Psalterium Monasticum and Antiphonale Monasticum
  • Eibhlin
    Posts: 5
    Hello, I'm trying to learn my way around the various antiphonals. Please could someone tell me if the Solemnes "Psalterium Monasticum" (1981) is the same thing as Vol. II of the "Antiphonale Monasticum" (which is said to contain the "psalterium" and the Office of the Dead - http://www.chantcafe.com/2010/07/translation-of-saulniers-introduction.html)?
    Many thanks!
    Eibhlin
  • SkirpRSkirpR
    Posts: 854
    Not exactly. I don't follow the Benedictine distribution of the Psalter, so I'm not exactly clear on the details, but I do know that the Psalterium Monasticum includes all of the schemas for all of the hours as available in 1981, the time of its publication. I also know that Vol. II of the Antiphonale Monasticum is an update of this (published 2006 or so), but it does not include any of the Psalms or antiphons for Matins.

    So if you're deciding on which to purchase, it depends largely on how you're hoping to use it.
    Thanked by 1Eibhlin
  • smvanroodesmvanroode
    Posts: 993
    Welcome to the forum, Eibhlin!

    Looking at the indexes, the two antiphonals are entirely different. Many antiphons and hymns that are in the Psalterium Monasticum, are not in the Antiphonale Monasticum II, and vice versa. Also, antiphons that are in both volumes may sometimes differ (slightly – I can't give an example right now, but I know I encountered some differences in the past).

    What would you like to do with the antiphonals? If you're looking for the chants needed for the OF Liturgia Horarum, both are indispensable.
    Thanked by 2SkirpR Eibhlin
  • Psalterium Monasticum reflects the guidelines set out in Thesaurus Liturgiae Horarum Monasticae, the 1977 successor to Breviarium Monasticum. Rather than revise the monastic breviary, Abbot Primate Rembert Weakland OSB promulgated a directory (or "treasury") of materials for Benedictine communities to design their own modernized Office. Psalter schemes A, B, C, and D are indicated in Psalterium Monasticum. Scheme A is the closest to that described in the Rule of St. Benedict. Scheme B is the most widely used in Benedictinism.

    The Thesaurus can be viewed and downloaded on my Scribd site.
    Thanked by 1Eibhlin
  • SkirpRSkirpR
    Posts: 854
    Psalter schemes A, B, C, and D are indicated in Psalterium Monasticum. Scheme A is the closest to that described in the Rule of St. Benedict. Scheme B is the most widely used in Benedictinism.


    Without me doing the research myself, I'm curious, does the layout of the Antiphonale Monasticum Vol. II favor one of these schemes?
  • Without me doing the research myself, I'm curious, does the layout of the Antiphonale Monasticum Vol. II favor one of these schemes?


    Definitely Scheme A (the Rule of St. Benedict scheme, modernized). The psalms of the Little Hours are given in the new Antiphonale as a batch from which they may be arranged according to several options in the Thesaurus. There's the default arrangement in the Schema A table, and there are other options using only two little hours, or only one midday little hour.
  • Eibhlin
    Posts: 5
    Thanks for your explanations. I would like to use the Latin Ordinary Form occasionally, when I cannot be with my community for the Hours (we use English). I would also love to learn some of the antiphons - the more everyday ones - by listening to them online, if there's a website for that?
  • smvanroodesmvanroode
    Posts: 993
    For the Latin Ordinary Form there are no chant books yet, at least not for the daily office. The only volumes of the Antiphonale Romanum for the Ordinary Form that have been released so far are the Liber Hymnarius (1983) and the Antiphonale Romanum II (2009). The last one only has the chants for Sunday Vespers.

    There is, however, an official list of all the chants needed: the Ordo cantus officii (OCO). The psalterium for weekdays starts at p. [55]. As you can see there, the majority of the antiphons for the daily office are taken from the Psalterium Monasictum (1981) and occasionaly from the Antiphonale Monasticum (1936).

    For Compline there is a single chantbook available with the Latin texts and antiphons according to the OCO: Ad Completorium. It differs significantly from another edition, The Office of Compline by Ignastius Press, in that the texts of the antiphons of the latter are taken from Liturgia Horarum instead, resulting in a couple of neo-Gregorian antiphons. (Reason: Liturgia Horarum is intended to be recited, not sung. If the office is to be sung, one really needs the OCO).

    In my free time, I'm working on a Liber Antiphonarius according to the OCO, but it's far from completed. If you let me know which offices you would like to pray (Lauds, Vespers, ...), I might adjust my priorities and get, for example, the psalterium ready first.

    For other (free) editions for the chanted OF Office in Latin take a look at my website.

    And to answer your question about recordings: I don't know of any website that has recordings of all antiphons for the Latin Office, either Ordinary or Extraordinary Form. This might be a wonderful project for someone to undertake! In the mean time, you could check the YouTube page of Giovanni Vianini. He occasionally records office antiphons. Or you could listen to the chanted office at the website of Radio Vaticana. The recordings are only kept for one day.
  • tomjaw
    Posts: 2,762
    Recordings of at least Lauds and Vespers for every day can be found at the link below other Hours are also added on Feast days.

    http://osbnorcia.org/blog

    NOTE, this is of course the Traditional Benedictine Office.
  • OraLabora
    Posts: 218
    "For the Latin Ordinary Form there are no chant books yet, at least not for the daily office. The only volumes of the Antiphonale Romanum for the Ordinary Form that have been released so far are the Liber Hymnarius (1983) and the Antiphonale Romanum II (2009). The last one only has the chants for Sunday Vespers."

    Actually there's a semi-official antiphonary, "Les Heures Grégoriennes" put out by the Communauté St. Martin, in France for the day hours of the Latin Liturgy of the Hours, entirely noted for chant, and with French alongside. Three volumes (Advent/Christmas/Ordinary Time, Lent/Easter, Sanctoral). Also the Antiphonale Romanum II includes not just Sunday Vespers, but also Vespers for all feasts and solemnities, including First Vespers where applicable.

    I highly recommend Les Heures Grégoriennes. It doesn't include the Office of Readings, but the OOR is what the Night Office (Vigils) has become and in many monasteries Vigils is sung recto-tono. LHG has the hymns, the antiphons, the responsories, common tones for both Latin and French, and of course the psalms with the added bonus that the imprecatory verses are there but in brackets. The books are brilliantly arranged for chanting with minimal page flipping and the quality is much better than the more recent offerings from Solesmes. The only downside to the books is that they're rather heavy. I have a prie-dieu in a small oratory I built at home so I rest the book on it when I chant the office but for choristers in a schola they might get tiring after a time.
  • smvanroodesmvanroode
    Posts: 993
    The only drawback of Les Heures Grégoriennes is that for Sundays and feasts, the antiphons of I and II Vespers and Lauds are all the same.

    I put together a scheme to give an overview of the differences and similarities between the Ordo cantus Officii, Antiphonale Romanum II and Les Heures Grégoriennes (it's not finished yet).
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,196
    [OK, I'm going to cut this thread back to just the informational comments. --admin]