As we prepare for the year's upcoming liturgies, I've been asked by my Pastor to put together a few OF Office liturgies; and while I have the AR II, I don't have other necessary resources. Does anyone have the Office of Readings and Lauds Invitatory, all Antiphons, Responsories and Short Responsory, Hymns for Epiphany and Pentecost? I know it's a lot to ask, and it's way ahead of time, but with my work travel schedule, the earlier the better. Thank you all for any assistance!
If you are looking for Latin: The only OF chant book for the Roman office to be published thus far is ARII. The only thing you can do is try to find the updated Ordo Cantus Officii and go asearching through the older Antiphonals and Libers until you find what you need. NB, the Breviary is mostly useless for this, because the texts don't match between it and the OCO: there are some neo-Gregorian Latin antiphons that someone pointed out here (I think from the Cathedral in Prague?), that are settings of the Breviary texts, but I can't seem to find it at the moment.
If you are looking for English: The best thing I can tell you is to get a copy of Fr. Weber's "Hymnal of the Hours", and then to scour his website for anything you might find.
This is a monumental task, and I'm not sure your pastor knows exactly what he's getting you into -- you will end up collating your own AR III, AR IV, AR V, etc.
We have been singing Vespers (OF, English) for a few months now, and more time has gone into that aspect of my job than most anything else. The amount of time needed to put together books for a 30 min. Vespers (and it's only 30 min.s because we pad it) is disproportionate.
H: Magi videntes parvulum (LH 38) A1: Reges Tharsis (RM 70) A2: Afferte Domini (RM 69) A3: Adorate Deum (RM 338) R1: Illuminare (RM 75) R2: Hic est dies (RM 81)
Links to the Liber Responsorialis (RM) refer to a large pdf file.
Epiphany, Lauds:
H: Quicumque Christum (LH 40) A1: Apertis thesauris (AM 291) A2: Maria et flumina (AM 291) A3: Venit lumen tuum (AM 290) R: Adorabunt eum (LHG I, 658) [ornate; LU 1715 is a simple version] B: Hodie caelesti (AM 293)
We are starting up OF vespers on an occasional basis. I have been setting the english text from LoTH to the chant melodies found in ARII. This has been an arduous process. So far, I have it done for Palm Sunday Vespers II and Pentecost Vespers II. I am currently working on the Office of the Dead.
If you are looking for "easy" english - the Mundelein Psalter is there and mostly done already, but the tones are extremely boring. You could always use one of their boring tones for the antiphons and then set the psalm to real gregorian psalm tones and point the text. I sing occasionally with a friend that uses a combination of Mundelein Psalter tones and Conception Abbey harmonized SATB.
Unfortunately as Salieri said, the resources are just not there to actually "chant" vespers in english. Fr. Weber has good stuff, though lots of it is using Mundelein or Conception Abbey tones. Richard Rice has done some excellent stuff, and might be inclined to chime in.
Thanks for all the help and support. I'd been setting the English to Latin melodies of the ARII as well, but apparently we'll be doing this all in Latin, so that should make some things easier (and some more difficult). Again, thanks!
If the OR was going to be a vigil with the added antiphon and Gospel, is there a responsory after the Gospel? If so, which antiphon and responsory? Just curious.
The Mundelein Psalter is a good place to begin such a project. The tones will become boring if sung daily, but if only used occasionally they will prove to be accessible to a congregation.
If you desire something less repetitive but still reasonably accessible, I would suggest contacting Saint Meinrad and asking what resources may be available, they have much that is not online. While the monastic use in the abbey church is very beautiful, if you are aiming for congregational participation, the way found in the seminary chapel there would perhaps be a better choice (they use the same psalm tones, but beyond that the two ways diverge a bit). I have participated in a parish Vespers done in close accord to the methods in use in the seminary chapel, and it seemed to work rather well.
While the preservation of Gregorian melodies as part of the life of the Church is valuable where possible, I am not certain how well those melodies will work with the English texts.
On the specific question in the last post of arranging an extended Vigil from the Office of Readings: Having just re-read the relevant parts of the General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours: no. The first portion of the office of readings, including the hymn, psalms, and readings with proper responsory are done, then the canticles with antiphon are added, then the Gospel, then the homily (optional), then back to the usual office of readings format with the Te Deum, prayer, and conclusion.
H: Lux iucunda (LH 98) A1: Spiritus ubi vult (CAO 5008) A2: Factus est repente (RM 108; or GS 397) A3: Emitte Spiritum tuum (RM 115) R1: Quoniam estis (no source) R2: Cum compleretur (RM 109)
Pentecost, Lauds:
H: Beata nobis gaudia (LH 99)* A1: Advenit ignis divinus (tr. man.) A2: Fontes et omnia (AM 521; or GS 150) A3: Loquebantur variis (AM 521) R: Repleti sunt (AR 426) B: Accipite Spiritum Sanctum (AM 523)
* In the Liber hymnarius, the hymn at Lauds has a ti in stead of a si. The last verse reads:
Per te sciámus da Patrem noscámus atque Fílium, te utriúsque Spíritum credámus omni témpore.
A respectful correction to @Salieri, but the Antiphonale Romanum II is not the only OF chant book for the office. Rather than being a second edition to the Antiphonale Romanum of last century, it is in fact the second volume following Antiphonal Romanum I, or as it is actually known, the Liber Hymnarius, which @smvanroode has referred to.
The LH has - as would be expected - every hymn you could possibly need. It also has every Invitatory antiphon and corresponding settings of the invitatory psalm. It has some responsories too, but I can't remember what they were for (I haven't got my copy on me) - perhaps Office of Readings?
And I would love to hear of any projects to set The Divine Office (the UK/Australia/[non-American-actual-English-:p] translation) to the correct or closest-to-correct chant melodies... These other projects using LoTH are all but useless to us unfortunately.
I have been working with a friend in trying to produce a OF antiphonal according to the new OCO. Due to seminary studies, it has been a slow-moving process, but my associate has been able to convert into GABC nearly most of the necessary antiphons. We are still missing about 30 or so antiphons from the whole OCO (which, all things considered, is really quite remarkable when you realize just how many antiphons are required).
We were thinking that once we get to the responsoria prolixa we would have to seek help to convert all those into GABC. I do have a scanned copy of the Nocturnale Romanum, but I am not sure of its copyright status or I would post it here for everyone to view.
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