missa sancti iacobi
/ Chœur Le Feu de Jésu
Solemn Mass for the Feast of the Passion of Saint James of Compostella
according to the Codex Calixtinus c. 1140
medieval.org
McGill 750 0037-2
1992
cm
[ Liber I, capitulum XXXI
FARSA OFFICII MISSE SANCTI IACOBI
a domno Fulberto Karnotensi episcopo, illustri viro, composita:
in utroque festo eiusdem apostoli cantanda quibus placebit]
1. VERSUS ANTE INTROITUS [4:24] fol. 133r-v
cc 87
Ecce adest nunc Iacobus
[... Qualis sit iste Iacobus | Hic est revera Iacobus | (f. 133v) Alleluia in gloria]
2. INTROITUS [7:10] fol. 133v | f. 118
cc 71 ·
cc 88
Ihesus vocavit (Iacobum)
[... Reges terre et omnes populi ...]
3. KYRIE [3:02]
Fulbertus Karnotensis espiscopus de sancto Iacobo
Rex inmense pater pie f. 189 (polyphony) cc 108
Kyrrie eleyson fol. 134 (monody) cc 89
4. GLORIA [5:14] fol. 134v
cc 90
Gloria in excelsis Deo
Versus fulberti episcopi Karnotensis de sancto Iacobo:
Qui vocasti supra mare
5. ORATIO [2:07] fol. 118v
Dominus vobiscum | Et cum spiritu tuo
Oremus gloriosissimam sollempnitatem sacre passionis beati Iacobi
6. EPISTLE [4:13] f. 135v
cc 91
Farsa lectionis de Missa S. Iacobi
edita a domno Fulberto Karnotensis episcopo, illustri viro
Cantemus domino cantica glorie, Beati Iacobi
Lectio libri ecclesiastice ystorie
7. GRADUAL [5:18]
Ato prefatus (Lucas)
Misit Herodes rex manus ut affligeret quosdam de ecclesia f. 119, monody
cc 72
Occidit autem Iacobum fratrem Iohannis gladio f. 189, polyphony
cc 109
8. ALLELUIA MARCUS [4:07]
Magister Goslenus episcopus suessionis
f. 119v, monody
cc 75 |
f. 189, polyphony
cc 110
Alleluia. Vocavit Ihesus Iacobum Zebedei et Iohannem
9. PROSA SANCTI IACOBI [5:04] f. 119v
cc 76
Latinis grecis et ebraicis verbis a domno Papa Calixto abbreviata
Alleluia. Gratulemus et letemur summa cum leticia
10. CONDUCTUS SANCTI IACOBI [3:50] f. 132
cc 86
a S. Fortunato episcopo editum
Salve festa dies veneranda per omnia fies
11. EVANGELIUM [4:36] f. 121
Dominus vobiscum - In illo tempore acceserunt ad Dominum
12. SECRETA [0:59] f. 121v
Nobis supplicibus tuis misertus
13. PREFACIO [3:40] f. 121v
Vere dignum et iustum est
14. SANCTUS [3:58] f. 138
cc 92
Sanctus Sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth
Osanna salvifica
15. AGNUS DEI [2:08] f. 138v-139
cc 93
Agnus fulberti karnotensis episcopi
Agnus Dei qui tollis peccata mundi
Qui pius ac mitis es
16. ALLELUIA MARCUS [2:03] f. 122
cc ai
Ait Ihesus Iacobo et Iohanni
17. POST COMMUNIO [1:23] f. 122
Deus cuius filius ad bibendum calicem
18. BENEDICAMUS DOMINO [5:01] f. 185
cc 96
Magister Albertus Parisiensis
Congaudeant catholici
19. VERSUS CALIXTI PAPE CANTANDI AD PROCESSIONEM S. IACOBI [5:23] f. 116
cc 70
In solempnitate passionis ipsius er trantationis eiusdem
Salve festa dies Iacobi veneranda tropheo
missa sancti iacobi
Solemn Mass for the Feast of the Passion or Saint James of Compostela according to the Codex Calixtinus, c. 1140
The Mass
In
the present recording we have attempted to reconstruct the Mass which
mid-twelfth century pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela might have heard
had they entered the magnificent Romanesque basilica dedicated to St.
James the Elder, apostle of Christ and patron saint of Galicia, the
province in which Santiago was located. Together with the pious faithful
from many lands they would have gathered on July 25th, the feast day of
St. James, to praise in word and song that disciple who, according to
tradition, had brought the Gospel to the Iberian peninsula, fulfilling
Christ's commission to preach the Word to the "ends of the earth" (Acts
1:8). Santiago lies on the northwesternmost tip of the Iberian
peninsula, further west than both England and France, and for a medieval
pilgrim, truly the western "end" of the known world.
The Mass
provides a narrative of the life and death of James and draws upon both
Scriptural and Patristic sources to authenticate the cult, for which the
medieval pious had journeyed no far. There are frequent references to
Christ calling James and John, his brother to be his disciples: these
citations derive from Matthew 4:21-22 and Mark 3:17. The Epistle, which
due to time constraints cannot be given in its entirety here, narrates
the martyrdom of James at the hands of King Herod Agrippa I in A.D. 44
in Jerusalem as recounted In Acts 12: 1-23. James is beheaded by Herod,
and thereby gains entry into eternal glory, but Herod dies a miserable
death al the hands of an angel of the Lord, eaten by worms and full of
putrefaction. A number of items in the Mass allude to James' presence in
the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-8 and Luke 9: 28-36), a reference
which showed the especially high esteem in which Christ held James,
because James was but one of three disciples, in addition to John and
Peter, who witnesse that event. Church Fathers who attested the validity
of James as apostle of Galicia, are also cited: Clemens of Alexandria,
Eusebius of Cesarea, Fulbert of Chartres, St. Fortunatus, and Pope
Calixitus II (papacy 1130-1143) are quoted and acknowledged in person in
the medieval source which transmits the Mass.
The Music
The
Mass of St. James provides a rare insight into the many styles used in
the composition of twelfth-century Iberian services from the simplest
reciting tones (in the Gospel) in which one note us sung to a syllable,
to some of the most elaborate virtuosistic two-part polyphony
conceivable (in the Gradual and Alleluia) in which as many as one
hundred and twenty notes are given to one syllable. There is even one
three-voiced composition in the present Mass, the famous "Congaudeant
catholici". known as the first piece of the notated three-part music in
Western Europe, and as stunning today as it must have been to the
twelfth-century ears. It was not to find a counterpart until the three-
and four-voiced compositions of Perotin at Notre Dame of Paris at the
end of the century. The Mass exhibits a wealth of forms: rondo, da capo,
refrain, double versicle, strophic, through-composed, as well as
combinations of these types. Text styles range from Scriptural prose to
the later versus, a metrical, rhymed verse form that contrasts vividly
with the prose texts, exemplified in the Sequence, as well as many
textual and musical additions called tropes. The St. James Mass might as
well be termed a study in the art of the trope for it is in these
additions to the orthodox ritual that medieval composers were to create
their most remarkable achievements, to tall prey, alas, to the reformist
zeal of the Council of Trent in the sixteenth century, if indeed they
had not fallen out of use prior to that date. These interpolations are
distinguished in performance by their soloistic presentation, with the
traditional texts being sung, invariably, by the chorus in monophony.
Polyphony, which in medieval times was sung soloistically, that is, one
person per part, is provides for four items, Kyrie, Gradual, Alleluia,
and Benedicamus; these sections add a particular festive flair to the
service. The rubrics specify antiphonal performance of the choir in the
Prologue; we have also included this style in the Sequence following
traditional practice. Although the majority of composers of the Mass are
anonymous, the source manuscript contains a number of attributions to
identifiable twelfth-century persons, most of whom were holders of
ecclesiastic office: Hatto, bishop of Troyes (1123-1145), Goslenus,
bishop of Soisson (1126-1152), Magister Albertus, archbishop of Bourges
(1137-1141), Fulbert, bishop of Chartres (c.960-1028), and the
ostensible composer of our Benedicamus, Albertus of Paris (1147-73).
The Source
The
services for the feasts of St. James, including the present Mass, are
contained in a remarkable manuscript now housed in the library of the
basilica in Santiago, and which I was kindly allowed to consult in
preparation for the present recording. The source is the liber sancti Iacobi,
otherwise known as the "Codex Calixtinus" in honour of Pope Calixtus
II, who undeniably played a major role in the theological justification
of the cult of St. James. In honour of Calixtus we have chosen as cover
art the initial "C" which shows him writing out the manuscript. The
codex was compiled around the year 1140 by a group of French and Italian
clerics who entered their names at the end of the document. The
cathedral itself was nearing completion at that time, with the
spectacular west portal to be added later, and the purpose of the
manuscript was apparently to give final historical, theological, and
liturgical justification to the cult of St. James. The work is a
collection of five separate books — liturgical services, a description
of St. James miracles, the Translation and Election of James, a
twelfth-century pilgrim's guide to Santiago (a sort of medieval
Baedeker), and a chronicle of Charlemagne's expedition to Hispania. the
liturgical part presents some one hundred services in honour of the
patron saint, most of which would have been celebrated during the main
feasts days, July 25th to August 1st, but also at those feasts in
December, January, and October which had particular relevance to St.
James' life and works. Our present recording contains only one of these
services! The Latin version of the test follows exactly the source
manuscript in respect to spelling, punctuation, and foliation. Rubrics
contained in the codex are given here in italics. Additional information
not supplied in the manuscript but necessary in the reconstruction
appears in parentheses. Troped lines are italicized.
Performance Practice
We
have placed our singers in their presumed twelfth-century locations and
have attempted to include the liturgical motion which was so much a
part of the 'presentation' of the medieval Mass. In a number of
instances, the rubrics in our source give us specific advice, and other
information was taken from Joseph Jungmann's The Mass of the Roman Rite.
Our Prologue was sung antiphonally as noted in the codex and in
procession from back to front. The Introit proper was sung with the
choir on the left hand side of the church in the transept, with the
cantor soloist situated on the right. Epistle and Gospel were presented
from the right and left sides, respectively, and the central axis was
reserved for the priest. Our Sequence was performed antiphonally
according to medieval traditions: the Coductus follows the rubrics —a
"boy processing between two cantors" from the right to the left-hand
side and thus introduces the Gospel recitation.
For voice ranges
we have chosen a choir consisting of four tenors and three baritones.
Since the required range for the chorus is just two notes shy of two
octaves, it was necessary to include an ensemble with both registers.
Our cantors are natural, male tenors, which one presumes was the
medieval choice: those sources note the desire for a "round, clear,
lively, and manly" (virili) sound from the singers which would
seem to preclude the use of countertenors. The manuscript gives a
notated range of two octaves plus two notes for the soloists, the
highest portions occurring in the Gradual. The scribe uses a rare "g"
clef here and asks for a c and octave above middle c. We do not know of
any international medieval pitch standard, of course, so we have
transposed that item down a third, using modern a'=440.
We have
used a non-metrical style of performance throughout the Mass and
resisted the urge, even in those versus section which might have
suggested it, to confine the music into a duple- or tiple-meter straight
jacket. Much have been written on the subject of the polyphony of
Santiago and its possible influence in later Notre Dame 'school' of
Paris with its metricalized clausolae, but it seems unlikely that the
music from Compostela exerted any influence on that later repertoire.
Notationally, liturgically, and stylistically these sources are quite
far apart. The two sections in which a metrical version is unavoidable,
the Gloria trope, and the framing portions of the Epistle, however, are
performed in an easy-going duple meter.
In regard to
pronunciation we have assumed that the vernacular in medieval Europe
presumable influenced the sounds of the ecclesiastical Latin, but doubt
remains as to precisely what inflections were used. In Santiago, a
dialect known as "Gallego", a blend of Galician and Portugese was
spoken. This dialect contained idiosyncratic sound which, however, have
not yet been fully understood. Mr. Arnold Desrochers, a graduate student
in Hispanic Studies at McGill University has suggested that the Latin qui and qua were pronounced ki and ka respectively. Also probable is a hard g before a, o and u, as well as a softer g before i and e. The r was probably pronounced flat or slightly flipped.
We
have restricted the participation of instruments to the use of bells to
give initial pitches, being guided by the precise descriptions of the
liturgies given in our source codex. Aside from recounting the use of
instruments from various countries in the vigil of the saint, none were
specified for use during the main services. We are indebted to Prof.
Bryan Gilligham of The Institute of Mediaeval Music in Ottawa for his
kind permission in allowing us to use the Latin and English texts of the
Mass in this present recording.
Notes by Paul Helmer.