Mapping the sound of Byzantine churches

More details here.

For readers in Orkney: upcoming evening class

I am again offering my evening class on St Magnus of Orkney. Today is the official deadline for enrolment, but in fact bookings will still be accepted for a few days yet. The course was very successful last year, and it will be a NEW and IMPROVED version this term!

The course now starts on Tuesday 9th February, a change from the date previously advertised, and runs for eight weeks. To book, phone Customer Services at the Council on (01856) 873535, or print off & send in the form that can be downloaded here: http://www.orkney.gov.uk/Service-Directory/E/Evening-Classes.htm

Stained glass window by Oscar Paterson, St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall

Photographer unknown; if this is your work, please let me know!

From the Community Learning Directory:

B142: St Magnus of Orkney

As we approach the 900th anniversary of his martyrdom in 1117, this course looks at the background, life, death and legacy of St Magnus of Orkney. Drawing on historical sources, archaeology, art, music and literature, we will explore how the twelfth-century saint has continued to intrigue and inspire both here in the Northern Isles and further afield.

 Tutor: Dr Ben Whitworth.

 Tuesdays from 2 February (8 meetings).

 19:00 - 21:00.

 Course fee: £58.00.

Maximum class size: 20 students.

(Venue will be KGS.)

God be with you till we meet again

As this is my recreational blog, it has to give way to any other pressures on my time, of which there will be many in 2016; so this may be my last post for some considerable time. As most visitors seem to enjoy the music videos I share here, I have flagged them with a label: click "Music videos" on the right-hand sidebar if you want to view only that sort of post. I leave you with a few gems I have recently come across. Thanks for listening!

O Virgo splendens, sung by Ensemble Decameron

From the "Ecclesiologist", February 1854

Harmonia Caelestis

The composer, Prince Paul Esterhazy, fought the Turks, protected the Jews, and fathered twenty-six children. Chapeau!

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.

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!

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.

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.

Monday's feast is a good excuse for this:

Part of the Song of the Three Children, sung by Hartkeriana

Whole thing lasts about twenty minutes, I believe.

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.