Question about chant tones in the traditional Tenebrae offices
  • ProfKwasniewskiProfKwasniewski
    Posts: 242
    Every year at the College we sing the full Holy Thursday Tenebrae on Wednesday night at 7:00 pm.

    Something I've been wondering about for years... The first three lessons are from Lamentations, and are fully notated. The second three lessons are from Augustine, and are not notated. The final three lessons are from 1 Corinthians. What tone do we use when chanting Augustine and St. Paul? Would it be the prophecy tone for the former, and the epistle tone for the latter?
  • SalieriSalieri
    Posts: 3,177
    There is a setting to a mode ii chant for the lessons from Augustine in Laudes Festivae, beginning on pg 64 (pg 90 of the PDF). The lessons from St Paul are sung to the Prophecy tone, but with a different conclusion: Do-Re-Do-Te; this is on page 73 (pg. 99) of the same book.
    http://media.musicasacra.com/books/laudes_festivae_1940.pdf
    Thanked by 1CHGiffen
  • tomjaw
    Posts: 2,704
    We always sing the all the Lessons in the Prophecy tone, but I can't see any reason not to use other tones.
  • ProfKwasniewskiProfKwasniewski
    Posts: 242
    Thank you Salieri! Wonderfully helpful!
    Do you know if any book has the readings from St. Paul already notated? If not, that's fine, I just thought I'd ask.
  • SalieriSalieri
    Posts: 3,177
    I haven't seen one.

    I think most tenebrae books from that time presumed that if you sing tenebrae then you have solemn Mass Every Sunday, Holy Day, Ember Day, and have clerics who have sung the Prophecy tone very often and can just do it out of the Liber/Breviarum at sight.
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  • Andris Amolins
    Posts: 152
    The Ordo Hebdomadae Sancte Vatican Edition (1923) instructs in all Lessons of the Divine Office (except the Lamentations) to use the Tonus lectionis, not Tonus prophetiae.
    Thanked by 2CHGiffen Geremia
  • tomjaw
    Posts: 2,704
    I have a lovely little book I started using last night and will put back on the shelf after Compline on Sunday. "Officium et Missa, ultimi Tridui, Majoris Hebdomadae, Desclee, 1923." While the Lessons are not notated at the back is a section on the tones to be used.

    It contains the following,
    I Tonus Communis, this is the Prophecy tone.
    II Tonus solemnis ad libitum, this is similar to an Epistle tone.
    III Tonus antiques, this is the tone Hugh Henry uses in his booklets.
    Thanked by 1CHGiffen
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