-cycle in the liturgy. It may have been sung combined with different horas or as a private adoration of the Holy Week. The last motet of the record, a correspondent of Officium de cruce, as well as the previous Gregorian grand-antiphony speak about the victory of the Holy Cross and foretell the good news of resurrection. The text of the opening piece, a pious prayer in front of Christ's portrait, also describes the Passion as a personal preparation for the communal liturgy.


CIPRIANO DE RORE (1515/6-1565)
His fame is mainly due to his madrigals admired by not only his contemporaries but also by later generations for their style. His motets are characterised by a strict tonal construction, abundant textualism and frequent use of music figuration. Compositions from three different phases of his life have been included. "Miserere mei Deus" from his early period has a strict, polyphonic structure with long imitations and unusual ambits of the parts resulting in an extraordinary sound. "Exspectans exspectavi" has the stylistic features of a mature master, while the three responsories are lovely examples of the years in between.

LOYSET COMPÈRE (c 1440-1518)
He was one of the best experimentalists of his age. His beautiful chanson-motets and pioneering four-part chansons are worth special attention. His three substituting masses which belong to the Ambrosian liturgy were cornposed during his stay in Milan ("Officium de cruce" may be part of the repertory as well). The singing master can always be heard in his compositions, for whom it is paramount to have a balance of the composition, an effortless style of the voices and well arranged phrases. The pieces on the record are constructions of accords, short, loose imitations and duets inserted between them. Virtuoso parts and sensitive wording are compiled into an unusually homogeneous motet by the text and the composer.

JOSQUIN DESPREZ (c 1440-1521)
He was one of the most important composers of the Renaissance, the most illustrious master of his age. He was renowned as the emperor of music for a long time. He created a new style both in his secular and sacred music. The piece on the record is unusual in his ouvre being in four parts to the end without any inserted duets and having short imitations in the last section only. It is one of his best compositions with its beautiful accords and unexpected homophonic parts.