Tenebrae w/ Miserere mei, Deus - planning help!
  • sergeantedward
    Posts: 186
    I want to do a Good Friday Tenebrae service using the "Miserere mei, Deus" (Allegri).

    I confess that I have never planned a Tenebrae service. I don't know how to create an outline of the service. Also, I don't know exactly how the Miserere works in that structure.

    If anyone could point me in the right direction for (a) understanding how the service works and (b) how the Miserere mei, Deus works in that structure, I would be very grateful!
  • SalieriSalieri
    Posts: 3,177
    The service is Matins and Lauds (combined into one office) for the Last three days of Holy Week: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, celebrated in early morning. Prior to the Holy Week reforms of Pius XII these offices were anticipated the prior evening (Maundy Thursday on Spy Wednesday-night, etc.) and only to candlelight - thus the name Tenebrae - Darkness.

    The complete service and rubrics for all three days is in any copy of the Liber Usualis - you can find them on the CMAA music PDF page.

    The service would have been sung entirely to chant, with, in the Cappella Sistina, the following exceptions:

    At Matins, the first of the Lamentations from Jeremiah was sung to a polyphonic setting by Palestrina.

    AFTER Lauds (i.e. after the "strepitus") all knelt and recited the Miserere to themselves silently (as mandated by the Pope) while the Choir sang the Miserere in Falsobordone - the Miserere with its antiphon at the beginning of Lauds was sung in the chant tone. The two most popular settings of the Miserere were by Gregorio Allegri and Tomasso Bai, though there was also a setting by Giuseppe Baini, and, towards the end of the Age of Castrati, by Dom Domenico Mustafa, Maestro di Cappella, and a prominent operatic Castrato.
    The odd verses were sung by alternating groups of solo singers (concerted choral performance gave way in the Sistina to solo performance during Tenebrae), and the even verses were sung, not to Tone II or Peregrinus as some editors have proposed, but on a monotone on the Dominant (D in g minor). No printed or MS sources include the even verses for this reason - its too simple.

    My advise to you is this: If you cannot do the full service according to the Old Rite (which, as usual, is better), then please, please, please, do combined Matins and Lauds according to the LotH - Lessons and Carols for Good Friday is NOT Tenebrae. Fr. Weber Tenebrae And sing the Allegri afterwards as a meditation - before the ministers leave.
    Thanked by 4CHGiffen sergeantedward mrcopper CCooze
  • SalieriSalieri
    Posts: 3,177
    You may, or may not, find this useful. (for historic purposes)

    http://forum.musicasacra.com/forum/discussion/10524/allegri-miserere-1824/p1
    Thanked by 2CHGiffen sergeantedward
  • sergeantedward
    Posts: 186
    @Salieri : I have seen that Fr. Weber service program... Is his program a "full" Tenebrae service, with the combined Matins and Lauds? Are you suggesting to do the Fr. Weber program + Miserere at the very end?

    Musically, I have the resources to do a full service. I want to do the ideal, full-fledged Tenebrae with all of the texts and all of the chants.

    P.S. I love the history of Miserere.
    Thanked by 1Salieri
  • SalieriSalieri
    Posts: 3,177
    Fr. Weber's service (I need to fix that last sentence in the first post because it isn't one!) is the full service of Matins and Lauds according to the LotH, it is considerably shorter than in the Extraordinary Form (OF matins: Three Psalms, three lessons, three responsories vs. EF matins: Nine Psalms, nine lessons, nine responsories, etc.) But it is still the "full" service.

    I haven't seen a booklet for EF Tenebrae floating around, but, if anyone here as one I expect It would be tomjaw. Perhaps he'd be able to post?

    One correction to my first post - the silent Miserere & Paternoster, accompanied by the Falsobordone, was said prior to the strepitus, collect, and "resurrection" of the Christ candle, not after as I had originally said.

    There is an excellent recording of the Allegri Miserere (Haas/Atkins version) and the Bai Miserere (from Dom Mustafa's "secret" score in the Vatican Archives) with the Westminster Abbey Choir and the Abbey Consort under Martin Neary, here.

    I would have the Allegri at the end - it could be very dramatic, if it's one of the only pieces sung in polyphony, and in the dark, with the solo soprano soaring up to the High C.

    See if you can find a polyphonic setting of the Good Friday Lamentations on CPDL or IMSLP (Palestrina, Victoria, Tallis?), and do that for the first lesson towards the beginning with the Allegri towards the end. Good symmetry, and will set of the rest of the plainchant very nicely.
  • tomjaw
    Posts: 2,712
    Thanks Salieri... but I have not produced a booklet either for choir or Congregation, we only ever do Tenebrae of Maunday Thursday, For Good Friday / Holy Saturday we go to the London Oratory...

    We sing vested in choir and we have enough L.U. to go round the men.

    The following links will help,
    The Liturgical year has good explanations etc. Download the volume of Passiontide / Holy week. http://www.theliturgicalyear.org/theliturgicalyearpdfs.html

    Another site with explanations etc. is here, http://ordorecitandi.blogspot.ch/search/label/Tenebrae

    Other resources can be found here, http://www.fidelitybooks.com.au/Hugh/

    1st Nocturn
    We sing the antiphons in full as in the L.U. but many places including the London Oratory psalm tone them.
    ANT. sung both before and after each psalm

    Lamentations can be sung by Lectors facing the Altar, you can use the Roman tones in the L.U. or the tones on Hugh's site above.
    The Responsories in between can be psalm toned (as in London Oratory) sung as in L.U. OR polyphonic versions can be used.

    2nd AND 3rd Nocturn (as 1st Nocturn)
    Lessons Chanted to the Lesson tone by Lectors (other tones can be used) The London Oratory reads these in English!
    The Responsories can be sung in full, psalm toned, or Polyphonic settings can be used. The London Oratory sing polyphonic versions!

    Lauds
    Continues as above with Antiphons / Psalms. The Oratory alternates between clerics in choir on the Sanctuary, with a choir in the Organ loft. We alternate left and right.

    Of course the Miserere Ps 50 is sung above, as the first psalm of Lauds... But this one in NOT the one usually sung to Allegri's setting. After the Christus facts set (polyphonic versions available! the Miserere is sung again (see Hugh's booklet) it is suggested that this can be sung to Allegri's setting.

    Using all the chant settings and chanting the Lessons will take over 2 hrs! Using polyphonic settings will take even longer.

    My Holy Week would not be complete without this!
    Thanked by 1CHGiffen
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