3 00:00:17,470 --> 00:00:21,310 Hi, everybody. Welcome to all Gregorian Chant Workshop. 4 00:00:21,310 --> 00:00:23,980 Thank you so much for being here. 5 00:00:23,980 --> 00:00:31,150 This is the Bodleian Library's first attempt at running a singing workshop with a choir in a different location to the singing teacher. 6 00:00:31,150 --> 00:00:36,550 And we've added in a medieval manuscript in a third location just to keep things interesting. 7 00:00:36,550 --> 00:00:42,880 This may be a little over ambitious. So thank you in advance for your patience with any technical hiccups. 8 00:00:42,880 --> 00:00:47,470 So the plan for tonight's event is to hear a our miniature medieval choir. 9 00:00:47,470 --> 00:00:52,180 You've already heard them rehearsing. They're live from the crypt of St. Peter in the East, 10 00:00:52,180 --> 00:00:56,860 demonstrating the piece that we'll be learning together. 11 00:00:56,860 --> 00:01:03,160 We'll then have a brief introduction to Gregorian Chant. And we'll go to the Weston Library and have a look at the original manuscript where 12 00:01:03,160 --> 00:01:07,810 this piece is found and hear a little bit about the Polonsky digitisation project, 13 00:01:07,810 --> 00:01:13,900 which is making it possible to research and photograph and share over 600 medieval manuscripts. 14 00:01:13,900 --> 00:01:17,590 We'll be looking at the manuscript itself on a visualiser live, 15 00:01:17,590 --> 00:01:26,290 but we will also share a link in the chat to the full copy at the Digital Bodleian website as well, so that you can look at the high res images too. 16 00:01:26,290 --> 00:01:30,370 And we'll have time for a few questions in the chat at that point about medieval music, and 17 00:01:30,370 --> 00:01:39,940 this manuscript in particular. So please do ask away in the chat and I will pop up to be your spokesperson and put your questions to the experts. 18 00:01:39,940 --> 00:01:44,830 After that, we'll get singing and we'll learn the piece by ear together. 19 00:01:44,830 --> 00:01:51,970 We've also circulated a modern PDF version of the Latin text and the notation to help you follow along. 20 00:01:51,970 --> 00:01:56,020 So remember, in the Zoom call, no one can see you or hear you sing. 21 00:01:56,020 --> 00:02:04,560 So don't be shy. And we should have time for a few last questions after the singing rehearsal once you've practised the piece. 22 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:08,710 And finally, we'll ask the choir to sing the piece all the way through again. 23 00:02:08,710 --> 00:02:14,650 And we will all sing along with them, on mute, in the comfort of our own homes. 24 00:02:14,650 --> 00:02:21,710 So that's the plan for the evening. I'm going to leave our brilliant experts and choir to introduce themselves at the relevant points. 25 00:02:21,710 --> 00:02:27,910 But I'll hand over now to Professor Henrike Lähnemann, who is leading the singers from St. Edmund Hall. 26 00:02:27,910 --> 00:02:32,120 Many thanks, Rosie, for the introduction and for having us. 27 00:02:32,120 --> 00:02:39,790 It's a really special moment for me to bring together two of my life's passions, as it were: 28 00:02:39,790 --> 00:02:52,030 so: the nun-tastic manuscript script from the northern German convent in Medingen and the fellowship here at the college, St Edmund Hall. 29 00:02:52,030 --> 00:03:09,310 So with me down in this Norman crypt, Alex Burgar on that side and Jasmine Lowe, who are fellow sopranos in the St Edmund Hall chapel choir. 30 00:03:09,310 --> 00:03:23,170 We also have a chapel clerk who you just saw lighting the candles and will stand in for the convent of the Cistercian Abbey of Medingen. 31 00:03:23,170 --> 00:03:35,650 near Lüneburg who would have celebrated with the chant that we are going to sing in a moment at the purification Candlemas feast. 32 00:03:35,650 --> 00:03:42,190 And the nuns would have sung this up on the choir. 33 00:03:42,190 --> 00:03:46,150 The nuns' choir, which was a kind of gallery. 34 00:03:46,150 --> 00:03:54,520 So we have inverted that by being below the church today in the Norman crypt because it's the oldest and most medieval part. 35 00:03:54,520 --> 00:04:04,120 And while they were singing the clergy would prepare the church for the celebration by lighting the candles, 36 00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:09,760 by censing the altar, by sprinkling holy water. 37 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:20,050 We haven't done these two parts because, A, the crypt is prone to flooding, and B, we have quite a sensitive smoke detectors. 38 00:04:20,050 --> 00:04:31,540 So no smells today. So you have to light your own candle for that at home! 39 00:04:31,540 --> 00:04:36,640 Just a few words about the crypt that you see here. 40 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:45,220 It was built in the late 12th century to house relics associated with St. Peter. 41 00:04:45,220 --> 00:04:49,750 So it was the parish church, St. Peter in the East. 42 00:04:49,750 --> 00:05:03,280 There's another St. Peter's, as the Oxford people will know in the west of the city, which is now the College of St. Peter. 43 00:05:03,280 --> 00:05:06,940 And we don't exactly know what relics were there. 44 00:05:06,940 --> 00:05:10,570 But they were at the west end, which you currently can't see. 45 00:05:10,570 --> 00:05:16,000 Behind me is the east end of the chapel. 46 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:25,090 They might have been some of the chains of Saint Peter and it was a major pilgrimage 47 00:05:25,090 --> 00:05:35,880 stop coming from south going up all the way to Durham and to Cuthbert and 48 00:05:35,880 --> 00:05:41,500 the carvings were done by the same workshop. 49 00:05:41,500 --> 00:05:47,900 Again, the Oxford people will know, that did Iffley Church. 50 00:05:47,900 --> 00:05:54,890 So a local workshop that did some beautiful carving. 51 00:05:54,890 --> 00:06:01,490 And if we have time at the end, I might take you round for a tour of the carvings. 52 00:06:01,490 --> 00:06:14,180 But before I get carried away with the architecture, we'll sing the Nunc dimittis where the antiphon as the nuns would have done it 53 00:06:14,180 --> 00:06:27,510 with a cantrix intoning the antiphon and then the convent joining in for the repetitio. 54 00:06:27,510 --> 00:06:32,290 Lumen ad re-ve-la-ci- 55 00:06:32,290 --> 00:06:38,060 onem gencium et glo-ri-am 56 00:06:38,060 --> 00:06:48,810 plebis tu-e Is-rahel. Nunc dimittis servum tuum Domine 57 00:06:48,810 --> 00:07:02,120 secundum verbum tu-um in pace. Lumen ad re-ve-la-ci-onem gencium et glo-ri-am 58 00:07:02,120 --> 00:07:08,660 plebis tu-e Is-rahel. 59 00:07:08,660 --> 00:07:17,390 Quia vi-derunt o-cu li me-i sal-lu-tu-re tuum 60 00:07:17,390 --> 00:07:26,010 Lumen ad re-ve-la-ci-onem gencium et glo-ri-am 61 00:07:26,010 --> 00:07:36,630 plebis tu-e Is-rahel. Quod paras-ti 62 00:07:36,630 --> 00:07:56,870 an-te fa-ci-em omnium populorum. Lumen ad re-ve-la-ci-onem gencium et glo-ri-am plebis tu-e Is-rahel 63 00:07:56,870 --> 00:08:04,170 Lumen ad re-ve-la-ci-onem gencium 64 00:08:04,170 --> 00:08:12,620 et glo-ri-am plebis tu-e Is-rahel. 65 00:08:12,620 --> 00:08:18,310 Lumen ad re-ve-la-ci-onem gencium et glo-ri-am 66 00:08:18,310 --> 00:08:24,780 plebis tu-e Is-rahel. 67 00:08:24,780 --> 00:08:36,590 Glori-a Patri, et Fi-li-o, et Spi-ri-tu-I Sancto. Lumen 68 00:08:36,590 --> 00:08:59,880 ad re-ve-la-ci-onem gencium et glo-ri-am plebis tu-e Is-rahel. Sicut e-rat in princi-pi-o, et nunc, et semper, 69 00:08:59,880 --> 00:09:10,140 et in se-cu-la se-cu-lorum. Amen. Lumen ad 70 00:09:10,140 --> 00:09:24,790 re-ve-la-ci-onem gencium et glo-ri-am plebis tu-e Is-rahel. 71 00:09:24,790 --> 00:09:34,450 Thank you. While we were singing Andrew Dunning who is the curator of medieval manuscripts, 72 00:09:34,450 --> 00:09:41,920 one of the curators at the Bodleian Library, had already opened the chant at the appropriate page. 73 00:09:41,920 --> 00:09:51,390 Andrew, can I hand over to you? Thank you, Henrike. This wonderful piece you just heard is from this manuscript. 74 00:09:51,390 --> 00:09:57,330 This is the Provost's Book from Medingen. It is a fairly large book. 75 00:09:57,330 --> 00:10:04,800 You can tell roughly from the size of my hands. It looks like a very Gothic book. 76 00:10:04,800 --> 00:10:12,550 And in fact, this is probably the original binding for the book, which isn't entirely common for a medieval manuscript. 77 00:10:12,550 --> 00:10:19,080 You can see that there's a really nice couple of metal latches here to keep it closed. 78 00:10:19,080 --> 00:10:24,330 This whole thing is made out of parchment, which is constantly, which is literally animal skin. 79 00:10:24,330 --> 00:10:30,390 And it's constantly trying to to warp itself back into its original animal shape. 80 00:10:30,390 --> 00:10:37,890 And so these clasps are really quite useful for keeping the book in one piece. 81 00:10:37,890 --> 00:10:44,130 The most Gothic looking thing about this book is, of course, this big stamp on the front. 82 00:10:44,130 --> 00:10:49,080 Now, this is deceptive because this is actually a Victorian addition to the book. 83 00:10:49,080 --> 00:10:54,240 You can see that this is to say the 19th century owner of the book. 84 00:10:54,240 --> 00:10:58,920 So this is you know, it's this Victorian Gothic with a K., you might say. 85 00:10:58,920 --> 00:11:12,240 But the nice thing is that Edward Hailstone actually based the writing for his ownership mark on the stamps that are from 15th century Lüneburg, 86 00:11:12,240 --> 00:11:22,760 which say Jesus und Maria above and below the ownership mark. 87 00:11:22,760 --> 00:11:27,760 Now, this manuscript was made in the late 15th century. 88 00:11:27,760 --> 00:11:33,910 In spite of that many manuscripts, of course, made before the Reformation, after the Reformation ceased to be used. 89 00:11:33,910 --> 00:11:38,830 But not this one. This one was simply modified. This is the opening page here. 90 00:11:38,830 --> 00:11:44,140 This is not the intended opening page of the manuscript. You'll see that later on. 91 00:11:44,140 --> 00:11:49,760 But this opening page is a leftover leaf that was formerly part of the manuscript. 92 00:11:49,760 --> 00:11:59,830 Yes. So the interesting fact about is that we can really see within the manuscript how the nuns worked on the liturgy. 93 00:11:59,830 --> 00:12:11,430 So the manuscript was done for the Provost Tilemann von Bavenstedt, who started his tenure in 1472. 94 00:12:11,430 --> 00:12:15,550 And the nuns must have written that out for him, too. 95 00:12:15,550 --> 00:12:26,440 It's a kind of director's manual: when he has to sing what, when he has to hold up like on this page that Andrew's just opening. 96 00:12:26,440 --> 00:12:33,640 He has to hold up the statue of Mary towards the altar at Christmas Day. 97 00:12:33,640 --> 00:12:37,420 But particularly also when he has to shut up. 98 00:12:37,420 --> 00:12:46,000 So the nuns negotiated with the provost when it was their turn to sing up from the gallery. 99 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:57,700 And when it was the provost's turn and it originally had 10 quires that were previous to this opening now. 100 00:12:57,700 --> 00:13:02,710 And they had all the prayers for the different Sundays. 101 00:13:02,710 --> 00:13:14,800 And this must have been cut off by the nuns themselves because the binding is made in the 1470s. 102 00:13:14,800 --> 00:13:19,450 And they had to cut it down because they inserted new pages. 103 00:13:19,450 --> 00:13:28,970 So they probably made a different volume out of what had been cut off at the start. 104 00:13:28,970 --> 00:13:33,700 And the event that prompted this reworking of the manuscript, 105 00:13:33,700 --> 00:13:41,580 which is really a heavy reworking, is that there was a convent reform in 1478. 106 00:13:41,580 --> 00:13:46,660 And this convent reform meant that the nuns got more to sing. 107 00:13:46,660 --> 00:13:53,320 They had insisted that they hadn't enough chants within that. 108 00:13:53,320 --> 00:14:04,900 So what we are going to sing today is actually one of these newly added in pieces in the manuscript. 109 00:14:04,900 --> 00:14:12,880 So where Andrew's hands are currently is just the end of the prayers for each of the Sundays. 110 00:14:12,880 --> 00:14:17,480 You can see Dominica 111 00:14:17,480 --> 00:14:23,200 20 Sundays after Trinity. 112 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:34,370 And then you see the modern Bodleian pages. And if you then turn you'll have the ownership entry. 113 00:14:34,370 --> 00:14:48,500 It says Ordinarius ecclesie Marie virginis et Sancti Mauritii in Medingen, so dedicated to St Maurice, the most fashionable knight. 114 00:14:48,500 --> 00:14:54,320 And there are some glorious statues of Maurice still from that period. 115 00:14:54,320 --> 00:15:02,990 And then it starts and whatever is red - the rubrics - give the instructions like stage directions. 116 00:15:02,990 --> 00:15:06,980 What the provost had to do because it was a manual made, 117 00:15:06,980 --> 00:15:11,340 As I said, by the nuns for for the provost to guide him. 118 00:15:11,340 --> 00:15:25,130 So so he would have had this book with him when he was conducting the high feasts from the east end of the church. 119 00:15:25,130 --> 00:15:34,160 One thing I found particularly fascinating about the book is that not only the nuns got a bigger role for themselves after the reform, 120 00:15:34,160 --> 00:15:37,640 but they also inserted vernacular pieces. 121 00:15:37,640 --> 00:15:52,300 So German answer songs that the lay people who were sitting below the nuns' gallery at the west end of the church could sing. 122 00:15:52,300 --> 00:15:59,180 Actually, could you stay at the beginning, please Andrew? 123 00:15:59,180 --> 00:16:09,290 So you see this half page, which is one of these added in pages where you see the bit that the lay people would sing on the recto side. 124 00:16:09,290 --> 00:16:13,180 So you see 'O mundi Domina'. 125 00:16:13,180 --> 00:16:20,870 And then you see 'Grates nunc omnes' and then 'Lovet sistu [Jesu Christ, dat du hute boren bist]' these would be the 126 00:16:20,870 --> 00:16:28,250 vernacular lines picking up the Grates nunc omnes and answering with 127 00:16:28,250 --> 00:16:32,870 'Lovet sistu' [modern German: Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ] 128 00:16:32,870 --> 00:16:39,110 One of the medieval so-called 'leisen' because they always end with 'kyrie eleison'. 129 00:16:39,110 --> 00:16:45,620 And you might know that tune actually from Bach's Christmas oratorio because he keeps this 130 00:16:45,620 --> 00:16:54,610 as the answer of the congregation to what the choir has sung 'Er ist auf Erden kommen arm' [in cantata 1 of the Christmas Oratorio] 131 00:16:54,610 --> 00:17:04,910 So whenever you have something like this half page, this is an added in bit. 132 00:17:04,910 --> 00:17:17,120 You can also probably see there is an erased rubric on the folio 2 recto below. 133 00:17:17,120 --> 00:17:23,090 Sorry. Stop me, Andrew. I'm getting carried away a bit. 134 00:17:23,090 --> 00:17:38,060 So the handbook starts with things for Christmas because really this complex choreography was only needed for the high feasts of the year. 135 00:17:38,060 --> 00:17:45,710 Normally the nuns would have their own liturgy up in the gallery and the provost had nothing to say for that. 136 00:17:45,710 --> 00:17:49,910 And the clergy would celebrate their own mass down in the church. 137 00:17:49,910 --> 00:17:52,070 And it was really only for these high festivals. 138 00:17:52,070 --> 00:18:03,320 And in a way, we can sympathise with them, because the reason why we have Ethernet cable down here and the crypt is that during the last term, 139 00:18:03,320 --> 00:18:09,470 we had to set up the choir to be Covid compliant into 3 locations. 140 00:18:09,470 --> 00:18:16,520 So in a way, it's like the nuns' gallery and the lay people downstairs and the east end of the clergy and 141 00:18:16,520 --> 00:18:23,630 had to work out a system with an order of service where it was exactly clear who is muted 142 00:18:23,630 --> 00:18:28,710 at what point and who is unmuted. 143 00:18:28,710 --> 00:18:38,980 All right. Now, if you want to slowly browse further. 144 00:18:38,980 --> 00:18:42,550 So you'll see already the rubric coming up In Purificatione 145 00:18:42,550 --> 00:18:49,030 That's for Candlemas, which was the next big feast after Christmas where everybody would meet. 146 00:18:49,030 --> 00:19:02,170 And you see a little note on the left hand side here where it's explained that actually things had been swapped round. 147 00:19:02,170 --> 00:19:05,920 And I can't read that. 148 00:19:05,920 --> 00:19:19,800 But I brought my edition as a just to to check the rubric there. 149 00:19:19,800 --> 00:19:24,370 It says, sorry.... 150 00:19:24,370 --> 00:19:32,610 Oh, can you read it? Andrew? 151 00:19:32,610 --> 00:19:38,270 So this is 'hec collecta hic non legatur vsque post nunc dimittis.' 152 00:19:38,270 --> 00:19:51,360 Yeah. So it's that the nunc dimittis has been moved to a different point to give it more prominence and to allow the nuns to sing it as a meanwhile, 153 00:19:51,360 --> 00:20:03,880 while the clergy was setting up the church. So this is the point where we want to get to now. 154 00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:15,630 If you were to look briefly at the red crosses in between, which are also kind of stage directions, it's where the clergy would cross themselves. 155 00:20:15,630 --> 00:20:20,830 And it ends with Oremus - Yeah. 156 00:20:20,830 --> 00:20:24,910 Henrike or Andrew, could you just let us know which folio number we're on? 157 00:20:24,910 --> 00:20:30,670 Just so that people can follow along? We're currently at the beginning at 4 recto. 158 00:20:30,670 --> 00:20:36,760 OK. Yeah. Thank you. Yeah. 159 00:20:36,760 --> 00:20:41,500 Candlemas starts on 2 verso and goes on 160 00:20:41,500 --> 00:20:48,100 with lots of prayers and the next bit that has 161 00:20:48,100 --> 00:20:52,200 musical notation is just the per omnia saecula saeculorum 162 00:20:52,200 --> 00:21:12,800 on 6 recto. And before there is a single leaf, which has been glued together with folio one to form a new double leaf. 163 00:21:12,800 --> 00:21:18,560 And then the initials have been added. 164 00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:27,100 This is an old part because that's what the provost is singing. 165 00:21:27,100 --> 00:21:34,220 And just continue to seven verso. 166 00:21:34,220 --> 00:21:46,310 So folio seven is an old leaf and folio eight is a newly inserted leaf. 167 00:21:46,310 --> 00:22:01,640 And I'll let you into a shortcut for telling apart the hands of the nuns before and after the reform. 168 00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:14,360 And it's if you look closely at the Tironian note for 'et' which has the shape of a seven. 169 00:22:14,360 --> 00:22:19,600 Can you see where Andrew's finger is now on seven verso B? 170 00:22:19,600 --> 00:22:25,500 The et has just one stroke as a decoration running through it. 171 00:22:25,500 --> 00:22:33,590 And that's always the old hand. So the pre-reform hand - anything that has to do with the provost, and anything that has to do 172 00:22:33,590 --> 00:22:43,220 with the nuns on the right hand side has an et that has two strokes running through it. 173 00:22:43,220 --> 00:22:51,440 And while I was editing this down in the dungeons under the science library with Martin Kauffmann, 174 00:22:51,440 --> 00:22:57,080 we spent I think about something between 10 and 15 hours 175 00:22:57,080 --> 00:23:05,780 just going through all ets to determine which parts had been added. 176 00:23:05,780 --> 00:23:17,450 You see, even in the margin, the little red et also has two lines through it. 177 00:23:17,450 --> 00:23:23,390 The new hand had to really squeeze things in to make things fit. 178 00:23:23,390 --> 00:23:32,840 So it's a lot less neat than the old hand because it had to negotiate an existing layout. 179 00:23:32,840 --> 00:23:38,060 And you just see the end of the rubric which tells about what the clergy does. 180 00:23:38,060 --> 00:23:40,850 And then it ends with Virgines cantent 181 00:23:40,850 --> 00:23:54,800 So then the women, the nuns, the virgins sing - and that might be a point to hand over to the singing instructions by Nick. 182 00:23:54,800 --> 00:24:02,090 A very quick question, if I may. While we're still on the manuscript, just a question from someone who says that on eight recto, 183 00:24:02,090 --> 00:24:07,670 they can kind of follow the Lumen ad revelacionem words, but then on the other side, on the eight verso 184 00:24:07,670 --> 00:24:11,920 the words look a bit different to what's in the modern PDF, not criticising 185 00:24:11,920 --> 00:24:20,180 your editing, Henrike! We are very grateful to Andrew because since we aren't as experienced as the nuns 186 00:24:20,180 --> 00:24:22,070 He has done a cribsheet for us. 187 00:24:22,070 --> 00:24:30,740 So he has written out what the nuns wouldn't have needed because that they would have known the nunc dimittis by heart. 188 00:24:30,740 --> 00:24:35,960 He has helped us along. There is less in the manuscript. 189 00:24:35,960 --> 00:24:51,200 But Andrew has both the liturgical and typesetting skills to deduce from the first line how the rest of the lines would have run. 190 00:24:51,200 --> 00:25:02,240 Perfect - that makes sense. If you can read now on eight verso et sic cantentur singuli versos and like that they sing every single verse. 191 00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:05,750 And then the nuns would have known what to do. But we don't. 192 00:25:05,750 --> 00:25:14,980 So we relied on the modern PDF. And then et gloria patri and glory be to the father and to the son. 193 00:25:14,980 --> 00:25:24,680 Similitur cum repiticione - And similarly with a repetition of the antiphon after every verse, 194 00:25:24,680 --> 00:25:30,170 which is different from what you normally would do, where you would have the antiphon just before 195 00:25:30,170 --> 00:25:43,370 And at the very end. So the specific instruction is to sing it as we've just done it after every single line of the nunc dimittis. 196 00:25:43,370 --> 00:25:53,070 Well, I think we can come to her to to the rest later. 197 00:25:53,070 --> 00:25:56,820 Rather hoping that as we go through this, some of this will fall into place. 198 00:25:56,820 --> 00:26:06,280 Yes, but I just would love to have a go at singing some of those that more complex music at another time, because it looks absolutely gorgeous. 199 00:26:06,280 --> 00:26:14,420 Andrew, could we just go back a page just for a moment? Could we could see the recto of that folio. 200 00:26:14,420 --> 00:26:22,790 This is the bit that we are going to do and those of you that are participating at a distance should have Andrew's version, 201 00:26:22,790 --> 00:26:30,290 which in my version looks like that, beautifully done in red and black, mirroring what happened in some manuscripts. 202 00:26:30,290 --> 00:26:36,200 But what we're going to do is we're going to learn to do this in a few moments. 203 00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:40,700 I've been given the brief of just telling you a little bit about what Gregorian chant is. 204 00:26:40,700 --> 00:26:45,140 And I know that there are people here who are going to sigh deeply and say, well, this is very simplistic, 205 00:26:45,140 --> 00:26:51,440 but I want to give up an overall in what I'm looking at, a thousand years of music in less than two minutes. 206 00:26:51,440 --> 00:26:57,440 So traditionally it was seen as something that came from the thought and reforms of Pope Gregory. 207 00:26:57,440 --> 00:26:59,840 He died at the start of the seventh century. 208 00:26:59,840 --> 00:27:08,120 But we're probably looking at something that has its roots right back in the earliest times codified by Gregory and his team. 209 00:27:08,120 --> 00:27:13,700 The chant continued to be written. It wasn't fixed at point. It changes slightly in melody. 210 00:27:13,700 --> 00:27:17,480 New things are brought in, as you've already seen from Henrike's description, 211 00:27:17,480 --> 00:27:21,440 things move around in the liturgy. They're not as fixed as we might think they are. 212 00:27:21,440 --> 00:27:25,750 It tends to be associated with those great monastic houses. 213 00:27:25,750 --> 00:27:39,050 Think of places like Rievaulx with over 100 monks, Barking with between 50 and 100, maybe joining in over that over and over day and night. 214 00:27:39,050 --> 00:27:45,200 Now, sometimes it becomes a lot more ornate in terms of liturgy and in terms of music. 215 00:27:45,200 --> 00:27:52,970 But the traditions, our ones that we come back to, are a kind of 216 00:27:52,970 --> 00:27:58,370 reinterpretation or rediscovery of an earlier way of singing. 217 00:27:58,370 --> 00:28:03,410 And those are the ones that you hear in French monasteries like Solesmes, the Austrian Heiligenkreuz Abbey 218 00:28:03,410 --> 00:28:09,870 which is the same order as the nuns that were amongst this manuscript we're exploring. 219 00:28:09,870 --> 00:28:13,420 Most recently, I had to write this one down, Notre Dame de Fidélité de Jouques 220 00:28:13,420 --> 00:28:18,920 near Aix-en-Provence have recorded their whole repertoire over three years. 221 00:28:18,920 --> 00:28:26,790 It's about 7000 hours. It comes down to us in a sort of unbroken line. 222 00:28:26,790 --> 00:28:32,420 And there've been artists basing their own compositions on what we think of as Gregorian chant from the earliest times. 223 00:28:32,420 --> 00:28:38,640 It's had quite a lot of popularity for both from Christians and others recently, especially as a meditation aid. 224 00:28:38,640 --> 00:28:47,260 And I've always loved this piece partly because of the simplicity of the melodic line and the way it alternates with this 225 00:28:47,260 --> 00:28:51,710 psalm singing modal - it's technically a canticle but we won't worry about that. 226 00:28:51,710 --> 00:29:00,530 But that psalm singing way of doing things, which is a beautiful, meditative and slow way of looking at the pieces of music. 227 00:29:00,530 --> 00:29:07,250 It comes right from the end of Christmas time. It's rather interesting that here we are now brimming up to Christmas time. 228 00:29:07,250 --> 00:29:10,910 But traditionally in the Western Church, Candlemas, 229 00:29:10,910 --> 00:29:20,000 the 2nd of February, is the end of Christmas time and it almost fits as the kind of sign of hope for dark days. 230 00:29:20,000 --> 00:29:24,650 I really like it because of that. I don't think it's inappropriate, therefore, for us to sing it now. 231 00:29:24,650 --> 00:29:32,750 It certainly does have that calming effect. And there's something about singing in unison, which is about a sense of joining in something bigger. 232 00:29:32,750 --> 00:29:34,730 We won't be hearing each other online. 233 00:29:34,730 --> 00:29:42,410 So if you want to make a complete mess of it, then nobody is going to be asked to do penance in choir like they might have done it in another time. 234 00:29:42,410 --> 00:29:48,560 So if you have a go and give up or have a go and try it again, then that's absolutely fine. 235 00:29:48,560 --> 00:29:55,280 But the listening to others, the joining in with something big is part of that spiritual experience 236 00:29:55,280 --> 00:30:00,470 I think of singing chant. Now I think really very broadly there are three types of chant here. 237 00:30:00,470 --> 00:30:05,900 There's material that's sung in mass, and in the offices as well, 238 00:30:05,900 --> 00:30:13,700 which contains some really challenging pieces that were probably done in many cases by those that practised most, 239 00:30:13,700 --> 00:30:18,350 by the experts in the in the in the community. Next in simplicity, 240 00:30:18,350 --> 00:30:27,270 there are things like the Glorias and the Creeds and the Sanctuses which I suspect everybody joined in or a large number joined in. 241 00:30:27,270 --> 00:30:30,710 And they tend to be simpler. They also tend to be repeated more. 242 00:30:30,710 --> 00:30:38,300 What we're looking at today is one of the very simplest pieces, but it's not because it's easy, but because that pattern of refrain, 243 00:30:38,300 --> 00:30:42,590 and psalm tone or antiphon and psalm tone and then singing an antiphon at the 244 00:30:42,590 --> 00:30:47,690 end gives us the basic bones of what Gregorian Chant is really all about. 245 00:30:47,690 --> 00:30:51,800 One introduction to chant puts it rather beautifully, I think. 246 00:30:51,800 --> 00:30:58,220 Vocal Latin music grafted on and sprung out of the natural rhythm of the Latin words. 247 00:30:58,220 --> 00:31:01,530 I think that's one of the things that we hear very powerfully in this Lumen 248 00:31:01,530 --> 00:31:06,140 ad revelacionem. It's the antiphon or refrain for Candlemas. 249 00:31:06,140 --> 00:31:14,150 If you want to imagine the sisters with candles in their hands. We're joining in a line from the second chapter of St. Luke's Gospel. 250 00:31:14,150 --> 00:31:24,620 Now that if you are aware of it, because you know about Catholic Compline or evensong that's that's sung in the Anglican tradition. 251 00:31:24,620 --> 00:31:25,450 It's the 'Lord 252 00:31:25,450 --> 00:31:33,440 now lettest now thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word, for my eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou has prepared for all nations, 253 00:31:33,440 --> 00:31:38,240 the light to lighten the gentiles and the glory of thy people Israel.' 254 00:31:38,240 --> 00:31:42,980 And it's that line that we're going to concentrate your singing on. 255 00:31:42,980 --> 00:31:55,580 I'm wondering, Henrike, could we hear you and the Schola just do the antiphon for us 'Lumen ad revelacionem gencium 256 00:31:55,580 --> 00:32:02,290 et gloriam plebis tue Israhel.' 257 00:32:02,290 --> 00:32:08,180 Now that's just a perfect introduction to how it how it all goes. 258 00:32:08,180 --> 00:32:14,420 You should, as I said, have the music in square notes on neumes. Andrew's writing out, which is what you've seen from the manuscript. 259 00:32:14,420 --> 00:32:18,020 With those extra bits in that. Don't be afraid of those notes. 260 00:32:18,020 --> 00:32:22,250 If you are not used to singing chant, they're not that scary. 261 00:32:22,250 --> 00:32:26,720 I must admit when I've introduced people to chant before this. I can't possibly have a go at that. 262 00:32:26,720 --> 00:32:35,540 Of course you can. It's actually quite straightforward. You could think of them as mnemonics for a well practised choir in the Middle Ages. 263 00:32:35,540 --> 00:32:40,410 People would have had a go at this a bit like we're doing now. But let's face it, we haven't got time. 264 00:32:40,410 --> 00:32:47,420 You are not part of a community that does this year in, year out. We might be looking forward to a favourite piece of music or anything like that. 265 00:32:47,420 --> 00:32:51,620 But what I was thinking of was if we look at it. 266 00:32:51,620 --> 00:33:03,620 If you look at your copy like that. What you've got is you've got a something to sing per square note with a couple of exceptions. 267 00:33:03,620 --> 00:33:09,260 So what we're going to do now, I think, is if you just listen to that first bit again, 268 00:33:09,260 --> 00:33:14,430 up to 'gencium' and then I'll tell you a bit about it. 269 00:33:14,430 --> 00:33:18,840 'Lumen ad revelacionem gencium' 270 00:33:18,840 --> 00:33:30,110 Wonderful. So to there, every square thing is a note to sing. 271 00:33:30,110 --> 00:33:34,070 There's nothing fancy going on here. Every syllable fits with a note. 272 00:33:34,070 --> 00:33:41,540 After that, we go to 'et gloriam' and there are a couple of tricky bits there - you'll see on the et. 273 00:33:41,540 --> 00:33:47,380 We've got one note followed by a higher note. 'E-et' And then on 'am' of 'gloriam' 274 00:33:47,380 --> 00:33:50,890 we go 'et gloriam' 275 00:33:50,890 --> 00:34:01,010 and the instructions are very often that liquescent note, that note that just drips from the other note is to be sung more likely than any others. 276 00:34:01,010 --> 00:34:12,180 So can we hear the whole antiphon again then, please? Lumen ad revelacionem gencium et gloriam plebis tue Israhel. 277 00:34:12,180 --> 00:34:18,830 Lovely. 278 00:34:18,830 --> 00:34:23,290 Now, what I'm going to do is you're going to put up with my singing for a little minute. 279 00:34:23,290 --> 00:34:28,050 And I'd like you just to sing along with me. We'll sing it a bit slower. 280 00:34:28,050 --> 00:34:33,320 I'll start with the Lumen, which is what Henrike has been doing. And then you can see if you can fit the words in. 281 00:34:33,320 --> 00:34:40,010 If you can't. Don't worry. We can have a few more goes: Lumen ad revelacionem 282 00:34:40,010 --> 00:34:46,160 gencium. All those at home 283 00:34:46,160 --> 00:34:53,090 try it with me this time. Lumen ad revelacionem 282 00:34:40,010 --> 00:34:46,160 gencium. 284 00:34:53,090 --> 00:34:59,090 You know, that's a nice simple bit to warm you up. 285 00:34:59,090 --> 00:35:03,250 The next bit goes: et gloriam plebis tue Israhel. 286 00:35:03,250 --> 00:35:08,040 So sing that with me. 287 00:35:08,040 --> 00:35:13,970 et gloriam plebis tue Israhel. 288 00:35:13,970 --> 00:35:18,050 So just give us a little bit more authority, Henrike, could you and your schola 289 00:35:18,050 --> 00:35:28,090 have a go at that for us please. Lumen ad revelacionem gencium 290 00:35:28,090 --> 00:35:36,650 et gloriam plebis tue Israhel. Brilliant. 291 00:35:36,650 --> 00:35:43,160 Excellent. Can we all try it together now. So we're all going to do it from we'll do Lumen ad 292 00:35:43,160 --> 00:35:47,600 revelacionem gencium et gloriam plebis tue Israhel. 293 00:35:47,600 --> 00:35:56,140 Henrike, would you like to start us off. Lumen ad revelacionem gencium 294 00:35:56,140 --> 00:36:04,550 et gloriam plebis tue Israhel. 295 00:36:04,550 --> 00:36:08,660 Now then if you see how that works, a nice, simple piece of music. 296 00:36:08,660 --> 00:36:14,450 That's a refrain, a repetitio, that goes in between each verse. 297 00:36:14,450 --> 00:36:21,380 If you look at what you've got in front of you, you've got that Lumen ad revelacionem gencium et gloriam plebis tue Israhel written out. 298 00:36:21,380 --> 00:36:25,130 And then what we're going to do is that the Schola will sing the 'nunc dimittis 299 00:36:25,130 --> 00:36:37,000 servum tuum, Domine, secundum verbum tuum in pace' with that wonderful pause between the two bits of the canticle: Nunc dimittis servum tuum, Domine... 300 00:36:37,000 --> 00:36:46,710 secundum verbum tuum in pace' - there's a chance to breathe. There's also in a more echoey church a chance for those beautiful acoustics to join the angels. 301 00:36:46,710 --> 00:36:52,090 I just think it's a wonderful thing. But then we are going to sing the Lumen ad revelacionem gencium 302 00:36:52,090 --> 00:36:56,520 et gloriam plebis tue Israhel again. Then the Schola will take it up an so on. 303 00:36:56,520 --> 00:37:05,610 We'll get all the way to the end. Now, I don't know whether you're feeling brave enough to have a go on this, but let's see. 304 00:37:05,610 --> 00:37:14,350 Let's see if we can have a go. Maybe for the antiphon, the first verse and the antiphon again. So Henrike, 305 00:37:14,350 --> 00:37:21,650 off you go. Just to say on the question of echo and letting go. 306 00:37:21,650 --> 00:37:32,400 And there's a special link between St Edmund Hall and Pontigny, where the founder of the college St Edmund of Abbingdon is buried. 307 00:37:32,400 --> 00:37:38,010 And Pontigny is one of the big Cistercian houses, one of the founding abbeys. 308 00:37:38,010 --> 00:37:45,330 And it has an echo - we haven't quite agreed whether it's 7 or 10 seconds. 309 00:37:45,330 --> 00:37:54,650 But I remember first singing with a choir in there and it completely takes you aback. 310 00:37:54,650 --> 00:38:04,440 You have to pace yourself completely differently. The crypt doesn't have this long acoustic, so we are taking the break slightly shorter. 311 00:38:04,440 --> 00:38:11,350 I had a similar occurrence when I was in du Puy-en-Velay, which is where the Salve Regina originates from. 312 00:38:11,350 --> 00:38:15,780 and the fifth that comes there 'Savlve' just fills the whole place. 313 00:38:15,780 --> 00:38:19,530 It's quite amazing when you hear these things. Sorry, Henrike, I interrupted you. 314 00:38:19,530 --> 00:38:26,880 Off you go with the Lumen. So we'll sing now the Lumen - Nunc dimittis - Lumen. 315 00:38:26,880 --> 00:38:34,460 Yes, go for it. Lumen ad revelacionem gencium 316 00:38:34,460 --> 00:38:47,370 et gloriam plebis tue Israhel. Nunc dimittis servum tuum 317 00:38:47,370 --> 00:38:54,930 Domine secundum verbum tuum in pace 318 00:38:54,930 --> 00:39:00,760 Lumen ad revelacionem gencium, et gloriam plebis tue Israhel. 319 00:39:00,760 --> 00:39:10,010 I wonder, are people feeling confident enough to have a go at that? 320 00:39:10,010 --> 00:39:14,210 Or do you want to break it down any more? Shall we just go for it? 321 00:39:14,210 --> 00:39:21,670 Henrike my feeling is we go for it. I am just seeing questions coming up about the pronunciation. 322 00:39:21,670 --> 00:39:25,160 Which for me as a German 323 00:39:25,160 --> 00:39:34,700 is an interesting question because that's very much a different regions question. 324 00:39:34,700 --> 00:39:40,980 So Medingen is in northern Germany, where the vernacular would be low German, 325 00:39:40,980 --> 00:39:53,510 so similar to modern day Dutch. While in southern Germany, the c before an i would have become a tset 'revelacionem', 326 00:39:53,510 --> 00:40:01,160 the nuns or anybody in northern Germany didn't have really a tset. 327 00:40:01,160 --> 00:40:05,990 But from the spelling in their manuscripts 328 00:40:05,990 --> 00:40:09,830 they spell the word for fish, for example. P i 329 00:40:09,830 --> 00:40:15,200 s c i s quite often with a double s instead. 330 00:40:15,200 --> 00:40:23,000 So instead of saying piscis, as you would say in a classical Latin tradition, they would have set pis-sis. 331 00:40:23,000 --> 00:40:35,190 So we assume that for them a C before I and S were interchangeable. 332 00:40:35,190 --> 00:40:40,590 And so I went for the northern German pronunciation. 333 00:40:40,590 --> 00:40:54,380 But Nick is doing this kind of English Italian style, which is what is normally done in England. 334 00:40:54,380 --> 00:41:09,200 But I think the major thing is to own the chant and pronounce it in any way in which you would otherwise speak yourself. 335 00:41:09,200 --> 00:41:12,470 And I just looked up this morning. 336 00:41:12,470 --> 00:41:24,380 The instructions and a report from a visitation in one of the northern German convents - not Medingen, Wolfenhausen, said the nuns were admonished 337 00:41:24,380 --> 00:41:29,330 non clamor sed amor counted in singing. 338 00:41:29,330 --> 00:41:34,760 So not how how much clamour you are making, 339 00:41:34,760 --> 00:41:39,260 how much noise you're making, bellowing out the notes 340 00:41:39,260 --> 00:41:43,130 But the amor, the love that you were putting into it. 341 00:41:43,130 --> 00:41:51,730 That's why I've sung more quietly because I thought I shouldn't really. 342 00:41:51,730 --> 00:41:59,180 It must be said in in the medieval church that there is there is a demon that wanders around a monastic houses, 343 00:41:59,180 --> 00:42:02,990 collecting up odd syllables that people haven't used. 344 00:42:02,990 --> 00:42:07,400 It was obviously seen as a big thing for people just to be sort of sat on the edge of their hands, 345 00:42:07,400 --> 00:42:12,590 just getting on with it as best they can, when in fact, they're in the church for quite some time every day. 346 00:42:12,590 --> 00:42:20,960 The precision with which we're doing things is perhaps not the way you would have seen it if you'd gone into some religious houses. 347 00:42:20,960 --> 00:42:29,750 We do seem to have some difference there. But any of us that have been to or maybe sat through an Oxford degree ceremony will see 348 00:42:29,750 --> 00:42:35,870 three or four different versions of how to pronounce the formulae... 349 00:42:35,870 --> 00:42:44,810 particularly that very English one which says we're not going to pronounce it like a foreign language at all. 350 00:42:44,810 --> 00:42:49,250 It's just English, but a bit more complicated. There are all sorts of ways of doing it. 351 00:42:49,250 --> 00:42:54,260 Yes, you're quite right. We were trying for something similar to what the nuns would have 352 00:42:54,260 --> 00:42:58,970 at least recognised. That's great. That's wonderful. 353 00:42:58,970 --> 00:43:02,500 The other major criticism was always dragging. 354 00:43:02,500 --> 00:43:12,770 And that's something that probably our director of music can also sympathise with because we are slowing down in every psalm that we are singing. 355 00:43:12,770 --> 00:43:20,270 I did once hear a very professional choir singing these things as if they came to the end at each bar line. 356 00:43:20,270 --> 00:43:28,010 So you'd have something like 'revelacionem gencium' and it dripped 357 00:43:28,010 --> 00:43:33,140 with honey in a way that I don't think - wasn't the way I would have preferred it, 358 00:43:33,140 --> 00:43:39,080 I must admit. Right. Are we ready for it? Everybody. Let's have a go. 359 00:43:39,080 --> 00:43:43,040 I love the way somebody talks about all speaking Sheldonian. 360 00:43:43,040 --> 00:43:46,830 I think that's probably that's the language spoken in these things. 361 00:43:46,830 --> 00:43:50,890 But yes, what we're going to do now is we're going to go through the whole thing. 362 00:43:50,890 --> 00:43:54,450 And those of you at home, please join in. I will be waving my hands. 363 00:43:54,450 --> 00:44:01,260 But I think the acoustics will mean I dominate if I say anything. So I shall try very hard not to join in Henrike. 364 00:44:01,260 --> 00:44:15,320 Off you go. And let's do the whole thing. Lumen ad revelacionem gencium et gloriam plebis tue Israhel. 365 00:44:15,320 --> 00:44:20,760 gencium et gloriam plebis tue Israhel. 366 00:44:20,760 --> 00:44:30,730 Nunc dimittis servum tuum Domine, 367 00:44:30,730 --> 00:44:37,920 secundum verbum tuum in pace. 368 00:44:37,920 --> 00:44:45,690 Lumen ad revelacionem gencium 369 00:44:45,690 --> 00:44:54,020 et gloriam plebis tue Israhel. 370 00:44:54,020 --> 00:44:58,290 Quia viderunt oculi mei salutare tuum. 371 00:44:58,290 --> 00:45:03,500 Lumen ad revelacionem gencium 372 00:45:03,500 --> 00:45:12,150 et gloriam plebis tue Israhel. 373 00:45:12,150 --> 00:45:17,810 Quod parasti ante faciem omnium populorum 374 00:45:17,810 --> 00:45:21,170 Lumen ad revelacionem gencium 375 00:45:21,170 --> 00:45:34,490 et gloriam plebis tue Israhel. 376 00:45:34,490 --> 00:45:43,280 Lumen ad revelacionem gencium et gloriam plebis tue Israhel. 377 00:45:43,280 --> 00:45:51,370 Lumen ad revelacionem gencium et gloriam plebis tue Israhel. 378 00:45:51,370 --> 00:46:00,160 et gloriam plebis tue Israhel. Gloria Patri 379 00:46:00,160 --> 00:46:05,500 et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto 380 00:46:05,500 --> 00:46:10,530 Lumen ad revelacionem gencium 381 00:46:10,530 --> 00:46:30,370 et gloriam plebis tue Israhel. Sicut erat in principio 382 00:46:30,370 --> 00:46:40,660 et nunc, et semper, et in secula seculorum. Amen. 383 00:46:40,660 --> 00:46:45,030 Lumen ad revelacionem gencium 384 00:46:45,030 --> 00:46:48,800 et gloriam plebis tue Israhel. 385 00:46:48,800 --> 00:47:00,730 I once had the pleasure of singing in a monastery in Burgundy and the choir master, 386 00:47:00,730 --> 00:47:06,100 after a practice like that just went, 'Oh, mon dieu, les cieux sont ouverts' 387 00:47:06,100 --> 00:47:12,700 And that was absolutely wonderful. Thank you so much. I can see people screaming there, which is absolutely wonderful. 388 00:47:12,700 --> 00:47:18,590 And I think now it's time for me to shut up a bit. Thank you very much indeed for listening to my bit. 389 00:47:18,590 --> 00:47:23,750 We've got some more Q&A, I think, coming up, have we not Rosie? Well, 390 00:47:23,750 --> 00:47:27,810 Andrew's been doing such a good job in the chat of answering the very many very 391 00:47:27,810 --> 00:47:32,700 erudite questions that I think we might possibly be up to date with our questions, 392 00:47:32,700 --> 00:47:37,890 actually, unless anyone has any burning ones that they want to add to the chat. 393 00:47:37,890 --> 00:47:48,860 And we can answer now. We've had lots of questions about pronunciation, semitones, the custos marking at the end of a line, I've learnt a lot. 394 00:47:48,860 --> 00:47:54,330 It's been very educational. Yes, all those questions I'm thinking, oh, I should have talked about that when I started. 395 00:47:54,330 --> 00:47:55,740 So I do apologise. 396 00:47:55,740 --> 00:48:03,450 It's funny, actually, just from a pedagogic point of view, what you expect, as everybody must know that or it will be self evident. 397 00:48:03,450 --> 00:48:08,790 And then, of course, when you're looking at things afresh, it says, what on earth is that for? 398 00:48:08,790 --> 00:48:13,110 And the same is true when you open the manuscript for the first time, what am I going to see 399 00:48:13,110 --> 00:48:18,150 is part of the excitement of it. And I think that that's great. 400 00:48:18,150 --> 00:48:23,820 There's people saying they attempted to sing along. I think there's keenness to do some more singing along. 401 00:48:23,820 --> 00:48:28,700 So I think if the choir were happy to run through a couple more times, people would love to join in. 402 00:48:28,700 --> 00:48:41,850 And Tim, if you would be happy to take my tablet and just show a little bit more of the crypt. 403 00:48:41,850 --> 00:48:54,930 I'm not sure how visible it will be in this light, but you might want to spotlight the participant called Crypt. 404 00:48:54,930 --> 00:49:04,830 And then Tim is walking you around the crypt of Saint Edmund Hall and we will sing meanwhile 405 00:49:04,830 --> 00:49:17,810 and everybody can sing along. Lumen ad revelacionem gencium 406 00:49:17,810 --> 00:49:25,460 et gloriam plebis tue Israhel. 407 00:49:25,460 --> 00:49:43,350 Nunc dimittis servum tuum Domine, 408 00:49:43,350 --> 00:49:56,540 secundum verbum tuum in pace. 409 00:49:56,540 --> 00:50:04,250 Lumen ad revelacionem gencium 410 00:50:04,250 --> 00:50:19,030 et gloriam plebis tue Israhel. 411 00:50:19,030 --> 00:50:25,120 Quia viderunt oculi mei salutare tuum. 412 00:50:25,120 --> 00:50:32,260 Lumen ad revelacionem gencium 413 00:50:32,260 --> 00:50:37,350 et gloriam plebis tue Israhel. 414 00:50:37,350 --> 00:50:45,990 Quod parasti ante faciem omnium populorum 415 00:50:45,990 --> 00:50:52,130 Lumen ad revelacionem gencium et gloriam plebis tue Israhel. 416 00:50:52,130 --> 00:51:00,610 Lumen ad revelacionem gencium et gloriam plebis tue Israhel. 417 00:51:00,610 --> 00:51:07,450 Lumen ad revelacionem gencium et gloriam plebis tue Israhel. 418 00:51:07,450 --> 00:51:18,400 Gloria Patri et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto 419 00:51:18,400 --> 00:51:24,210 Lumen ad revelacionem gencium 420 00:51:24,210 --> 00:51:31,160 et gloriam plebis tue Israhel. 421 00:51:31,160 --> 00:51:35,400 Sicut erat in principio et nunc, 422 00:51:35,400 --> 00:51:51,410 et semper, et in secula seculorum. Amen. 423 00:51:51,410 --> 00:52:04,100 Lumen ad revelacionem gencium et gloriam plebis tue Israhel. 424 00:52:04,100 --> 00:52:10,700 Lovely, absolutely lovely. And we've got some interesting questions coming in as well. 425 00:52:10,700 --> 00:52:14,700 Rosie, do you want to moderate these? There's some fascinating stuff come up. 426 00:52:14,700 --> 00:52:16,760 So we've got another question about timing. 427 00:52:16,760 --> 00:52:29,000 Are there any notes in the manuscript about timing: would the antiphon have been sung more slowly than the rest, for example? 428 00:52:29,000 --> 00:52:34,730 In general, I mean, I don't know about repetitios like this, Henrike seems to be tied up with something at the moment. 429 00:52:34,730 --> 00:52:41,510 So I'll fill in a little bit - a repetitio like that, I suppose, might have done something like that. 430 00:52:41,510 --> 00:52:50,060 I suspect that's what we're doing here, is as much of a reconstruction, as accurate a reconstruction as we can manage. 431 00:52:50,060 --> 00:52:53,930 I do know that when I say there is an unbroken tradition in the chant, 432 00:52:53,930 --> 00:53:00,490 I'm kind of sitting on the fence here in that things did become a lot more ornate. 433 00:53:00,490 --> 00:53:08,030 You've got, in some cases, you've got instrumental stuff in finding its way in. 434 00:53:08,030 --> 00:53:15,440 But Henrike, I don't know if you have an answer to this question as to whether we know anything about the timings for a piece like this, 435 00:53:15,440 --> 00:53:21,860 whether that repetitio was done more slowly or whether they kept the same pace more or less as we did. 436 00:53:21,860 --> 00:53:27,830 Really, the only criticism I've heard is repeated 437 00:53:27,830 --> 00:53:40,160 not really paying attention to the pauses and just falling asleep and not singing along... 438 00:53:40,160 --> 00:54:00,630 so you would have on both sides of the choir the cantrix and to let them hang dry and high by dragging along and not singing in time. 439 00:54:00,630 --> 00:54:11,150 I haven't read anything about the relationship between the antiphon and the psalm verse. 440 00:54:11,150 --> 00:54:17,420 But it would have been a big part of the training of the novices. 441 00:54:17,420 --> 00:54:30,350 So in North Germany in the 15th century, they would have had at least nine years of Latin schooling and education 442 00:54:30,350 --> 00:54:34,430 in all, seven liberal arts and music teaching was a big part of it. 443 00:54:34,430 --> 00:54:47,840 So they would have learnt all about chords and intervals, music theory as well as music practice. 444 00:54:47,840 --> 00:54:54,830 And of course, singing daily for the divine office. And would men and women have sung together? 445 00:54:54,830 --> 00:55:01,040 Sorry - we've got a question. At the nunnery, would there have been male voices in the choir as well? 446 00:55:01,040 --> 00:55:03,450 Or would there ever have been the mix of male and female? 447 00:55:03,450 --> 00:55:11,840 Well that's why we have this handbook, because it had to be choreographed since there were three different locations. 448 00:55:11,840 --> 00:55:24,530 So the nuns were in enclosure so they wouldn't be seen, they would be up on the gallery and they would form one choir. 449 00:55:24,530 --> 00:55:31,520 And then the clergy would be a separate entity at the east end of the church. 450 00:55:31,520 --> 00:55:41,090 And the lay people would just join in at the high feasts for these short bursts of vernacular song. 451 00:55:41,090 --> 00:55:48,920 But it was a bit like a Zoom call, so you couldn't sing simultaneously because of the acoustics. 452 00:55:48,920 --> 00:55:56,810 So you had to say, head over now and mute yourself. 453 00:55:56,810 --> 00:56:02,190 We know that they had lay brothers to work the bellows for the organ. 454 00:56:02,190 --> 00:56:04,700 So in Medingen they had two organs, 455 00:56:04,700 --> 00:56:17,930 one small one a positive up on the nuns' gallery with the bellows external so that they could be operated and a big one down in the convent church. 456 00:56:17,930 --> 00:56:26,980 And then also boys for ringing the bells like Tim does for us normally. 457 00:56:26,980 --> 00:56:33,690 I've got two more really quick questions from the chat and then I think we're getting to the end, so we might need to have our final singalong. 458 00:56:33,690 --> 00:56:41,290 So two questions. One is that they've noticed that you take a very deep breath between the two parts of the verse. 459 00:56:41,290 --> 00:56:54,970 Can you say any more about the breathing involved? So that's the idea to kind of introduce a regular breath between the lines. 460 00:56:54,970 --> 00:56:59,680 So the idea is of a continuous praise of God. 461 00:56:59,680 --> 00:57:07,150 So you'll have no pause between the handover from one side of the choir to the other in psalm singing. 462 00:57:07,150 --> 00:57:10,420 So that the praise of God is rolling on. 463 00:57:10,420 --> 00:57:18,300 But you have a meditative pause in the middle. 464 00:57:18,300 --> 00:57:23,640 And then one more question about would that be two organists, a nun playing the organ? 465 00:57:23,640 --> 00:57:29,170 And then another instrument? Were they for different purposes? 466 00:57:29,170 --> 00:57:44,620 The problem with most of the churches is that at least the parish part was reconfigured. 467 00:57:44,620 --> 00:57:55,570 So we aren't quite sure. But from drawings we have representing panel paintings from the 15th century 468 00:57:55,570 --> 00:58:02,830 it looks as if the organ could be approached from the vestry. 469 00:58:02,830 --> 00:58:07,870 So the nun wouldn't have been seen by the clergy. 470 00:58:07,870 --> 00:58:15,190 So also the bigger organ would have been played by the nun. 471 00:58:15,190 --> 00:58:19,670 And perhaps if it's not too complicated 472 00:58:19,670 --> 00:58:26,830 Andrew Dunning could put in the chat a link to the Hildesheim manuscript from Medingen 473 00:58:26,830 --> 00:58:32,260 which shows the nuns actually playing four hands on an organ. 474 00:58:32,260 --> 00:58:38,500 And so that is a representation of two nuns playing together. 475 00:58:38,500 --> 00:58:47,260 If you want to see a rebuild of how an organ like that could have looked like, in Amsterdam in the organ church 476 00:58:47,260 --> 00:58:56,640 they have tried a reconstruction. So it looks more like stops that you pull than a keyboard. 477 00:58:56,640 --> 00:59:02,730 And one final question, and then I think we really had better do the final run through is about vibrato. 478 00:59:02,730 --> 00:59:09,990 Does that exist in the 15th century? Wish we had a recording from then. 479 00:59:09,990 --> 00:59:15,300 We do know that people get told off for pulling funny faces while they're singing. 480 00:59:15,300 --> 00:59:22,080 And you do look in some of the manuscripts, but I don't know if anyone's done any continuous work on it. 481 00:59:22,080 --> 00:59:28,270 You do see people going like this while they're singing as if they're really giving it their operatic best. 482 00:59:28,270 --> 00:59:31,800 But whether that's whether that was supposed to be a good thing or whether this 483 00:59:31,800 --> 00:59:36,210 is something that just happened in rich courts where you have professional musicians, 484 00:59:36,210 --> 00:59:42,990 whether there's a different monastic practice, I'm afraid I don't know. We need a time machine. 485 00:59:42,990 --> 00:59:49,410 Absolutely. Thank you so much. And do we have time to do a last sing along? 486 00:59:49,410 --> 01:00:07,670 Are you ready? Let's go for it. Lumen ad revelacionem gencium 487 01:00:07,670 --> 01:00:17,490 et gloriam plebis tue Israhel. 488 01:00:17,490 --> 01:00:26,160 Nunc dimittis servum tuum Domine, 489 01:00:26,160 --> 01:00:36,580 secundum verbum tuum in pace. 490 01:00:36,580 --> 01:00:44,690 Lumen ad revelacionem gencium 491 01:00:44,690 --> 01:00:54,680 et gloriam plebis tue Israhel. 492 01:00:54,680 --> 01:01:02,650 Quia viderunt oculi mei salutare tuum. 493 01:01:02,650 --> 01:01:12,730 Lumen ad revelacionem gencium 494 01:01:12,730 --> 01:01:16,860 et gloriam plebis tue Israhel. 495 01:01:16,860 --> 01:01:28,620 Quod parasti ante faciem omnium populorum 496 01:01:28,620 --> 01:01:37,130 Lumen ad revelacionem gencium 497 01:01:37,130 --> 01:01:48,150 et gloriam plebis tue Israhel. 498 01:01:48,150 --> 01:01:56,790 Lumen ad revelacionem gencium et gloriam plebis tue Israhel. 499 01:01:56,790 --> 01:02:02,130 Lumen ad revelacionem gencium et gloriam plebis tue Israhel. 500 01:02:02,130 --> 01:02:10,800 Gloria Patri et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto 501 01:02:10,800 --> 01:02:17,480 Lumen ad revelacionem gencium et gloriam plebis tue Israhel. 502 01:02:17,480 --> 01:02:23,480 Sicut erat in principio 503 01:02:23,480 --> 01:02:31,700 et nunc, et semper, et in secula seculorum. Amen. 504 01:02:31,700 --> 01:02:44,580 Lumen ad revelacionem gencium et gloriam plebis tue Israhel. 505 01:02:44,580 --> 01:02:51,110 Thank you. Lovely. So we can do more of that at Candlemas. 506 01:02:51,110 --> 01:02:56,200 We can continue through the manuscript. If you're up to it. 507 01:02:56,200 --> 01:03:06,130 Thank you so much, Henrike and Nick, for a wonderful socially distanced sing along, social distan'sing' in action, as it were. 508 01:03:06,130 --> 01:03:10,960 I think that was a really exciting and unusual way to spend a Friday night. 509 01:03:10,960 --> 01:03:17,530 Thank you as well to Andrew, who's in the Weston Library with the manuscript, especially for your brilliant answers in the chat 510 01:03:17,530 --> 01:03:24,490 Andrew, thank you for keeping on top of that. Thanks to our behind the scenes team: Karen and Sarah and Rebecca. 511 01:03:24,490 --> 01:03:32,240 And thank you to all of you who've attended, who've asked some incredibly complicated and fascinating questions. 512 01:03:32,240 --> 01:03:38,050 And please do click on the feedback link, which we've shared, I believe, several times in the chat. 513 01:03:38,050 --> 01:03:42,370 Maybe open it before we shut the event because you'll lose the chat. 514 01:03:42,370 --> 01:03:46,690 We hope very much that Covid permitting, we'll be able to run future events like this, 515 01:03:46,690 --> 01:03:52,390 perhaps even in person, which was our original plan when we started planning this many months ago. 516 01:03:52,390 --> 01:03:57,910 So all your feedback is very, very welcome and will help us to finesse things for the future. 517 01:03:57,910 --> 01:04:26,580 Thank you so much, everybody. Have a lovely weekend.