Quæ Stella Sole Pulchrior

fvelasco

Any information regarding this hymn would be appreciated.

According to this blog, Quæ Stella Sole Pulchrior was used for Vespers I for Epiphany in the Paris Breviary (1736).
https://tosingistopraytwice.wordpress.com/2017/07/26/quae-stella-sole-pulchrior/

Here's a YouTube recording of a performance by the Netherlands Chamber Choir:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fo4kuD4l9nQ

From various resources, it seems that the original text of the Latin poem was composed by Charles Coffin, who was the rector of the University of Paris. Several of his works were transcribed into English and are well known (e.g., On Jordan's Bank). Quæ Stella Sole Pulchriorhas also been translated (What Star is This) and set to various hymn tunes. I'm unclear if Coffin also composed the music chanted in Latin in the recording.

Attached is my attempt at transcribing the music as plainchant.

CHGiffen

The melody for the anonymous four-voice chorale Quae stella sole pulchrior in the recording is from a Parisian breviary of 1736. It is an evening hymn for Epiphany written in a somewhat naive style and based on a monophonic melody of medieval origin preserved in Directorium chori (1582).

Edit: The melody is also found in the 1874 Directorium Chori, available from
Corpus Christi Watershed. The melody begins at the bottom of p. 114, the Tone III (actually Mode 8) hymn at Vespers: Crudelis Herodes, Deum.

Another edit: Lo! and behold, it is, in fact, in the Liber Usualis 1961, p. 464, as "Another Chant ad libitum" for Crudelis Herodes, Deum ... which goes a long way to explaining my feeling that the chant melody sounded familiar!!

CHGiffen

There is a setting (using this melody in alternatim with polyphony on the same tune) by Victoria, available at CPDL. (Hostis Herodes impie instead of Crudelis Herodes, Deum).

CHGiffen

Hopefully, there aren't too many errors in this transcription:

(Note, this is from the LU version of the melody, and "gratiae" is missing an "a")

CHGiffen

Here is a transcription of the melody as given in the Netherlands Chamber Choir performance, as well as something closer to the version of the melody as given in the Directorium Chori 1736.
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fvelasco

Thank you for sharing these great insights!

fvelasco

Charles, our pastor would like to know if it would be possible to locate the imprimatur for the original appearance of Quae stella sole pulchrior in the Parisian breviary of 1736. However, I'm unable find a reproduction of the latter online.

I did find a related blog post in NLM: http://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2009/09/compendium-of-reforms-of-roman-breviary_29.html#.XhO7RXdFxaQ. There is an extensive discussion of the arrangement of the Psalter in the 1736 Parisian Breviary but no reference to the hymns.

Any insights would be appreciated.

fvelasco

I found the next installment in the NLM series and it does touch on the hymns in the Parisian Breviary of 1736: http://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2009/10/compendium-of-reforms-of-roman-breviary.html#.XhVUsHdFxaQ.

In this blog post, Gregory DiPippo notes that Charles Coffin, who composed Quae stella sole pulchrior, was a prominent Jansenist.

CHGiffen

You want to consult the Pars Hiemalis of the Breviarium Parisiense 1736, which can be previewed in GoogleBooks at this link:

https://books.google.com/books?id=ANoGAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

It's there as the Hymnus in I Vesperas for Epiphany, p. 289. The imprimatur for the volume is near the beginning of the book. Indeed, you can download the entire book as a PDF.

fvelasco

Thanks again. You are a wealth of knowledge!

CHGiffen

You're welcome. Actually, in my ancient years, I'm getting better and better at spelunking with Google!

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