Category Archives: Marian Hymnology

Salve Regina: the Season’s Antiphon

03 Thursday Aug 2017

Posted by in Marian Hymnology, Spirituality

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800px-Leonardo_da_Vinci_-_study_of_a_woman's_head

Leonardo da Vinci, a study of the Head of Madonna, c. 1484 CE. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Marian Antiphons

The Marian antiphons are:

These four antiphons are sung during the eight Canonical Hours, or Divine Office. They may precede or end a psalm. The Salve Regina is sung at Compline and is the best-known of antiphons. Antiphons have been associated with Benedictine monasticism. They are in the Catholic Gregorian Chant repertory which is perhaps rooted in part in Iberian Mozarabic Chant and also originates in Judaism. There are 150 psalms. Many psalters are illuminated manuscripts. The Marian Antiphons were written in Latin, but Wikipedia entries provide an English translation.

Britannica[1] describes antiphons as “Roman Catholic liturgical music, chant melody and text sung before and after a psalm verse. These were sung originally by alternating choirs (antiphonal singing). The antiphonal singing of psalms was adopted from Hebrew worship by the early Christian churches, notably that of Syria.” But Marian antiphons are not “true antiphons.”[2]

In its description of antiphons, Britannica adds that “[t]he four Marian antiphons are long hymns, not true antiphons but independent compositions especially noted for their beauty.” The four Marian antiphonies may have changed as polyphony developed. Moreover it is not uncommon for composers to set a known text to music. In an earlier post, I noted that Michel-Richard de Lalande wrote a Regina Cæli. Several composers have written a Regina Cæli and several, a Salve Regina. Many of these liturgical texts have numerous settings. Mozart’s Requiem is a mass.

It may therefore be prudent to describe Marian antiphons as content rather than form. But they are in the Catholic Gregorian Chant repertory which may be rooted in Iberian Mozarabic chant.  Marian antiphons, however, are not psalmody. It should be noted as well that Marian hymnology includes antiphons that differ from the four Marian antiphons. For instance, the antiphon Ave Maris Stella (click on Ave Maris Stella) is the Acadians‘ national anthem. Acadians are the French-speaking inhabitants of Canada’s Atlantic provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.

800px-Lobo_de_Mesquita_-_Manuscrito_da_Antífona_Salve_Regina_-_1787

Salve Regina manuscript, 1787 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Hermann of Reichenau

Scholars disagree, but the Salve Regina and the Alma Redemptoris Mater, a prayer, yet also a Marian antiphon, are attributed to Hermann von Reichenau [3] (18 July 1013 – 24 September 1054), also called Hermannus Contractus or Hermannus Augiensis or Herman the Cripple, a crippled son of the Count of Altshausen. Hermann was taken to a Benedictine abbey, where he was schooled, at the age of seven. He later entered the Benedictine order. He was a composer, a music theorist, mathematician, and astronomer. He was beatified (cultus confirmed) in 1863. (See Hermann of Reichenau, Wikipedia.) The Salve Regina is one of the Leonine Prayers.

Although the dates do not coincide precisely, there are four Marian antiphons just as there are four seasons. However, although Christian feasts are celebrated on or near solstices and equinoctial points, they also occur at other moments of the year. Christmas is celebrated near the longest night of the year, the winter solstice, and the summer solstice coincides with St John’s Day, or Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, Quebec’s national holiday, celebrated on 24 June. Easter is celebrated near the vernal equinox. It is Eastertide. As for the autumn equinox, it occurs near the mostly forgotten Michaelmas, la Saint-Michel, on 29 September.

An artistic rendering of “Herman the Lame” as he is sometimes called (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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St. Michael, detail from Abraham and the Archangel Michael, Lower Saxony, … Courtesy of the Institut für Denkmalpflege, Halle, Germany  (Photo credit: Encyclopædia Britannica)

As for liturgical seasons, there are eight : Advent, Christmastide, Epiphany, Pre-Lent, Lent, Easter Triduum, Eastertide. In the Catholic Church, there are eight Marian Feast Days. (See Marian Feast Days, Wikipedia).

The main Catholic Marian Feast Days are:

In the Eastern Orthodox and Greek-Catholic liturgical calendars, the most important Marian Feast Days are:

Conclusion

A complete discussion of Marian hymns would demand a closer examination of several Christian denominations: Armenian, etc. But for most Christians, the next Marian feast day is the Assumption of Mary, called the Dormition of Mary in the Eastern Church. It is celebrated on the 15th of August.

I will conclude by quoting, once more, Britannica’s entry on antiphons: “The antiphonal singing of psalms was adopted from Hebrew worship by the early Christian churches, notably that of Syria.” Moreover, Mary is venerated in Islam. (See Mary in Islam, Wikipedia.) This quotation points to the Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

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Love to everyone ♥ 

_________________________

[1] https://www.britannica.com/art/antiphon-music

[2] https://www.britannica.com/art/antiphon-music

[3] https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hermann-von-Reichenau

The Music

I’m using Arvo Pärt‘s Salve Regina, with footage taken from Sátántangó (1994) for the second time. However, Wikipedia’s entry on  Herman of Reichenau includes a fine interpretation of the Salve Regina by Les Petits Chanteurs de Passy. It is delightful.

Homemade music video for Salve Regina by Arvo Pärt. Performed by The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir. Conducted by Paul Hillier.
Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000…

Footage taken from Sátántangó (1994) directed by Béla Tarr.
Imdb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111341/

images

© Micheline Walker
3 August 2017
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The Marian Antiphonies

05 Sunday Apr 2015

Posted by in Feasts, Marian Hymnology, Music

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Mater Dolorosa by Carlo Dolci (25 May 1616 – 17 January 1686) (Photo credit: Wikipedia) 

The Marian Antiphons

The Marian year has its seasons and each season has its antiphon. There are four antiphons, one for each Marian season. Antiphons, sometimes called antiphonies, are a call and response hymn. (See Posts on Marian Hymnology.)

Marian antiphonies are:

Last week, on Good Friday, the seasonal Marian antiphon became the Regina Cæli. It had been the Ave Regina Cælorum, which ends on Good Friday. Good Friday, or ‘holy’ Friday, is the day that commemorates the crucifixion and death of Jesus of Nazareth, also known as Christ, in whose name Christianity was founded.

As you may know, the growth of polyphony, music combining several voices, is linked to Sacred Music mainly. During the Middle Ages, the Church was the main patron of composers. Most composers therefore became Kappelmeisters. It was their profession.

However, composers such as Italian Luca Marenzio (18 October 1553 or 1554 – 22, August 1599) wrote madrigals, secular music. Marenzio worked for Italian aristocratic families: the Gonzaga, the Este, and the Medici. Madrigals became the leading genre during the Renaissance and could be called the secular birthplace of polyphony. The largely courtly madrigal was rooted in the medieval song or chanson. Trouvères (northern France), troubadours[1] (southern France), and Minnesingers (German-speaking lands) wrote and sang chansons.

Piazza San Marco (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Piazza San Marco, Venice (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Renaissance

The Renaissance began with the collapse of the Byzantine Empire (Greek), or Eastern Roman Empire. Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks on 29 May 1453 and its Greek scholars fled to Italy. The Ottoman Empire’s Sultanate collapsed on 1 November 1922 and its Caliphate was abolished on 3 March 1924. (See The Last Crusades: the Ottoman Empire.) Constantinople became Istanbul in 1929 and is the largest city in Turkey. The arrival in Italy of Greek scholars escaping the Ottoman Turks would change western Europe profoundly. It ushered in a renaissance (rebirth).

San Marco, or St. Mark’s Basilica, reflects the influence of the Byzantine Empire, the empire that preceded the Ottoman Empire. (See Constantine the Great, Wikipedia.)[2] However, the Venetian School of music was founded by Adrian Willaert of the Franco-Flemish school. (See Venetian polychoral style, Wikipedia)

In 1527, Netherlandish composer Adrian Willaert (c. 1490 – 7 December 1562)travelled to Venice, where he had been appointed maestro di cappella at San Marco and taught music. At St. Mark’s Basilica, he had the best of facilities and remained its maestro di cappella until his death in 1552.

Music for Easter

Two years ago, I posted an article entitled Music for Easter (31 March 2013). That post featured the Regina Cæli, the Easter season’s antiphon. If you wish to listen to Michel Richard de Lalande‘s Regina Cæli, please click on Music for Easter. Music for Easter is a short post also featuring, as does this post, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi‘s (4 January 1710 – 16 March 1736) “Quando corpus morietur.” Pergolesi died at the age of 26, but had already composed several mature works. I love Pergolesi. His “Quando corpus morietur” is inspired music.

Giovanni Legrenzi

Giovanni Legrenzi[3] (baptized 12 August 1626 – 27 May 1690) was a 17th-century Italian composer. By the 17th century, western Europe had entered its Baroque period (1600 – 1750) and composers had started to write operas. However, Legrenzi was first employed as organist at Santa Maria Maggiore, in Bergamo, Italy. In the mid 1650’s, he was maestro di cappella at the Academy of the Holy Spirit in Ferrara. Later, he settled in Venice where he lived comfortably and was named maestro di cappella at San Marco, Venice’s splendid Basilica. In other words, the Church had remained an important employer of musicians.

Both Giovanni Legrenzi and Michel Richard de Lalande were active at the height of the Ottoman Empire, the period when turquerie was fashionable, but it should be noted that polyphonic music is entirely a product of the Graeco-Roman civilization.

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Sources and Resources

Ave, Regína cælórum
Ave, Dómina Angelórum,
Sálve rádix, sálve, pórta,
Ex qua múndo lux est órta.
Gáude, Vírgo gloriósa,
Super ómnes speciósa ;
Vále, o valde decóra
Et pro nóbis Christum exóra.

Hail, Queen of the Heavens!
Hail, ruler of the angels!
Hail, root of Jesse! Hail, portal from whom light has shone to the world!
Hail, Virgin most glorious,
Beautiful above all!
Farewell, O most comely,
And pray to Christ for us.
(Courtesy of Notre-Dame de Paris)

47visnew

Madonna by Raphael (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This post was published mistakenly a few minutes after I started writing it. The “publish” button is next to the “save draft” button. This morning, I realized that my image of San Marco was missing. I decided to insert it, but pressed on the “draft”  button instead of the “pending review” button. The post is now dated 5 April 2015.

Wishing all to you a Happy Easter.♥

____________________
[1] Troubadours sang in langue d’oc and trouvères in langue d’oïl.

[2] Constantine I was the first Roman Emperor to convert to Christianity. He founded the Christian Church, as an institution, at the First Council of Nicaea (325 CE) and the Council of Nicaea and Constantinople, in 381 CE. The Nicene Creed dates back to these two councils.

[3] “Giovanni Legrenzi”. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2015. Web. 04 avr.. 2015
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/335137/Giovanni-Legrenzi>.

Ave Regina Cælorum
Philippe Jaroussky (countertenor) and Marie-Nicole Lemieux (contralto)

Pergolesi’s Quando corpus morietur 

tumblr_mgsy17srBd1qipl8zo1_500© Micheline Walker
4 April 2015
(revised on 5 April 2015)
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Mater Dolorosa (detail, ca. 1485) attributed to Simon Marmion (Photo credit: rebloggy.com)

Candlemas: its Stories & its Songs

02 Saturday Feb 2013

Posted by in Feasts, Marian Hymnology

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Putti, by Raphaël

Putti (Chérubins), by Raphaël

Marian Antiphons

Today, 2 February 2013, we are entering the Marian year’s second season, the first takes us from Advent to Candlemas (la Chandeleur), once an observed feast commemorating the presentation of the child Jesus at the Temple. The second lasts until Good Friday.

In other words, as of today the Marian song is the Ave Regina Cælorum. From the beginning of Advent until today, it had been the Alma Redemptoris Mater. Several composers have set the words of the Alma Redemptoris Mater to music and the same is true of the Ave Regina Cælorum. 

In the Church of England, today, Candlemas, is the end of the Epiphany season which follows the Christmas season.

The “Nunc dimittis” or Canticle of Simeon

Also sung today is the Nunc dimittis (“Now you dismiss…,” Luke 2:29–32), The Song of Simeon or Canticle of Simeon). Simeon had been promised he would see Jesus and did.  A canticle is a song of praise. In this respect, the Nunc Dimittis resembles the Magnificat, or Canticle of Mary. Mary sang the Magnificat when she heard her cousin Elizabeth was with child. To listen to the Nunc Dimittis and read its story, simply click on one of the links below:

Groundhog Day

Moreover, today is also Groundhog Day. Punxutawney Phil has not seen his shadow which means that we are nearing spring. (See the Washington Post.) So, humans have always situated their feasts when a change occurs in the weather. We go from season to season and the following year, we also go from season to season and this continues year after year.

The Labours of the Months

Remember Jean de France’s Très Riches Heures. (See Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry).  It’s a Book of Hours, but it is also a calendar. The Très Riches Heures has a large illuminated (enluminures) page for each month of the year illustrating the Labours of the Months. With Jean de France, there was another motive. In the background of each page, we see one of his castles.

Greek poet Hesiod, who is believed to have been active between 750 and 650 BCE, wrote Works and Days, a book Wikipedia describes as a farmer’s almanac. In Works and Days, he is teaching his brother Perses about the agricultural arts. (See Works and Days.)

Although we are leaving the first Marian season, I am including both the Alma Redemptoris Mater and the Ave Regina Cælorum.

—ooo—  

During Canonical Hours, the Antiphon (antienne) is a liturgical chant that precedes and follows a Psalm or a Canticle. In a Mass, it is also a chant to which a choir or the congregation respond with a refrain. It is therefore a call and response chant. The following links take one to Notre-Dame de Paris:

Sources and Resources

Hesiod’s Works and Days is an online publication.

—ooo—

Posts on Marian Hymnology & More

composer: Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (3 February 1525 or 2 February 1526 – 2 February 1594)
piece: Alma Redemptoris Mater
performers: Cappella Gregoriana (Tokyo, Japan)
From First Vespers of Christmas until the Presentation
piece: Ave Regina Cælorum
performers: Philippe Jaroussky (French countertenor, b. 13 February 1978)
Marie-Nicole Lemieux (Quebec contralto, b. 26 June 1975)
From the Presentation of the Lord through Good Friday
 
Raffael_027© Micheline Walker
2 February 2013
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Posts on Marian Hymnology

07 Monday Jan 2013

Posted by in Marian Hymnology

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Raphael

Madonna by Raphaël

 

Marian Hymnology: Antiphons, Canticles…

The following is a collection of various posts on the Virgin Mary.  The music Mary has inspired is varied and a delight to music lovers.  So are paintings of Mary who is called Theotokos in the Eastern Church.

In French, Antiphons are called antiennes and the “t” is pronounced as if it were a “c”.  However, books containing antiennes are called Antiphonaires.  There are no Marian anthems.  An Anthemn is a different musical form.  In fact, anthems resemble Catholic motets.

The four Marian Antiphons are sung during a certain period of the liturgical year.  The Antiphon used at this particularly moment is the Alma Mater Redemptoris. On February 2, it will be the Ave Regina Cælorum. However, Marian liturgy is further divided into eight periods and 32 feast days.

I am not an expert on Mariology, but I have studied and still study liturgy as a musical form.

The Four Antiphons

During Canonical Hours, the Antiphon is a liturgical chant that precedes and follows a Psalm or a Canticle.  In a Mass, it is also a chant to which a choir or the congregation respond with a refrain.   It is therefore a call and response chant.

The Four Canticles

Canticles are hymns sung during the Canonical Hours.  Seven find their origin in the Old Testament and are sung at Lauds. Three, however, are contained in the Gospel according to Luke.

The Four Marian Feasts

Posts on Marian Hymnology

composer: Wolgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791)
piece: “Laudate Dominum,” Vesperae solennes de confessore, KV 339
performers: Anja Harteros, soprano
Chor der Sächsischen Staatsoper Dresden
conductor: Christoph Eschenbach
 

© Micheline Walker
7 January 2013
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A Christmas Offering, cont’d: Hymns to Mary

27 Thursday Dec 2012

Posted by in Art, Feasts, Marian Hymnology

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Le Nouveau-né, by Georges de la Tour

Le Nouveau-né (The Newborn), by Georges de La Tour (1593-1652)

Georges de La Tour (13 March 1593 – 30 January 1652)

—ooo—

Last year, on Christmas day, I wrote the following post:

A Christmas Offering: Hymns to Mary

We were at Notre-Dame de Paris (NDP), listening to Marian hymns, but Notre-Dame no longer provides the internet with recordings of its liturgical music. However, we have the music it used to provide.

Basic Marian Hymnology: Notre-Dame de Paris

To put it in a nutshell, Marian music consists of approximately 32 hymns (general term), the most important of which are the four antiphons listed below.  At Notre-Dame de Paris, where we are nevertheless traveling, four other Marian hymns are sung daily, one of which is a canticle (cantique in French) or song of praise: the Magnificat.  When Mary heard that her cousin Elizabeth was pregnant, she sang the Magnificat.  Elizabeth’s child was John the Baptist.

The other Marian hymns sung at Notre-Dame are the Hail Mary or Ave Maria, the Angelus and the Ave Maris Stella.  The Angelus is explained at NDP, but not performed.  Every hymn is translated into English.

—ooo—

Antiphons

An antiphon is a call and respond song.  It resembles a refrain.  That is an over-simplification, but a first step.

  • Salve Regina
  • Regina Cæli
  • Alma Redemptoris mater
  • Ave Regina Cælorum

Canticles

A canticle is a song of praise such as the Nunc Dimittis.

Marian Hymnology

As stated above, altogether, there are approximately 32 Marian hymns, including the four Antiphons.  However, to these we must add the works of composers who have written oratorios, cantatas, motets and have also set Marian texts to other musical forms.  These may contain music composed for Christmas, the birth of Christ, where Mary is a central character.  To my knowledge, there is no oratorio honoring the Virgin, except segments of larger works.  Examples are J. S. Bach‘s Magnificat (from the Chrismas Oratorio) and parts of Händel’s Messiah.

Beyond Notre-Dame’s Daily Marian Hymns

The Oratorio

Given the Catholic Church’s devotion to Mary Mother of God, large musical works are likely to incorporate music to the Virgin.  Oratorios are among large compositions and could be described as long cantatas.  However, they resemble operas.  Oratorios require an orchestra and a choir.  Moreover, they may contain solos or, at times, multi-voice compositions that are not sung by the choir, but by four soloists.

At one point in the history of music, polyphony included more than the four voices we are accustomed to: soprano, alto, tenor, bass or SATB.  We are not discussing such works, many of which are madrigals.  We will focus instead on famous Oratorios associated with the birth, life and death of Christ and usually performed during the Christmas season or at Easter.

The Cantata

A cantata (from the Latin cantare: to sing) is a shorter and less complex work than the oratorio.  It dates back to the early 1600s, which are the years the first operas were composed.  Originally, only one person sang the cantata; it was monophonic.  In this regard, it resembled early madrigals.  But as the madrigal evolved into a multi-voice composition or polyphony, so did cantatas.  We tend to associate cantatas with J. S. Bach who composed approximately 200, one of which, number 142, is entitled the Christmas Cantata: “Uns ist ein Kind geboren” (Unto us a Child is born) is a lovely cantata.

Tampereen Kamarimusiikkiseura (Tampere Chamber Music Society) (Finland)


The Motet

According to late 13th-century theorist Johannes de Grocheio (c. 1255 – c. 1320) motets are “not intended for the vulgar who do not understand its finer points and derive no pleasure from hearing it: it is meant for educated people and those who look for refinement in art.”

 
 20047-594
© Micheline Walker
27 December 2012
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Raphael & Marian Liturgy at Notre-Dame de Paris

04 Wednesday Apr 2012

Posted by in Art, Marian Hymnology

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Madonna della tenda, by Raphaël

Madonna della tenda by Raphaël, c. 1512

Raphaël, born Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (April 6 or March 28, 1483 – April 6, 1520) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
 

In my last post, I showed you frescoes on the theme of the Annunciation, executed by Fra Angelico, an artist and a saint.  But today, our featured artist is Raphaël.  As you know Marian art constitutes one of the richest areas of the Fine Arts.

However, Mariology is also an important source of sacred music.  Just think how often the Ave Maria has been sung.  I was brought up a Catholic child, but somehow I was not able to appreciate fully the importance of the Virgin in the arts and in sacred music until I started taking courses on the history of art and musicology.  It was a wonderful rediscovery.

Given that I have written blogs on Mariology, Christmas and the Canonical Hours, my readers have already been introduced to the subject matter we are visiting today.  For those of you who are new to my site, here are the links you may require:

Fra Angelico & the Annunciation, my last post, contains a list of the four Marian Antiphons or Antiphonies (antiennes, in French):

There are many other prayers to Mary, but the antiphonies, responsorial hymns, are at the centre of Marian Sacred Music, and the one attached to the Annunciation is the Ave Regina Cælorum.  As of Good Friday, two days from now, the Marian antiphon will be the Regina Cœli.

It is therefore nearly too late to speak about the Ave Regina Cælorum. However, because there is so little time, I will quote Notre-Dame de Paris:

This Antiphony dedicated to Mary was used in Assumption services starting in the 12th century. This salute to the Queen of the Heavens, this radiant admiration uses every possible term for praise: Ave, Salve, Gaude, Vale.

On the Notre-Dame de Paris site, one can also read the following:

Since the 14th century, it has been the Spring Antiphony, maybe because it praises Mary as the earthly root, Salve radix, of this light that opens onto the world – isn’t spring the time when days get endlessly longer and life sprouts up from root to branch?  At Notre-Dame de Paris, tradition has it that before the great mass, the Ave Regina is sung in front of the statue of the Queen of the Heavens, which is why this antiphony is sung every Sunday at the end of the Lauds service.

On the same site, it is also possible to hear the Ave Regina Cælorum (Notre-Dame de Paris), but I am including the Ave Regina Cælorum on YouTube.

Orlando de Lassus (c. 1532 – 1594): Ave Regina Cælorum
performers: Pro Cantione Antiqua
conductor: Bruno Turner
photo: Mario De Biasi

raphael_angel

Giovanni Legrenzi (1626 – 1690): Ave Regina Cælorum, Philippe Jaroussky & Marie-Nicole Lemieux

 

 The Tempi Madonna, by Raphel
The Tempi Madonna by Raphaël, 1508 
© Micheline Walker
4 April 2012
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A Christmas Offering: Hymns to Mary

25 Sunday Dec 2011

Posted by in Feasts, Liturgy, Marian Hymnology

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raphael1

 
Raphael’s Sistine Chapel tapestries to head to Victoria and Albert museum
The Gardian (UK), Marc Brown
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (6 April or 28 March 1483 – April 6, 1520; aged 37)
Mary[i]
 

Marian hymnology and the development of polyphony

Not only is Marian hymnology an immense domain, but it is also an integral part of the story of polyphony. For instance, in the Middle Ages, as polyphonic music was developing, monophonic hymns were sometimes transformed into Motets, a popular polyphonic form. Monks sung and still sing the four Marian Antiphons during the Canonical Hours and do so in Gregorian Chant, hence monophonically, but composers have drawn inspiration in Mariology. The Ave Maria is my best example. This explains the inclusion, in my last post, of polyphonic versions of the four Marian antiphons: Handel, Vivaldi, Mozart…

The Hymns to Mary

There are about 32 songs celebrating the Virgin and these contain the four antiphons. All are listed in Wikipedia, so I will provide the required link: Hymns to Mary.

It is not possible to enter into a discussion of all Marian hymns. For the purposes of this blog, I have therefore chosen to focus on the four prayers that are included in the daily liturgy of Notre-Dame de Paris. The Notre-Dame website is particularly informative. However, services at Notre-Dame are more numerous than in ordinary Parish churches. Some Christians attend Mass daily, but most do so only on Sunday and on Feast days.

Antiphons and Prayers

At Notre-Dame de Paris, Marian hymnology includes the antiphons, named antiphonies, but daily liturgy also comprises four prayers to Mary: the Hail Mary  (Ave Maria), the Angelus, the Magnificat and the Ave Maris Stella. These are canticles (cantiques), not psalms. I have listed them chronologically and all four are recited or chanted before the antiphons or antiennes. I will therefore confine this presentation to the Ave Maria, the Angelus, the Magnificat and the Ave Maris Stella.

 

1. The Ave Maria or Hail Mary

The Hail Mary or Ave Maria is a prayer composed by Eudes de Sully who was the archbishop of Paris between 1196 and 1208.  Eudes composed the Hail Mary by adding a conclusion to the Marian antiphons “sung during the Annunciation and Visitation festivals.” The text is based on the words spoken to Mary by the archangel Gabriel.

2. The Angelus (Wikipedia)

The Angelus is a prayer introduced by Saint Bonaventure, a disciple of Saint Francis of Assisi (born Giovanni Francesco di Bernardone (1181/1182 – 1226) and a professor of theology in Paris from 1248 to 1257. Saint Bonaventure was also a friend of Saint Thomas Aquinas. He included the Angélus in the services of Franciscan monks when he became general minister of the Friars Minor, in 1257. The Angélus was sung in praise of the “Incarnation of the Son of God three times a day.”At Notre-Dame, the Angélus is recited each morning before the first mass and it is also recited at noon.

3. The Magnificat 

The Magnificat was sung by Mary to her cousin Elizabeth after Elizabeth told Mary she was bearing a child, Saint John the Baptist, at a rather late age. As for Mary, the archangel Gabriel had announced to her that she would bear and give birth to Jesus, the Son of God. The text of the Magnificat “uses the words of several Old Testament songs.” It is a Thanksgiving or Action de Grâces hymn sung at Notre-Dame in Vespers services. The Magnificat could be the earliest Marian hymn.

4. The Ave Maris Stella (FR-Wikipedia)

The Ave Maris Stella (Mary Star of the Sea) is probably, after the Magnificat, the oldest hymn dedicated to Mary. It has been attributed to Bernard de Clairvaux, but it may date back to Saint Venantius Fortunatus (530 – 609) who lived in the sixth century, or to Paulus Diaconus (Paul le Diacre or Paul the Deacon) who lived in the eighth century. The Ave Maris Stella contains seven (7) stanzas, 24-syllable each. Guillaume Dufay (c. 1397– 1474) wrote an Ave Maris Stella. (Wikipedia)

It is unlikely that prayers and hymns to Mary I have mentioned constitute a complete répertoire of Marian hymnology. Some undoubtedly belonged to an oral tradition and are lost. In other words, many were not written down, nor were they notated (music).  Notation, as we saw in another blog, starts, quite primitively, with Guido of Arezzo, the author of the Micrologus.

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It would be my opinion that what an examination of Marian hymnology reveals, first and foremost, is the degree to which Christians worship the mother of God. The word “intercession” may well hold the key to this phenomenon. Mary is viewed as kind and motherly. She is therefore considered more likely to hear one’s prayers and convey them to a sterner God the Father and to Jesus of Nazareth, the son of God.

All the great medieval Cathedrals of Europe are dedicated to the Virgin Mary, an eloquent tribute to Mary’s presence in the mind of most Christians.

(Please click on the title to see the video or hear the music.)

 

[i] “Mary”. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 26 Dec. 2012
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/367422/Mary>.

Ave Maris Stella
Raphael‘s The Alba Madonna, c. 1510

© Micheline Walker
25 December 2011
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