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.

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.

"His eye is on the sparrow", by 'Sister' Rosetta Tharpe

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

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 28 December. HOLY INNOCENTS, martyrs, double. Commemorations of the Octaves of the Nativity, St Stephen, and St John.
Monday 29. ST THOMAS, archbishop and martyr, double. Comm. Octt. Nat., Steph., John, Innoc.
Tuesday 30. Office of the Sunday within the Octave of the Nativity. Comm. Octt. Steph., John, Innoc., Thos.
Wednesday 31. St Silvester, pope and confessor, simple. Comm. Octt. Nat., Steph., John, Innoc., Thos.
Thursday 1 January 2015. CIRCUMCISION OF THE LORD, summum. Comm. Octt. Nat., Steph., John, Innoc., Thos.
Friday 2. Octave of St Stephen, three lessons. Comm. Octt. John, Innoc., Thos, Circ.
Saturday 3. Octave of St John, three lessons. Comm. Octt. Innoc., Thos, Circ.

The anthem after Compline is Nesciens mater.

Nesciens Mater, by Thomas Byttering

Sacred music: it's a Bing thing.

Introit for the fourth Sunday of Advent, sung by Jerycho

And while we've got the lads here, this is the only recording I know of the troped Gloria Spiritus et alme, in honour of the blessed Virgin. Spiritus et alme was the sole trope to be found in the ordo missae of the Missale Nidrosiense.



And here is an Alleluia egregie - but not the one found in the office of St Magnus: different text, different tone. Nevertheless fabulous.

Nidaros ordo

At the urging of Ttony, I persist with my attempt at an ordo for the Use of Nidaros. If you are a sixteenth-century cleric incardinated into one of the Nidrosian sees, I strongly advise you to check with your bishop before accepting the accuracy of anything I post here!

Sunday 21 December. FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT. Anthem: O virgo virginum.
Monday 22. ST THOMAS, apostle, double. O virgo virginum.
Tuesday 23. St Thorlac, bishop and confessor, simple. O virgo virginum.
Wednesday 24. Vigil of the Nativity. Nesciens mater.
Thursday 25. NATIVITY OF THE LORD, summum. Commemoration of St Anastasia, virgin martyr, at the second Mass. Nesciens mater.
Friday 26. ST STEPHEN, prothomartyr [sic], greater double. Com. of the Octave of the Nativity. Nesciens mater.
Saturday 27. ST JOHN, apostle and evangelist, greater double. Comm. Octt. Nat. & Steph. Nesciens mater.

'Doubting' Thomas is displaced by the Sunday from his usual day. Music from the office of St Thorlac is presented on the new CD Aquilonis by Norway's Trio Medieval. This is not it, but it will give you an idea of how good they are:

"Sancte Bonifati", edited by Giovanni Varelli, sung by Quintin Beer & John Clapham

Possibly the earliest notated polyphony in Western music.

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 14 December. THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT. Com. Ss Nichasius and companions. Anthem: De te virgo.
Monday 15. Feria II. Ne timeas.
Tuesday 16. Feria III. Ne timeas.
Wednesday 17. Feria IV. The Magnificat antiphon O sapientia is doubled. O virgo virginum.
Thursday 18. Feria V. O virgo virginum.
Friday 19. Feria VI. O virgo virginum.
Saturday 20. Sabbatum. O virgo virginum.

Hmmm. Actually, I do need to get my head around octaves before I plunge into the post-Christmas melée. Do you mind if we set this aside until, say, Septuagesima. I should have got my eye in by then.