Antiphonary of St. Benigne, Dijon
|
|
The Antiphonary of St. Benigne (also called Antiphonarium Codex Montpellier) is a late 10th century musical manuscript in a codex that records antiphonal responses of Gregorian chant, one of the earliest surviving pieces of written music. There are only about five 10th century musical manuscripts (and some fragments from the 9th century), with which scholars debate how to realize Gregorian chant in modern liturgical use and performance. Whenever historical documents are scanty, their interpretation tends to be correspondingly bitter.
An antiphonary, a song book for use in a liturgical choir in the Roman Catholic liturgy, was mainly used for either singing Mass or the canonical Hours (antiphonarium officii). This particular Antiphonary recorded the plainsong chant as it was performed in the Cathedral of St. Benigne, Dijon. It has been preserved in the library of the faculty of medicine at the University of Montpellier (ms. H159). It was issued as a facsimile in the series illustrating the relics of ancient musical notation, Paléographie Musicale, (first series, Solesmes, 1896; reprinted at Berne, Switzerland).
Until Guido of Arezzo invented the musical stave on which to place notes, their relative pitch could be recorded, and their melodic configuration is also there on paper, but not their absolute pitch. Indicated notations of rhythm and duration of the notes are very obscure. The earlier system, as in the codex preserved at Montpellier, is of neumes, which essentially record the choirmaster's hand gestures, prompting music that the choir already knew. How the neumes are to be interpreted is a moot point..
Reference
- F.E. Hansen H 159 Montpellier, Tonary of St.Bénigne of Dijon, Kopenhagen 1974.
External link
- R. John Blackley, director of the Schola Antiqua, "On Realizing Gregorian Chant" and "Rhythm and Nuance in Chant" (http://www.scholaantiqua.net/rjohnblackley.htm) gives the context of interpreting neumes.