Antiphonary of St. Benigne, Dijon
Encyclopedia
The Antiphonary of St. Benigne (also called Antiphonarium Codex Montpellier) is an 11th century musical manuscript in a codex
that records antiphonal responses of Gregorian chant
, one of the earliest surviving pieces of written music. There are few extant 11th century musical manuscripts, with which scholars debate the realization of Gregorian chant in modern liturgical
use and performance.
An antiphonary
, a song book for use in a liturgical choir in the Roman Catholic liturgy, was mainly used for either singing Mass or the canonical Hours (antiphonarium officii). This particular Antiphonary recorded the plainsong
chant as it was performed in the Cathedral of St. Benigne, Dijon. It has been preserved in the library of the faculty of medicine at the University of Montpellier
(ms. H159). It was issued as a facsimile in the series illustrating the relics of ancient musical notation, Paléographie Musicale, (first series, Solesmes, 1896; reprinted at Berne, Switzerland).
Until Guido of Arezzo
invented the musical stave on which to place notes, their relative pitch could be recorded, and so their melodic configuration is given, but not the precise notes. The notation of rhythm and duration of the notes in this historical period is obscure. The earliest rhythmic notational system, as in the codex preserved at Montpellier, is made up of neume
s, a writing style which some have theorised to derive from diacritic marks; others have suggested that they come from the choirmaster's hand gestures. As neumes did not provide exact pitch relationships, they would have functioned as an imprecise prompt for a melody that the choir already knew.
This manuscript is particularly notable for the fact that it contains musical works written in two forms of notation: the old system of neumes, and a newer system, based on the letter notation
(from A-N) written below. While this alphabetical system differs from the modern system, its interpretation is clear with regard to pitch.
Codex
A codex is a book in the format used for modern books, with multiple quires or gatherings typically bound together and given a cover.Developed by the Romans from wooden writing tablets, its gradual replacement...
that records antiphonal responses of Gregorian chant
Gregorian chant
Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic liturgical music within Western Christianity that accompanied the celebration of Mass and other ritual services...
, one of the earliest surviving pieces of written music. There are few extant 11th century musical manuscripts, with which scholars debate the realization of Gregorian chant in modern liturgical
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
use and performance.
An antiphonary
Antiphonary
An Antiphonary, Antiphonal, "Antiphony" or Antiphoner is one of the present Catholic liturgical books. It is intended for use in choro An Antiphonary, Antiphonal, "Antiphony" or Antiphoner (Latin antiphonarium, antiphonarius, antiphonarius liber, antiphonale; Greek ’antíphonon, antiphon,...
, a song book for use in a liturgical choir in the Roman Catholic liturgy, was mainly used for either singing Mass or the canonical Hours (antiphonarium officii). This particular Antiphonary recorded the plainsong
Plainsong
Plainsong is a body of chants used in the liturgies of the Catholic Church. Though the Eastern Orthodox churches and the Catholic Church did not split until long after the origin of plainchant, Byzantine chants are generally not classified as plainsong.Plainsong is monophonic, consisting of a...
chant as it was performed in the Cathedral of St. Benigne, Dijon. It has been preserved in the library of the faculty of medicine at the University of Montpellier
University of Montpellier
The University of Montpellier was a French university in Montpellier in the Languedoc-Roussillon région of the south of France. Its present-day successor universities are the University of Montpellier 1, Montpellier 2 University and Paul Valéry University, Montpellier III.-History:The university...
(ms. H159). It was issued as a facsimile in the series illustrating the relics of ancient musical notation, Paléographie Musicale, (first series, Solesmes, 1896; reprinted at Berne, Switzerland).
Until Guido of Arezzo
Guido of Arezzo
Guido of Arezzo or Guido Aretinus or Guido da Arezzo or Guido Monaco or Guido d'Arezzo was a music theorist of the Medieval era...
invented the musical stave on which to place notes, their relative pitch could be recorded, and so their melodic configuration is given, but not the precise notes. The notation of rhythm and duration of the notes in this historical period is obscure. The earliest rhythmic notational system, as in the codex preserved at Montpellier, is made up of neume
Neume
A neume is the basic element of Western and Eastern systems of musical notation prior to the invention of five-line staff notation. The word is a Middle English corruption of the ultimately Ancient Greek word for breath ....
s, a writing style which some have theorised to derive from diacritic marks; others have suggested that they come from the choirmaster's hand gestures. As neumes did not provide exact pitch relationships, they would have functioned as an imprecise prompt for a melody that the choir already knew.
This manuscript is particularly notable for the fact that it contains musical works written in two forms of notation: the old system of neumes, and a newer system, based on the letter notation
Letter notation
In music, letter notation is a system of representing a set of pitches, for example, the notes of a scale, by letters. For the complete Western diatonic scale, for example, these would be the letters A-G, possibly with a trailing symbol to indicate a half-step raise--, or a half-step lowering...
(from A-N) written below. While this alphabetical system differs from the modern system, its interpretation is clear with regard to pitch.
External links
- R. John Blackley, director of the Schola Antiqua, "On Realizing Gregorian Chant" and "Rhythm and Nuance in Chant" gives the context of interpreting neumes.