Neo-gregorian antiphons
  • igneusigneus
    Posts: 390
    In 1971 the new Liturgia horarum appeared, with a great amount of antiphon texts that had never been used as such before and therefore lacked tunes.

    In order to make chanted Divine Office in Latin possible, IGLH 274 orders: At a sung office, if a melody is not available for the given antiphon, another antiphon should be taken from those in the repertoire, provided it is suitable in terms of nos. 113 and 121-125. The Ordo cantus officii (1983) later listed the official replacements, while not removing the freedom to choose otherwise (see it's preface).

    There have been, however, quite a few modern-day cantores, who composed their own neo-gregorian tunes for the Liturgia horarum texts. The reason seems to be mostly practical: assembling Vespers according to the OCO in the eighties or early nineties wasn't really viable for a person not living in Solesmes (or a place with a comparable library) and even searching for an appropriate replacement piece in the available printed sources is often much more work than finding an appropriate tune for a short text.

    And here comes my question: are you aware of any neo-gregorian setting of Liturgia horarum antiphons not listed below? I would love to know about it, too. Some of the readers may have composed such antiphons themselves, or sung in a choir that had it's own settings, or used those created in some monastery, ...



    EDIT: places of origin added
  • Kathy
    Posts: 5,510
    I'm definitely interested in knowing more.
  • innocentop
    Posts: 64
    The Dominican nuns of Buffalo, NY created a neo-Gregorian setting. I've only encountered snippets of it, but from what I can tell they use Dominican antiphons when they happen to correspond with the Liturgia Horarum and internally composed antiphons when there are no corresponding chants in the OP books.
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  • igneusigneus
    Posts: 390
    I can name one more resource: Vespers in the Prague cathedral (Czech Republic) now follow the Antiphonale Romanum II (Solesmes 2009), but prior to it's adoption, texts always followed the Liturgia horarum and missing antiphon tunes were obviously composed.

    The booklets can be found online - see the bold blue links. (Red links point to the currently used Vespers with antiphons from Solesmes.)
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  • awilliamsawilliams
    Posts: 101
    Well...its still a few months from being ready, but a friend of mine and I have quite the project we've been working on. It may be of interest. Most of the music has already been converted to GABC, at this point it is just formatting.
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  • igneusigneus
    Posts: 390
    @awilliams "It may be of interest." -- It definitely is. Do you plan to produce a complete antiphonal? Or psalter alone?

    I don't, however, recognize the antiphon texts. Where are they from? I have checked officium lectionis for Monday 1st week in Liturgia horarum as well as in (1983) OCO, but neither match. Is this a new antiphon distribution according to the recently updated OCO (which I haven't seen yet)? Or is it your custom selection of antiphons?
  • Jérôme
    Posts: 29
    Hi @igneus,

    Many missing antiphons of the OCO can be found in Les Heures Grégoriennes. They are new compositions from Solesmes.
    This is the case in the 2015 OCO, with antiphons marked as tr. man..
    Thanked by 1igneus
  • igneusigneus
    Posts: 390
    @Jérôme Of course I would have forgotten neo-gregorian antiphons from Solesmes - due to the fact that they are "official". I am currently looking especially for more or less "DIY" neo-gregorian pieces like those mentioned above, as it seems that their time is over. Now it's the right point of time to collect and archive them before they get lost forever.
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  • innocentop
    Posts: 64
    @Jérôme,

    According to p. 14 of the 2015 OCO, "tr. man." means "antiphona ex traditione mediævali sumpta, in CAO tamne non comparens."

    "Sol" is used to indicate "melodia antiqua cura Paleographiæ solesmensis accomadata."
    Thanked by 2igneus CHGiffen
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