Need a tutorial for chanting the Divine Office
  • samatizer03
    Posts: 1
    Hey guys,
    This is my first post on the forum, so greetings, and thanks for all the resources which yall have already posted. I'm a college student, and I've been interested in chanting the Divine Office for some time now. The problem is, I can't seem to find the correct music nor how to read the notation. I've sunk hours into looking through the books (and trying to find which books I even need) and I was hoping that some of you guys could help explain some of the stuff to me, or link some resources where I can do my own research.

    What I already know:
    • I know how to read neumes.
    • I know how to chant pointed text. Lines ending with daggers have the dagger ending, lines ending with asterisks have the asterisk ending, and the line after that has the other ending.
    • I know how to chant unpointed text in English and Latin.
    • I know that the hymns can be found in the first section of the Liber Hymnarius by liturgucal season and by Hour.
    • I know that the tunes for the antiphons and the Invitatory psalms can also be found in the Liber Hymnarius.
    • I've heard that making antiphons for the current breviary is a pain because they added all-new antiphons relatively recently, and there's hardly a point in doing so because they're updating the Divine Office again soon.


    What I would like to know:
    1. Where do I find the tune for chanting the stuff at the beginning and end of each Hour that generally stays the same every time? (Lord open my lips, God come to my assistance, Reading (?), Intercessions, Concluding prayer, Dismissal, etc.)
    2. Where do I find the tunes for the antiphons for all the Hours?
    3. Where do I find which tone to use for which Psalm?
    4. How do I interpret any abbreviations in the books which answer qs.2 and 3?
    5. How do I interpret the abbreviations at the beginning of the antiphons? For example, "At Magn. Ant. 6. G", "Ant. 8. c", "Ant. 4. A*", "4. Ant. 1. g 2"
    6. Is there an IBreviary-like app or website which just shows everything you need for whatever day?


    I use IBreviary in English right now, but if I have to switch to another app or website or switch to Latin then I will. If you can answer any of my questions, I would greatly appreciate it. If a tool such as the one in q.6 doesn't exist, maybe I'll make one myself. I've thought about it, but of course I can't start until I actually know how it works.
  • StimsonInRehabStimsonInRehab
    Posts: 1,948
    Hello,

    I can answer a few of your questions. I've been chanting the Office off and on for a few years. Probably won't be terminologically perfect, but hopefully they'll get the job done.

    3 & 5 are directly related. The abbreviations tell you about the antiphons which they precede.

    For example, "Ant. 8. c" means "Antiphon, Mode 8, Termination c" .

    "At Magn. Ant." means "at the Antiphon for the Magnificat".

    That means the antiphon, and the psalm which follows it, will be in Mode 8, with the ending note of c (or 'do').

    Take a look at pages 113-127 of the Liber Usualis. That will help explain the modes and their psalm tones a little more.

    (Please friends, correct whatever errors I may have committed.)
    Thanked by 1samatizer03
  • DOAdvocate
    Posts: 21
    Hello, welcome to the forum - I'm pretty new myself.
    Others here are vastly more knowledgeable than me, but I will try to answer your questions. I'm assuming you are referring to the Liturgy of the Hours? The music for this has not been published in any one place, as far as I am aware. Solesmes have published all that is necessary for Lauds and Vespers of feasts (in Latin), see their website for the Antiphonale Romanum I and II. There is also the Ordo Cantus Officii which lists all the antiphons needed for the Liturgy of the Hours - however, it only tells you where to find them, it doesn't give you the chant. I believe there is a project somewhere that has put all the antiphons into this as some online thing, but I've not seen it, and because of the layout of the Ordo it is not useful for chanting the Office every day.

    For the Office of Readings, as it is now called, I'm not aware of a resource that provides the chant for that but ready to be corrected.

    For singing the Liturgy of the Hours in English, I don't know if there is anything that is comprehensive, or official - also happy to be corrected on that! You can find psalm tones such as the Meinrad tones for chanting the psalms, and some antiphons etc may have been set to neo-Gregorian chant in English, I'm not sure.

    Have you considered chanting the 1962 Breviary? Others on here would suggest earlier breviaries too. The 1962 is the one 'officially' permitted by Pope Benedict (and sort of ignored by Traditionis Custodes), but I have read good arguments for the legitimacy of praying the older Breviaries. There are considerably more resources for the 1962 than the new Liturgy of the Hours - it is this version of the Divine Office that I am learning to chant.

    Stimson is quite right about the abbreviations with the antiphons, they refer to the traditional Psalm-tones which (as far as I am aware) are really only suitable for Latin.

    I think the Liber Hymnarius that you refer to is for the Monastic Office, which is a bit different. I wasn't aware that it contained antiphons, I thought they were in the Antiphonale Monasticum, but I could be wrong.

    I know nothing more about the Liturgy of the Hours - others here do - but if you're interested in the 1962, PM me, and I will try my best to answer your questions! Also worth researching the differences, like the fact that the Liturgy of the Hours suppressed certain psalms, so you wouldn't be praying a complete Psalter, among other differences.
    Thanked by 2samatizer03 tomjaw
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,015
    You may find it helpful to watch the celebrations of the Office from Mount Angel Abbey (and Seminary) in Oregon; they present their Vespers (and maybe some other Hours) on YouTube daily. They might follow a monastic schedule of psalms and readings that might differ from the standard one in the published Liturgy of the Hours, but the structure of the service will be the same.
    Thanked by 2irishtenor CHGiffen
  • MatthewRoth
    Posts: 2,811
    To 3 and 5: the lowercase letters in the old office are any note not the final of the mode. Capitals are the final. They are all lower case in postconciliar editions of the reformed liturgy. There are some trying to make postconciliar editions of the old liturgy where this won’t be observed. I think that this is one older convention to maintain.

    1. Somewhere in the ordinary or the Toni Communes.

    2. The older antiphonal is the Liber antiphonarius (if you use Solesmes), otherwise the Antiphonale Romanum. The most frequently used material is in the Liber Usualis. Two volumes are available for the Liturgia Horarum for Vespers and Lauds respectively, Antiphonale Romanum vol. II (Vespers) and I (Lauds).

    There are also the pre- and postconciliar editions of the Antiphonale Monasticum if that floats your boat, and for English, there are a couple of attempts out there.

    6. For offices according to 1962 (we hope one day to do more with it; I prefer the pre-Pius XII office which has some noticeable differences): Ecce.
    Thanked by 1tomjaw
  • fcbfcb
    Posts: 364
    It sounds like a lot of what you want is found in The Mundelein Psalter. The antiphons are simply sung to the same tones as the psalms/canticles, which might seem a bit boring, but it works for someone like me with limited musical skills.
  • Jenny Donelson
    Posts: 270
    Hi @samatizer03,

    Welcome to the forum!

    Here are some things that would help.

    Try this tool for your question #6: Brevarium Gregorianum.

    And here are some tutorials I gave back during covid on chanting the monastic office. It's not the same office as used in the resource above, but you'll find answers to your questions 3 and 5. See especially the Vespers part 2 video.

    Chanting the Monastic Office (Vespers and Compline) Instructional Webinar
    Thanked by 1tomjaw
  • francis
    Posts: 11,052
    @Jenny Donelson

    Cool website on chanting the office!
    Thanked by 1tomjaw
  • DCM
    Posts: 80
    Welcome, @samatizer03

    People keep directing you to resources for the traditional office; I'm not sure why. To answer your questions:

    1. see pp. 62-90 of the attached pdf (excerpt of the 2009 vesperale, which also has psalm antiphons for Sunday vespers of the 4-week psalter)

    2. Our friend Joerg Hudelmeier has transcribed the antiphons for all hours of the reformed office here (web version with links to gregobase here ). It does not contain the psalms, readings, etc, which you can find in ibreviary or Universalis (the app I use). Universalis is a little more flexible and lets you read in parallel Latin/English.

    3. The psalm tone matches the tone of the antiphon attached to it

    4 & 5. Answered by others above

    6. There's no site yet that does for the reformed office what Brevarium Gregorianum does for the '62, but with the resources that do exist you can put together what you need for any hour.

    The 2 volumes for Lauds and Vespers of Sundays and feasts in the reformed office can be purchased through Paraclete Press if you're in the US, or through Solesmes directly if you're in Europe. These will have everything you need for those hours. NB: they are expensive.
    Antiphonale Romanum 2009--Sundays 1-4.pdf
    18M
  • MatthewRoth
    Posts: 2,811
    ^as if there wasn’t an answer for the NO as well?!
    Thanked by 2kapellmeister tomjaw
  • Rivegauche
    Posts: 4
    I know it is pre-V2, but the work reflected is considerable at https://breviariumgregorianum.com.
    Thanked by 1CHGiffen
  • tomjaw
    Posts: 2,857
    @DCM
    I always recommend the Traditional breviary,
    1. My Day hours book 3"x1½"x5" allows me to follow everything but Matins for the whole year, with an English translation!
    2. My Antiphonal 2"x4"x7" allows me to sing everything but Matins for the whole year!
    3. If the modern Office was supposed to be sung, the books would have been produced by long ago, in handy editions.
    Thanked by 1CHGiffen
  • francis
    Posts: 11,052
    I always recommend the Traditional breviary,
    ditto
    Thanked by 1tomjaw
  • GerardH
    Posts: 548
    That Breviarium Gregorianum* site is an incredible project. What I wouldn't give for a Universalis crossover...!

    *isn't that a self-contradictory title? A breviary, by definition, has text and no music.
    Thanked by 1CHGiffen
  • igneusigneus
    Posts: 408
    isn't that a self-contradictory title? A breviary, by definition, has text and no music.


    It's what musicologists/codicologists call breviarium notatum.

    Breviary is a book putting together all the texts (which in choir would originally be read from several different books by different roles/persons). There's nothing contradictory about adding also music to the compilation.
    Thanked by 1CHGiffen
  • tomjaw
    Posts: 2,857
    and this is a Breviary, with notation,
    https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8447768b/f1.planchecontact
    Others can be found here, https://cantusdatabase.org/sources/?segment=4063

    While we have names for our different types of Liturgical books, our rules were made up yesterday, in the past we had notated Missals, that we would describe as a Graduale... etc.
    Thanked by 1CHGiffen
  • GerardH
    Posts: 548
    I stand corrected!
    Thanked by 1tomjaw