Saturday 21 November 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 22 November. Twenty-Fifth and Last Sunday after Trinity. Commemoration of St Cecilia, virgin and martyr. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 23. St Clement, pope and martyr. Com. St. Felicity. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 24. St Crisogonus, martyr, three lessons. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 25. St Katherine, virgin and martyr, nine lessons. Rogamus te.
Thursday 26. Feria V. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 27. Feria VI. Mundi domina.
Saturday 28. VIGIL OF ST ANDREW, apostle. De te virgo.

This brings us to the end of the liturgical year. I hope you have enjoyed these glimpses into the Nordic past, and if you are a pre-Reformation cleric of the Province of Nidaros perhaps you have found it a useful guide to the recitation of your Breviary.

For next year I might content myself with publishing a monthly kalendar.

Sunday 15 November 2015

Seminar on the rhymed office of St Magnus

From the Centre for Nordic Studies website:
Dr Ben Whitworth: 'Rhymes in honour of St Magnus: an echo of medieval Orkney?'
When Nov 17, 2015
from 07:30 PM to 09:00 PM
This seminar will be held at Orkney College. Free entry. All welcome.

Please come!

Saturday 14 November 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 15 November. Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Trinity. Commemoration of the Octave of Saint Martin. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 16. Feria II in Oct. St. Mart. Commemoration of St Edmund, bishop and confessor. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 17. Feria III in Oct. St. Mart. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 18. Octave day of St Martin, three lessons. Rogamus te.
Thursday 19. Feria V. Commemoration of St Elizabeth, widow Ave stella matutina.
Friday 20. St Edmund, king and martyr, nine lessons. Mundi domina.
Saturday 21. THE PRESENTATION OF MARY THE VIRGIN, major double. Salve regina.

Saturday 7 November 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 8 November. Octave Day of All Saints, semidouble. Commemorations of the Twenty-Third Sunday after Trinity, and of the Four Crowned Saints, martyrs. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 9. THE CROWN OF THORNS OF THE LORD, major double. Commemoration of St Theodore, martyr. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 10. St Menna, martyr, three lessons. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 11. ST MARTIN, bishop and confessor, double. Rogamus te.
Thursday 12. Feria V in Oct. St. Mart. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 13. St Brictius, bishop and confessor, three lessons. Com. Oct. St Mart. Mundi domina.
Saturday 14. Sabbath in Oct. St. Mart. Salve regina.

Saturday 31 October 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 1 November. ALL SAINTS, summum. Commemoration of the Twenty-Second Sunday after Trinity. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 2. Feria II in Oct. All Ss. Commemoration of the Souls. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 3. Feria III in Oct. All Ss. Com. St Eustachius and his companions, martyrs. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 4. Feria IV in Oct. All Ss. Rogamus te.
Thursday 5. Feria V in Oct. All Ss. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 6. St Leonard, abbot, nine lessons. Com. Oct. All Ss. Mundi domina.
Saturday 7. Sabbath in Oct. All Ss. Com. St Willead, bishop and confessor. Salve regina.

Willead (properly Willehad) was a Northumbrian missionary, bishop of Bremen, friend of Alcuin.

Saturday 24 October 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 25 October. Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity. Commemoration of Saints Crispin and Crispinian, martyrs. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 26. Feria II. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 27. Feria III. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 28. SS SIMON AND JUDE, apostles, double. Rogamus te.
Thursday 29. Feria V. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 30. St Quintin, martyr, three lessons. Mundi domina.
Saturday 31. VIGIL OF ALL SAINTS. Alma redemptoris.

Saturday 17 October 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 18 October. Saint Luke, evangelist, semidouble. Com. Twentieth Sunday after Trinity. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 19. Feria II. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 20. Feria III. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 21. Eleven thousand virgins, three lessons. Rogamus te.
Thursday 22. Feria V. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 23. St Severinus, bishop and confessor, three lessons. Mundi domina.
Saturday 24. Sabbath. Salve regina.

The 11,000 were the supposed companions of St Ursula, celebrated thusly by St Hildegard:

Saturday 10 October 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 11 October. Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 12. Feria II. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 13. FEAST OF RELICS, major double. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 14. Saint Calixtus, pope and martyr, three lessons. Rogamus te.
Thursday 15. Feria V. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 16. Feria VI. Mundi domina.
Saturday 17. St Martha, virgin not a martyr, three lessons. Com. St Justus, martyr. Salve regina.


Wednesday 7 October 2015

Nelly Gasparyan sings Armenian Chant

... in the former cathedral of the Holy Cross, Akdamar Island, Lake Van. The church was abandoned after the genocide of 1915, saved from demolition in 1951, and restored as a museum in 2005. For four minutes, it was once again the house of God and the gate of heaven.

Saturday 3 October 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 4 October. SAINT FRANCIS, confessor, double. Commemoration of the Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 5. Feria II. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 6. St Faith, virgin martyr, three lessons. Com. St Eskill, bishop and martyr. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 7. St Birgitta, widow, semidouble. Com. St Mark, pope, Ss Marcellus & Apuleius. Rogamus te.
Thursday 8. St Demetrius, martyr, three lessons. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 9. St Denis and his companions, martyrs, single. Mundi domina.
Saturday 10. St Gereon and his companions, martyrs, three lessons. Salve regina.

Twa-three items of local interest here. St Eskill was an Anglo-Saxon missionary to Sweden; in most places his feast is observed on 12 June - why not here? St Bridget of Sweden is rather grudgingly categorised as a vidua in the Breviary calendar; in the body of the book she is a sponsa christi.

Saturday 26 September 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 27 September. Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity. Commemoration of Saints Cosmas and Damian, martyrs. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 28. Feria II. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 29. ST MICHAEL, archangel, major double. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 30. St Jerome, presbyter and confessor, semidouble. Rogamus te.
Thursday 1 October. Ss Remi and German, bishops and confessors. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 2. St Leodegar, bishop and martyr, three lessons. Mundi domina.
Saturday 3. Sabbath. Salve regina.

Is that the third St German(us) in the calendar? I will not attempt to "disambiguate" them! St Leodegar is also known as St Leger; the horse race, being named after a Colonel St Leger, does not take place on the feast day.

Monday 21 September 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 20 September. Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 21. SAINT MATTHEW, apostle and evangelist, double. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 22. St Maurice and his companions, single. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 23. Feria IV. Rogamus te.
Thursday 24. Feria V. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 25. Saint Firmin, bishop and martyr, three lessonsMundi domina.
Saturday 26. Sabbath. Salve regina.

Thursday 17 September 2015

Fingergull 850

As you'll know, I try not to be more than a few hundred years behind the curve with this blog, so I'll not worry that I am nearly a week late in reporting this news:

Exactly 850 years ago last Saturday, a relic of the Holy Blood of Christ arrived at Nidaros Cathedral (Trondheim, Norway), having been sent as a gift from Jerusalem. A liturgical office was composed in honour of this relic, and the Feast of the Reception of the Holy Blood was kept at the Cathedral on 12 September until the Reformation. The Norwegian choir Schola Sanctae Sunnivae, a few years ago, released a CD of excerpts from Matins from this office (the Fingergullofficiet, or 'Finger Gold Office', presumably so called because the relic was enclosed in a gold ring).

Well, now they have recorded the whole thing! (Or at least, the musically distinctive elements of the office.) The new CD Fingergull was launched at Nidaros Cathedral on Saturday.

Sunday 13 September 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 13 September. Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity. Commemorations of the Octave of the Nativity of Mary, and of Saints Cornelius and Cyprian, martyrs. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 14. EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS, major double. Com. Oct. Nat. Mar. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 15. Octave day of Mary the Virgin, semidouble. Com. S. Nicomed, martyr. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 16. St Eufemia, virgin martyr, three lessons. Com. Ember day. Rogamus te.
Thursday 17. St Lambert, bishop and martyr, three lessons. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 18. Ember dayMundi domina.
Saturday 19. VIGIL OF ST MATTHEW, apostle and evangelist. Com. Emb. day. Salve regina.

Euphemia has long been, and, rather wonderfully, still is, a popular name in the Northern Isles.

Sunday 6 September 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 6 September. Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 7. Feria II. (The office of St Adrian is celebrated today by anticipation.) Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 8. NATIVITY OF THE VIRGIN MARY, double (?). St Adrian, bishop and martyr, three lessons (see yesterday's entry). O florens rosa.
Wednesday 9. Feria IV in the Octave of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. Commemoration of St Gorgon, martyr. Rogamus te.
Thursday 10. Feria V in Oct. Nat. Mar. Com. St Audomarus, bishop. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 11. Feria VI in Oct. Nat. Mar. Com. Ss Prothus and Iacinctus, martyrs. Mundi domina.
Saturday 12. Sabbath in Oct. Nat. Mar. Salve regina.

With St Adrian and the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we have a situation similar to that involving Ss Hermes and Augustine a couple of weeks ago: an annual clash of celebrations. Here the same solution has been arrived at - to anticipate the lesser feast on the previous day, which happens to be vacant - but here the transfer has not gone as far as changing the date of Adrian's feast day. Instead, we have a rubric on the 7 September: Hic cantentur de eo iii. lc. noct. (Here the three matins lessons about him are sung.) All this doesn't leave the kalendarist enough room to give us the rank of Mary's feast, but as it is printed in red and has an octave, we can assume it is at least a double feast.

The Nativity of the Virgin is one of those offices which survives in the Choir Antiphoner of Nidaros Cathedral, and it has been recorded by the Schola Sanctae Sunnivae.

Saturday 29 August 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 30 August. Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity. Commemoration of Ss Felix and Adauctus, martyrs. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 31. Feria II. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 1 September. Saint Egidius, abbot, single. Commemoration of St Priscus, martyr. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 2. Feria IV. Rogamus te.
Thursday 3. Feria V. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 4. Translation of St Cuthbert, bishop and confessor, three lessons. Mundi domina.
Saturday 5. St Bertinus, abbot, three lessons. Salve regina.

Saturday 22 August 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 23 August. Twelfth Sunday after Trinity. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 24. SAINT BARTHOLOMEW, apostle, doubleSub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 25. St Audoen, bishop and confessor, three lessons. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 26. Feria IV. Rogamus te.
Thursday 27. St Hermes, martyr, three lessons. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 28. St Augustine, bishop and confessor, semidouble. Mundi domina.
Saturday 29. Beheading of John the Baptist, nine lessons. Commemoration of St Sabina, widow. Salve regina.

Audoen is Ouen, bishop of Rouen, and not the first saint from what is now Normandy that we've come across in the Nidaros calendar. Evidence perhaps that the liturgical reforms of William of Volpiano lie somewhere in the substrata of the Nidaros use.

St Hermes was an early Roman martyr (like Sabina). His feast was traditionally observed on the 28th. The thirteenth-century Ordo Nidrosiensis Ecclesie gives rather vague instructions about how to negotiate the clash of this feast with that of St Augustine of Hippo. By the time of the printed Breviary of 1519, the pragmatic decision had obviously been taken to transfer Hermes permanently to the 27th.

Saturday 15 August 2015

Ave Maria, by Franz Biebl

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 16 August. Eleventh Sunday after Trinity. Commemorations of the Octaves of St Laurence and of the Assumption. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 17. Octave day of St Laurence, three lessons. Com. Oct. Ass. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 18. Feria III in Oct. Ass. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 19. Feria IV in Oct. AssRogamus te.
Thursday 20. Feria V in Oct. Ass. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 21. Feria VI in Oct. Ass. Mundi domina.
Saturday 22. Octave day of St Mary, semidouble. Com. Ss. Thimoteus and Simphorian. Salve regina.

Saturday 8 August 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 9 August. Tenth Sunday after Trinity. Commemoration of the Octave of the Translation of St Olaf, king and martyr. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 10. ST LAURENCE, martyr, double. Com. Oct. Transl. Olaf. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 11. St Tiburcius, martyr, three lessons. Com. Oct. Laur. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 12. Feria IV in Oct. LaurRogamus te.
Thursday 13. St Ypolitus and his companions, martyrs, three lessons. Com. Oct. Laur. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 14. VIGIL OF THE ASSUMPTION. Comm. St Eusebius, bishop and confessor, and Oct. Laur. Alma redemptoris.
Saturday 15. THE ASSUMPTION OF ST MARY THE VIRGIN, summum. Com. Oct. Laur. Salve regina.

Saturday 1 August 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 2 August. Ninth Sunday after Trinity. Commemorations of Saint Stephen, pope and martyr, and of the Octave of the Natale of St Olaf, king and martyr. Anthem after Compline: Alma redemptoris.
Monday 3. TRANSLATION OF ST OLAF, summum. Comm. of the Invention of St Stephen, protomartyr, and of Oct. Nat. Olaf. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 4. Feria III in Oct. Nat. Olaf. Com. Transl. Olaf. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 5. Octave day of the Natale of St Olaf, semidoubleComm. Transl. Olaf, and St Oswald, martyr. Rogamus te.
Thursday 6. Transfiguration of the Lord, nine lessons. Comm. Transl. Olaf, and St Sixtus, pope. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 7. St Donatus, bishop and martyr, three lessons. Mundi domina.
Saturday 8. Vigil of St Laurence, martyr. Com. St Ciriacus and companions, martyrs. Salve regina.

Saturday 25 July 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 26 July. Eighth Sunday after Trinity. Commemoration of Saints Christopher and Cucuratus, martyrs. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 27. The Seven Sleepers, three lessons. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 28. VIGIL OF ST OLAF. Commemorations of St Pantaleon, martyr, and of Ss Felix, Simplicius, Faustinus and Beatrice, martyrs. Alma redemptoris.
Wednesday 29. ST OLAF, KING AND MARTYR, summum. Rogamus te.
Thursday 30. Feria V in Octave of St Olaf. Com. Ss Abdon and Sennen. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 31. Feria VI in Oct. Olaf. Com. St German, bishop and confessor. Mundi domina.
Saturday 1 August. The Chains of Peter, semidouble. Com. Oct. Olaf. Com. Maccabees, martyrs. Salve regina.

Saturday 18 July 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 19 July. Seventh Sunday after Trinity. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 20. Saint Margaret, virgin, semidouble. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 21. St Praxed, virgin not a martyr. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 22. St Mary Magdalene, semidouble. Commemoration of St Wandregisillus. Rogamus te.
Thursday 23. St Appollinaris, bishop and martyr, three lessons. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 24. VIGIL OF ST JAMES. Commemoration of St Cristina, virgin martyr. Mundi domina.
Saturday 25. ST JAMES, apostle, double. Salve regina.

In the kalendar of the Nidaros Breviary, St Margaret's feast-day is unusually printed in red, a privilege normally reserved to feasts of double rank or higher. I wonder whether the immense popularity of this saint made her natale a sort of day of devotion?

Wandregisillus was the founder of the Abbey of Fontenelle, a.k.a. Saint-Wandrille, in the lower Seine valley not far from Le Havre. I wasn't able to get that far East on my recent visit to Normandy, but I did manage to pick up their CD of a typical Sunday Mass (fully Gregorian) in the very well-stocked Siloë bookshop on Mont-Saint-Michel. It was in writing of the conventual Mass at Saint-Wandrille that Patrick Leigh Fermor captured so brilliantly the effect of Gregorian plainsong in A Time to Keep Silence.

Friday's saint is Christina the Astonishing, who was formerly commemorated in a chapel of which Fr Bede Rowe may have some recollection.

Monday 13 July 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 12 July. Sixth Sunday after Trinity. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 13. Feria II. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 14. Feria III. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 15. The Dispersal of the Apostles, semidouble. Rogamus te.
Thursday 16. Translation of St Swithun, bishop, semidouble. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 17. St Alexis, confessor not a bishop, three lessons. Mundi domina.
Saturday 18. Sabbath. Salve regina.

The feast of the divisio apostolorum, kept in various parts of the Church even into the twentieth century, commemorates the missionary activity of the apostles after their departure from Jerusalem to the peripheries.

UPDATE: See now the Muniment Room for details about the survival of this feast in England as late as 1910.

Sunday 5 July 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 5 July. Fifth Sunday after Trinity. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 6. Octave day of Ss Peter and Paul, apostles, three lessons. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 7. Commemoration of Translation of St Thomas, archbishop. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 8. SAINTS OF SELJA, martyrs, major double. Rogamus te.
Thursday 9. Octave day of the Visitation of Mary, semidouble. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 10. Seven Brothers, martyrs, three lessons. Mundi domina.
Saturday 11. Translation of St Benedict, abbot, three lessons. Salve regina.

Thomas is Becket. Selja is an island off the Norwegian coast where St Sunniva, an Irish princess, and her companions were "martyred" when a cave, in which they were taking refuge from ill-intentioned heathens, collapsed. The seven brothers were sons of the Roman matron Felicity (not St Felicity); they were martyred under that tyrant and occasional writer of motivational soundbites, Marcus Aurelius.

Saturday 27 June 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 28 June. Fourth Sunday after Trinity. Commemoration of Saint Leo, pope and confessor. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 29. SAINTS PETER AND PAUL, apostles, greater double. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 30. Commemoration of St Paul, apostle, semidouble. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 1 July. Octave day of St John the Baptist. Alma redemptoris mater.
Thursday 2. VISITATION OF MARY, summum. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 3. Feria VI. Com. Ss Processus and Martinian. Mundi domina.
Saturday 4. Sabbath. Com. Translation of St Martin, bishop and confessor. Salve regina.

The Feast of Ss Peter & Paul has a Vigil, which I wasn't sure what to do with. Probably it was anticipated on Saturday (27 June).

Friday 26 June 2015

Radio epiphanies

How many of your most electrifying listening experiences came from the radio, and especially from the BBC? I think immediately of Ian Holm and Bill Nighy in the Tower of Cirith Ungol; of my first encounters with St Hildegard of Bingen, Kate Bush and Anaïs Mitchell; of a great session by Richard Thompson around 1991; of the 'Habemus Papam' in 2005; of Vent, of Crisp and Even Brightly, of Genghis Khan was a Cowboy too (award yourself five points if you remember any of those!); of all those Festive Fifties and Radio Ballads and Desert Islands.

And how rarely does one get the opportunity to thank the authors of these airwave epiphanies?

Well, some years ago (six, if the BBC website is to be believed), Choral Evensong was broadcast from Manchester Cathedral, and the anthem was Haydn's Salve regina. I wouldn't call myself the world's biggest Haydn fan (even if, heretically, I do prefer him to Mozart), but this was a spectacular performance, not least by the soprano soloist, and I made a mental note of the singer's name before filing it wherever it is mental notes get filed.

Then on Wednesday evening I went along to St Magnus Cathedral for a concert by the Marian Consort. Why do I know that name? I wondered; why do I know that voice? Then the penny dropped. One member of that magnificent ensemble was the Haydn soloist: Ruth Provost. It was a really marvellous concert: all Latin texts in honour of the BVM, interleaving Spanish Renaissance settings with contemporary compositions. Often these programmes can end up with a final score along the lines of Renaissance 12 Modernity 0, but in this case, with wonderful works by Andreas Panufnik and Judith Weir inter alia, it came out as a high scoring draw. I'd say it was one of the best concerts I've heard in the Cathedral, comparable with the Cardinall's Musick and Trio Medieval.

And I got a chance to say thank you for one of my radio epiphanies.

Saturday 20 June 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 21 June. Third Sunday after Trinity. Commemoration of Saint Leofred, abbot. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 22. St Alban, martyr, three lessons. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 23. VIGIL OF THE NATIVITY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST. At Mass, com. St Etheldreda, virgin not a martyr. Alma redemptoris mater.
Wednesday 24. NATIVITY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST, summum. Rogamus te.
Thursday 25. Feria V. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 26. Ss John and Paul, martyrs, three lessons. Mundi domina.
Saturday 27. Sabbath. Salve regina.

Saint Leofred (Leufroy), Abbot of St-Croix, is not terribly well known, but Professor Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira found him to be a man after his own heart. Is that a good thing? You decide.

Sorry to be so slow in catching up with these posts. I have been (among other places) here:

Sunday 14 June 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 14 June. Second Sunday after Trinity. Commemoration of Saint Basil, bishop and confessor. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 15. Ss Vitus and Modestus, martyrs, three lessons. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 16. Feria III. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 17. St Botolph, abbot, single. Rogamus te.
Thursday 18. Ss Marcellian and Mark, martyrs, three lessons. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 19. Ss Gervase and Prothase, martyrs, three lessons. Mundi domina.
Saturday 20. Sabbath. Salve regina.

Last week I numbered the Sunday 'after Pentecost', but in fact the Nidaros Breviary numbers them 'after Trinity'.

Saturday 6 June 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 7 June. Sunday in the Octave of Corpus Christi. Commemoration of Second Sunday after Pentecost. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 8. Saints Medard and Gildard, bishops, three lessons. Com. Oct. Corp. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 9. Ss Primus and Felician, martyrs, three lessons. Com. Oct. Corp. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 10. Feria IV in Oct. Corp. Rogamus te.
Thursday 11. St Barnabas, apostle, semidouble. Com. Oct. Corp. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 12. St Basilides and his companions, martyrs, three lessons. Mundi domina.
Saturday 13. Sabbath. Salve regina.

St Barnabas and the Octave day of Corpus Christi are both semidoubles. I tossed a coin. There may be a rubric somewhere to cover this occurrence, but I have yet to find it.

Saturday 30 May 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 31 May. COMMEMORATION OF THE HOLY TRINITY. Commemoration of St Petronilla, virgin and martyr. Anthem after Compline: Regina celi.
Monday 1 June. Saint Urban, pope and martyr, three lessons. Com. of the Octave of the Holy Trinity. Regina celi.
Tuesday 2. Ss Marcellinus and Peter, martyrs, three lessons. Com. Oct. Trin. Com. St Augustine, bishop and confessor, apostle of the English. Regina celi.
Wednesday 3. St Erasmus, bishop and martyr, three lessons. Com. Oct. Trin. Regina celi.
Thursday 4. CORPUS CHRISTI. Com. Oct. Trin. Com. St Germanus, bishop and confessor. Regina celi.
Friday 5. St Boniface, bishop and martyr, three lessons. Comm. Octt. Trin. & Corp. Regina celi.
Saturday 6. Comm. Octt. Trin. & Corp. Salve regina.

Only this week do we finally relinquish the Regina celi.

The congestion of the Sanctoral this week is owing to the fact that all feasts falling in the Octave of Pentecost are simply bumped forward a week. Note that St Augustine of Canterbury is given the title of anglorum apostolus in the kalendar of the Nidaros Breviary, indicating the deep English roots of the Norwegian Use.

Saturday 23 May 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 24 May. PENTECOST.
Monday 25. Feria II in the Octave of Pentecost.
Tuesday 26. Feria III in Oct. Pent.
Wednesday 27. Ember day in Oct. Pent.
Thursday 28. Feria V in Oct. Pent.
Friday 29. Ember day in Oct. Pent.
Saturday 30. Ember day in Oct. Pent.

The anthem after Compline is Regina celi. (Yes, still.)

Saturday 16 May 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 17 May. Sunday in the Octave of the Ascension.
Monday 18. St Eric, king and martyr, semidouble. Commemoration of the Oct. of the Asc.
Tuesday 19. St Dunstan, bishop and confessor, three lessons. Comm. Oct. Asc.
Wednesday 20. Feria IV in Oct. Asc.
Thursday 21. Octave day of the Ascension.
Friday 22. Feria VI.
Saturday 23. Vigil of Pentecost.

The anthem after Compline is Regina celi.

St Eric is the Swedish king whose relics are venerated in Uppsala Cathedral.

Saturday 9 May 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 10 May. Fifth Sunday after Easter. Commemoration of Saints Gordian and Epimachus, martyrs.
Monday 11. Rogation Day.
Tuesday 12. Ss Nereus and Achilleus [martyrs]. Rogation Day
Wednesday 13. Rogation Day.
Thursday 14. THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD, summum.
Friday 15. ST HALVARD, martyr, double. Commemoration of the Octave of the Ascension.
Saturday 16. Sabbath in Oct. Asc.

The anthem after Compline is Regina celi.

Saturday 2 May 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 3 May. FINDING OF THE HOLY CROSS, summum. Commemoration of the Fourth Sunday after Easter.
Monday 4. Saint Alexander, pope and martyr, three lessons.
Tuesday 5. Feria III.
Wednesday 6. St John before the Latin Gate, semidouble.
Thursday 7.St John of Beverley, bishop, three lessons.
Friday 8. Feria VI.
Saturday 9. Sabbath.

The anthem after Compline is Regina celi.

Wednesday 29 April 2015

The Mighty Spirit: forthcoming chant study day

Please note the following forthcoming event:

"The Mighty Spirit: The Vigil Mass of Pentecost - A New Approach to Singing the Mass"
When: Saturday 23 May, 12 noon to 5 p.m.
Where: St Mary's and St John's Catholic Church, Snowhill, Wolverhampton WV2 4AD
Celebrant: Fr Guy Nicholls, Cong. Orat.
Speakers: Fr Guy Nicholls, Cong. Orat. and Wilfrid Jones

Talks, chant class, and question time. Bring-and-share lunch; soup and hot drinks provided.

Please email the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music to reserve a place.

Mass will be celebrated at 4 p.m. This will be a fully sung Mass of the Vigil of Pentecost, with the full complement of readings and Tracts. Music will be partly in Latin and partly in English, and participants will be introduced to the Graduale Parvum. This is a collection of the Proper liturgical texts set to simple but authentic Gregorian melodies, begun by the late Professor László Dobszay, and currently being brought to completion by the Association for Latin Liturgy.

Saturday 25 April 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 26 April. THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EASTER.
Monday 27. Feria II.
Tuesday 28. Saint Vitalis, martyr, three lessons.
Wednesday 29. St Peter, martyr, three lessons.
Thursday 30.Feria V.
Friday 1 May. SS PHILIP AND JAMES, apostles, double.
Saturday 2. Sabbath.

The anthem after Compline is Regina celi.

Litanies, by Jehan Alain

Take your pick:










Saturday 18 April 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 19 April. SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EASTER.
Monday 20. Feria II.
Tuesday 21. Feria III.
Wednesday 22. Feria IV.
Thursday 23.Saint George, martyr, three lessons.
Friday 24. Feria VI.
Saturday 25. St Mark, evangelist, semidouble. The greater litanies.

The anthem after Compline is Regina celi.

The litanies are sung during an outdoor procession with relics - at Nidaros itself, the feretory of St Olav was carried in procession.

Saturday 11 April 2015

Hristos anesti!

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 12 April. FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EASTER.
Monday 13. Feria II.
Tuesday 14. Saints Tiburtius and Valerian [martyrs], three lessons.
Wednesday 15. Feria IV.
Thursday 16. ST MAGNUS, martyr, double.
Friday 17. Feria VI.
Saturday 18. Sabbath.

The anthem after Compline is Regina celi.

The Feast of St Magnus was presumably of higher rank (major double or even summum) in Orkney and Shetland, and evidence from, e.g., petitions for indulgences, suggest that the feast was kept with an octave at St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall. Quite right too.

Saturday 4 April 2015

Christ is risen!


Nidaros ordo

Sunday 5 April. EASTER DAY.
Monday 6. Feria II of Easter.
Tuesday 7. Feria III of Easter.
Wednesday 8. Feria IV of Easter.
Thursday 9. Feria V of Easter.
Friday 10. Feria VI of Easter.
Saturday 11. Sabbath of Easter.

The anthem after Compline is Regina celi.

Wednesday 1 April 2015

News from Nowhere 8

A new issue of Latin Liturgy is out this month, and my "News from Nowhere" column is concerned with liturgy-related videos online. I shall embed some videos in this post, for your convenience, and provide links to other web pages mentioned in the article. N.B. Some of these links play videos automatically, so have your volume turned down if you don't want to startle your colleagues/upset the librarian/wake the cat up.

Steve George's chant training video series is explained here.

An example:



(A video of "Video caelos"; see what i did there?)

Cf. Marek Klein's "Graduale Project".

Example:



Although I mention it a little later in the article, this is also a good place to link to the chant videos from Corpus Christi Watershed.

Example:

Lent - Third Sunday: Introit Oculi Mei from Corpus Christi Watershed on Vimeo.

Jeremy de Satgé's 2010 talk to the Latin Liturgy Association (USA):



The National Trust's short film about the Lyme Park Missal:



A post on the New Liturgical Movement blog about this film clip from Christmas Holiday (1944):



The opening titles of True Confessions (1981):



Elvis sings the Offertory in Change of Habit (1969):



The Vatican channel on Youtube.

The PapalMusic channel; and an example of it what it provides:



A series of short films about the Birmingham Oratory.

A video about the Gregorian Chant Network's annual course:



(The GCN has a blog too.)

The Picard music collection put online by "Firminus". (These fascinating recordings were being circulated on cassette tapes, like pop bootlegs, when I first heard them nearly twenty years ago. The internet does make some things so much easier!)

The British Pathé archive website, which includes footage of the consecration of Downside Abbey church (1935); the coronation of Pope Paul VI (1963); and Mass in the trenches.

The Greek Divine Liturgy at the monastery of Veljusa, Macedonia:



A blog post by Fr Simon Henry including some films made at Ushaw College in the 1960s, including Midnight Mass (1962):



Another Christmas Mass (2008) from Notre Dame de Paris:



And a final reminder: Latin Liturgy is the journal of the Association for Latin Liturgy. It is free to members; join today! And please visit and "like" our Facebook page, as over 1100 people have done already.

Saturday 28 March 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 29 March. PALMS SUNDAY. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 30. Feria II in Palms Week. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 31. Feria III in Palms Week. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 1 April. Feria IV in Palms Week. Rogamus te.
Thursday 2. FERIA V IN THE LORD'S SUPPER.
Friday 3. THE PREPARATION.
Saturday 4. HOLY SATURDAY: THE PASCHAL VIGIL.

The combined office of Matins and Lauds, commonly called Tenebrae, is celebrated (1) on Holy Thursday, (2) "in the night of the preparation", and (3) on Holy Saturday. That description of Good Friday Tenebrae suggests that the office was sung on the previous evening, as was (and sometimes is) the custom elsewhere. Holy Saturday continues until None on Saturday; the rites of the Paschal vigil (the blessing of the candle, the prophecies, and first Mass of Easter) follow immediately.

There is no Marian antiphon after Compline during the sacred triduum.

Saint Ambrose, bishop, whose feast is normally kept on 4 April with semidouble rite, is not commemorated this year.

Saturday 21 March 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 22 March. SUNDAY IN THE PASSION OF THE LORD. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 23. Feria II in the passion of the Lord. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 24. Feria III in the passion of the Lord. Alma redemptoris.
Wednesday 25. THE ANNUNCIATION TO SAINT MARY, summum. Rogamus te.
Thursday 26. Feria V in the passion of the Lord. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 27. Feria VI in the passion of the Lord. Mundi domina.
Saturday 21. Sabbath in the passion of the Lord. Salve regina.

Compline after first Vespers of a summum festum ends with the anthem Alma redemptoris. This anthem, so closely associated with Advent and Christmastide in the Roman office, is never sung during those seasons in the use of Nidaros.

Saturday 14 March 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 15 March. FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 16. Feria II. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 17. Saint Gertrude, virgin not a martyr, nine lessons. Commemoration of St Patrick, bishop and confessor. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 18. Feria IV. Rogamus te.
Thursday 19. Feria V. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 20. St Cuthbert, bishop and confessor, nine lessons. Mundi domina.
Saturday 21. St Benedict, abbot, nine lessons. Salve regina.

Saturday 7 March 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 8 March. THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 9. Feria II. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 10. Feria III. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 11. Feria IV. Rogamus te.
Thursday 12. SAINT GREGORY, pope and confessor, double. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 13. Feria VI. Mundi domina.
Saturday 14. Sabbath. Salve regina.

Saturday 28 February 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 1 March. SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 2. Feria II. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 3. Feria III. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 4. Feria IV. Rogamus te.
Thursday 5. Feria V. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 6. Feria VI. Mundi domina.
Saturday 7. Saint Thomas [of Aquino], confessor, nine lessons. Commemoration of Ss Perpetua and Felicity. Salve regina.

Saturday 21 February 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 22 February. FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT. Commemoration of the Chair of Saint Peter. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 23. VIGIL OF ST MATTHIAS. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 24. ST MATTHIAS, apostle, double. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 25. Ember day. Rogamus te.
Thursday 26. Feria V. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 27. Ember day. Mundi domina.
Saturday 28. Ember day. Salve regina.

Yes, I know I forgot all about the ember days in December. Mea culpa.

Saturday 14 February 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 15 February. QUINQUAGESIMA. Commemoration of Saint Sifrid, bishop and confessor. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 16. St Juliana, virgin and martyr, three lessons. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 17. Feria III. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 18. Feria IV at the head of the fast (the day of ashes). Rogamus te.
Thursday 19. Feria V after the ashes. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 20. Feria VI after the ashes. Mundi domina.
Saturday 21. Sabbath after the ashes. Salve regina.

Saint Sifrid (or Sigfrid) was an English monk of Glastonbury, who baptized King Olof Skötkonung of Sweden.

Saturday 7 February 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 8 February. SEXAGESIMA. Commemoration of the octave of the Purification. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 9. Feria II. Comm. Saint Apollonia, virgin and martyr, and oct. Pur. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 10. St Scholastica, virgin not a martyr, three lessons. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 11. Feria IV. Rogamus te.
Thursday 12. Feria V. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 13. Feria VI. Mundi domina.
Saturday 14. St Valentine, martyr, three lessons. Salve regina.

This week, for the first time, we get the full weekly cycle of seven Marian antiphons after Compline.

Saturday 31 January 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 1 February. SEPTUAGESIMA. Commemoration of Saint Brigid, virgin not a martyr. Anthem after Compline: Nesciens mater.
Monday 2. PURIFICATION OF SAINT MARY, summum. Nesciens mater.
Tuesday 3. St Blase, bishop and martyr, three lessons. Com. of the octave of the Purification. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 4. Feria IV in oct. Pur. Rogamus te.
Thursday 5. St Agatha, virgin and martyr, nine lessons. Com. oct. Pur. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 6. St Dorothy, virgin and martyr, nine lessons. Com. oct. Pur. Mundi domina.
Saturday 7. Ss Vedast and Amand, confessors, three lessons. Com. oct. Pur. Salve regina.


Saturday 24 January 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 25 January. CONVERSION OF SAINT PAUL, double. Commemorations of the third Sunday after Epiphany, and of St Preiectus, martyr.
Monday 26. St Policarp, bishop and martyr, three lessons.
Tuesday 27. Feria III.
Wednesday 28. Second [feast] of St Agnes, virgin and martyr, three lessons.
Thursday 29. Feria V.
Friday 30. Feria VI.
Saturday 31. Sabbatum.

The anthem after Compline is Nesciens mater.

Next Sunday is Septuagesima, so alleluya will be sung for the last time at None on Saturday.

St Preiectus/Praejectus is a bit of a collector's item: French, but honoured in some English books. This is the Norwegian Church showing her English roots, I suspect.

And why does St Agnes have two feasts? The second looks like it ought to be an octave day, but is always presented as second, and separate, feast. Did one of them mark a translation of her relics? I'm sure this is terribly easy to find out, but perhaps you already know and can save me the legwork!

Thursday 22 January 2015

Authentic Hildegard?

On a recent posting of Stevie Wishart's Vespers for (N.B. not of) St Hildegard, a reader comments on the inauthenticity of the pronunciation. Yes, I suppose all those post-Tra le sollecitudini "chees and chaws" are a bit out of place in the music of the twelfth-century German abbess, but how far should performers be subject to criteria of "authenticity", given that we know so little about how, where, when, by whom and even, quite honestly, whether, Hildegard's music was performed during her own lifetime? So here are some further inauthentic Hildegard performances.

Hildegard with a selection of old but not actually medieval instruments:



Hildegard with a Tibetan singing bowl:

Hildegard von Bingen: O Ignis Spiritus - Bep Pierik from Veasonic on Vimeo.

Hildegard sung beautifully by Jocelyn West but overlaid with extraneous noises by the director of Twin Peaks:



Hildegard with funny little jingly stick things:



Hildegard grafted onto Swedish folktronica:



Hildegard practically lost among the orchestration, visuals and cosmic twaddle:



And what is probably my favourite Hildegard performance on the internet - the excerpt from Ordo virtutum from the film Vision. [no longer available in 2021]

Saturday 17 January 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 18 January. Second Sunday after Epiphany. Commemoration of Saint Prisca, virgin and martyr.
Monday 19. St Henry [of Uppsala], bishop and martyr, semidouble. Com. St Marius and companions, martyrs.
Tuesday 20. Ss Fabian and Sebastian, martyrs, nine lessons.
Wednesday 21. St Agnes, virgin and martyr, nine lessons.
Thursday 22. St Vincent, martyr, nine lessons.
Friday 23. Feria VI.
Saturday 24. St Babilla, bishop and martyr, three lessons.

The anthem after Compline is Nesciens mater.

Monday 12 January 2015

The customary suffrages

That vir eruditissimus, Rubricarius, has enlightened my ignorance on the significance of the abbreviation 'com. sol.' in the kalendar of the Nidaros Breviary. Following the votive office of our Lady, and preceding the sanctoral, the breviary devotes several pages to what it calls the commemoratio solita (customary commemoration) or suffragia.

This consists of two series (one for Lauds, one for Vespers) of commemorations, each commemoration consisting of an antiphon, a versicle and response, and a collect. The commemorations are made in honour of (1) the holy cross; (2) the blessed Virgin; (3) the holy angels; (4) St John the Baptist; (5) the holy apostles; (6) St Olaf; (7) the holy relics present in the church; (8) all the saints; and (9) for peace.

Rubricarius further points out that the rubrics within the body of the sanctoral direct the suffrages to be said more frequently than the kalendar entries would suggest. I'm presently following the kalendar for my weekly 'ordo', but it looks as though this might give incomplete information. The 'corrector' in an early printing house - the forerunner of the modern proofreader - was often highly skilled but overworked, so a good number of discrepancies and errors are only to be expected. As time goes by I shall collate the kalendar information with what can be found in the body of the breviary, as well as with the Missal and Ordo of Nidaros.

Saturday 10 January 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 11 January. Sunday in the Octave of the Epiphany.
Monday 12. Feria II in Oct. Epi.
Tuesday 13. Octave day of the Epiphany, semidouble. Commemoration of Saints Hylarius and Remigius, confessors.
Wednesday 14. Saint Felix, priest and martyr, three lessons com. sol.*
Thursday 15. Saint Maurus, abbot, three lessons noct.*
Friday 16. Saint Marcellus, pope and martyr, three lessons com. sol.*
Saturday 17. Saint Antony, confessor, three lessons noct.*

The anthem after Compline is Nesciens mater.

* I have not yet worked out what the abbreviations 'com. sol.' and 'noct.' indicate: they appear to be reserved to feasts of three lessons, and to be mutually exclusive. I'm guessing the expanded phrases would be 'commemoratio sola' and 'nocturn' - but what would that mean in practice? Any suggestions?

P.S. If you like this sort of thing, you will certainly want to go and 'like' or 'bookmark' the facebook page of the Association for Latin Liturgy, which is reproducing daily the relevant entry from the Martyrologium Romanum, with an English translation.

Friday 2 January 2015

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 4 January. Octave of the Holy Innocents, nine lessons. Commemorations of the Octaves of St Thomas and the Circumcision of the Lord.
Monday 5. VIGIL OF THE EPIPHANY. Comm. Octt. Thos, Circ.
Tuesday 6. EPIPHANY OF THE LORD, summum., Com. Oct. Circ.
Wednesday 7. Feria IV in Oct. Epi., Com. Oct. Circ.
Thursday 8. Feria V in Oct. Epi., Com. Oct. Circ.
Friday 9. Feria VI in Oct. Epi.
Saturday 10. Sabbato in Oct. Epi.

The anthem after Compline is Nesciens mater.

It is symptomatic of the completely different way in which we now approach both Sundays and octaves that the first entry for this week seems so surprising. The octave day of the Holy Innocents would normally be a feast day of three lessons; when it falls on a Sunday, far from being eclipsed by the proper office of the Sunday, it is simply celebrated with (marginally) greater solemnity.

Vespers for St Hildegard, by Stevie Wishart