Graduals

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In the Roman Catholic liturgy, a gradual (actually Responsorium Graduale ) is an interlude , but also a liturgical book ( Graduale Romanum ).

The gradual in the liturgy

Graduals are psalm passages or biblical verses between the Old Testament reading and the epistle in the mass ; if the Old Testament reading is omitted, the place of the gradual is between the preceding epistle and the following alleluia . They are performed as soloists and framed by a so-called responsum from the Schola (or community). The name comes from the place where the chant is performed ( Latin gradus , "step"), the steps to the altar. In practice, singing from the ambo has developed from this .

The gradual has its roots in early medieval worship. The gradual was part of the Roman mass as early as the 6th century . It was initially a psalm that was sung between the Bible readings , but in the course of a richer melodic development, especially the following alleluia , the gradual was shortened to a psalm verse ( psalmellus ). In Frankish times it became customary to sing it on the steps of the anvil, since the ambo was reserved for reciting the gospel.

The gradual in Gregorian chant

The gradual is part of the Gregorian Mass Proprium . It belongs to the genus of the responsory and originally consists of the following parts:

  • the responsum sung by the cantor ,
  • the responsum repeated by the Schola ,
  • a solo verse (typically a psalm verse)
  • and the repetition of the responsum through the Schola.

In the course of the Middle Ages, however, a slightly different form was established:

  • The cantor intoned the first one or two words of the responsum before the Schola joined in;
  • after that the cantor no longer sang the solo verse completely, because the last part of the verse was taken over by the schola;
  • the repetition of the responsum was omitted in most cases.

The melodies of the graduals are altogether richer in melism and thus also more demanding in their composition than, for example, Introit and Communio . The solover typically has a higher range than the responsum. Not all graduals have their own melodies. There are extensive similarities, especially among the graduals in mode 2 . In the period between Easter and Pentecost, the gradual is typically replaced by an additional alleluia .

Multi-part settings

From the 12th and 13th centuries there are numerous polyphonic settings of the solo parts of Gradualien; At this time these are the first one or two words of the responsum and the largest part of the verse. These settings belong to the genre of the organum , among them are the famous four-part organa " Viderunt omnes " and "Sederunt principes" by Perotin . The original Gregorian melody remains in the lower part, albeit in sustained notes, to which the one to three more agitated upper parts join.

There are also polyphonic settings of the Graduale texts from a later period, even if they are less important than the setting of the Mass Ordinarium . Such settings can use the form of the motet , but also concertante forms, but with the gradual or epistle sonata there are also pure instrumental pieces instead of the gradual. A well-known historical gradual composition is the Locus iste by Anton Bruckner , a setting of the gradual for the parish fair .

Liturgical book

The same name is also used for the chorale book , in which the mass chants of the Proprium Missae - Introit , Graduale, Hallelujaruf , Tractus , Sequence , Offertorium and Communio - are recorded. In addition, the gradual contains the ordinarium and other chants such as the All Saints' Litany , hymns and processional chants .

Chants for the Ordinarium are also summarized in a separate book, the Kyriale .

Some gradual manuscripts with neumes have survived from the early Middle Ages ; they are among the most important testimonies to research into Gregorian chant. These early manuscripts were still in a rather small format; late medieval gradual manuscripts, on the other hand, are often very large books, as they are intended for a larger group of singers to sing from them. The contents of the gradual manuscripts were often combined with the texts for the mass in the missal , especially in the late Middle Ages , but separate graduals were still written by hand for a long time after the invention of printing .

See also

literature

  • Erich Joseph Thiel: A small lexicon for handwriting. In: Börsenblatt for the German book trade. Frankfurt edition. Vol. 23, 1967, ISSN  0940-0044 , pp. 2379-2395, No. 83, especially p. 2387.
  • Virgil Fiala, Wolfgang Irtenkauf : An attempt at a liturgical nomenclature. In: Clemens Köttelwesch (Hrsg.): For cataloging medieval and newer manuscripts (= Journal for Libraries and Bibliography. Special Issue 1, ISSN  0514-6364 ). Klostermann, Frankfurt am Main 1963, pp. 105-137, especially p. 111.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Josef Andreas Jungmann SJ: Missarum Sollemnia. A genetic explanation of the Roman mass. Volume 1, Herder Verlag, Vienna, Freiburg, Basel, 5th edition 1962, pp. 543ff.
  2. ^ Josef Andreas Jungmann SJ: Missarum Sollemnia. A genetic explanation of the Roman mass. Volume 1, Herder Verlag, Vienna, Freiburg, Basel, 5th edition 1962, p. 102.
  3. ↑ These are in particular (all page numbers refer to the Graduale Triplex ): Tollite portas p. 25, A summo caelo p. 27, In sole posuit p. 30, Domine Deus virtutum p. 32, Excita, Domine p. 33, Hodie scietis p. 38, Tecum principium p. 42, Angelis suis p. 72, Ab occultis p. 101, Ne avertas p. 155, Haec dies quam fecit Dominus p. 196, Domine, refugium factus es p. 347, In omnem terram P. 427, Nimis honorati sunt p. 428, Exultabunt sancti p. 455, Justus ut palma florebit p. 510, Dispersit, dedit pauperibus p. 520, and Requiem aeternam p. 670.