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Home > Catholic Encyclopedia > V > Music of Vespers


MUSIC OF VESPERS

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The texts (e.g. antiphons, psalms, hymn) sung in Vespers vary according to the
feast or the season of the church year; and in churches where it is obligatory
to recite publicly the Canonical Hours of the Divine Office the Vespers must
follow the direction of the "Ordo". The Second Plenary Council of Baltimore
(1868) decreed (no. 379) that complete vespers be sung on Sundays and feasts in
all churches, as far as possible, after the Roman fashion, and that vespers
never be replaced by other exercises of piety; "for the solemn worship approved
by bishops of the Church and flourishing through so many centuries must be
deemed pleasing to Almighty God". To facilitate the introduction of Vespers, the
council further legislated (no. 380) that the rudiments of Gregorian chant be
taught in parish schools, "so that gradually the greater part of the
congregation might be enabled to join with the sacred ministers and the choir"
in singing. A Rescript of the Congregation of Sacred Rites (11 Mar., 1882,
Montereyen. et Angelor. n. 3539, 3) declared that the custom which had obtained
in certain churches, of singing some verses of all or of some psalms in Vespers
and of omitting the others, should be wholly eliminated; and two years later the
Third Plenary Council of Baltimore (1884) decreed (no. 118): "Moreover we will
and command . . . that, where the office of Vespers is performed, complete
Vespers, that is, with integral psalms, be sung."



The difficulty of preparing different antiphons, psalms, etc., for the various
Sundays and feasts overtaxed the powers of ordinary choirs; and happily a decree
of the S.R.C. (29 Dec., 1884, Lucionen. n. 3624, 12) met the difficulty by
declaring that in mere parish churches, where there is no obligation of public
recitation of the Divine Office, but where Vespers are sung for the devotion of
the people, the Vespers may be taken from any Office, such as that of the Most
Blessed Sacrament or of the Blessed Virgin, provided that the sacred ministers
privately recite the Vespers proper to the day. It is therefore clear that in
practically all churches in English-speaking countries the choir may repeat the
same Vespers, selected from any appropriate feast, for every Sunday or feast.
Composers and publishers of church music have further simplified the task of the
choir by issuing brochures which contain all the ceremonial or rubrical
directions in English, in their appropriate place, and which give easy musical
settings to the antiphons, psalms, etc., or furnish easy accompaniments to the
plainsong melodies. Must the Vespers thus selected at the pleasure of the priest
or the choirmaster be complete in every part, e.g., the antiphons? Johner (p.
14) declares that "such Vespers must accord in every respect with the Vespers of
the Office selected". The Provincial Council of Milwaukee follows the Fourth
Provincial Council of Cincinnati in the desire that "in vespers on Sundays the
antiphons, the entire five psalms, and the hymn proper to the occurring feast
should never be omitted, unless the bishop deems it impossible to observe this
rule on account of local circumstances". In this connection, the discussion in
the "Ecclesiastical Review" (Dec., 1911) should be consulted.

The texts must be either sung or "recited" in a clear and intelligible manner.
The portions that must be sung are: the first verse of the "Magnificat", the
first and last verse of the hymn, the verses where genuflection is prescribed
(e.g. "Veni Creator", "O Crux Ave" on the Feasts of the Holy Cross, "Ave Maris
Stella") or where all bow the head (e.g. the "Gloria Patri"). The "Ceremonial of
Bishops" permits alternate verses of the "Magnificat" to be supplied by the
organ, provided the choir meanwhile recites the text in an intelligible voice
or--a better arrangement--a single chanter sings the text to accompaniment of
the organ. The S.R.C. (Senogallien., 4 Mar., 1901, V) permits a similar
arrangement for the psalms, but adds the condition that there be a poverty of
voices (e.g. one or two voices on each side of the choir, as the Ephemerid.
liturg., XV, 353, interprets). The "Ceremonial of Bishops" forbids the playing
of the organ on Sundays of Lent and Advent, except Gaudete and Lætare Sundays
(the third of Advent and the fourth of Lent); but a Rescript of the S.R.C. (11
May, 1911) permits the organ to be played when it is necessary for sustaining
the voices, provided it ceases when the voices cease. The S.R.C. (Senogallien.,
4 Mar., 1901, VII) requires a pause to be made at the asterisk in each verse of
the psalms, "any custom whatsoever to the contrary notwithstanding".

The general musical character of vespers is indicated in the "Instruction on
Sacred Music" issued by Pius X (22 Nov., 1903), no. IV, 11. Classical polyphony
or modern music may be used, although the Gregorian chant is the typical setting
for the texts. While the antiphons should regularly be in the assigned Gregorian
melodies, it is permitted occasionally to sing them in figured music; but in
this case "they must never have either the form of a concert melody or the
fullness of a motet or cantata". While the "Gloria Patri" and "Sicut erat" may
also be in figured music, the psalms should regularly be in Gregorian chant; but
on greater feasts the verses in Gregorian chant may be alternated with verses in
falsibordoni or "with verses similarly composed in a proper manner". Single
psalms may sometimes be sung wholly in modern music, "provided the form proper
to psalmody be preserved in such compositions; that is, provided the singers
seem to be psalmodizing among themselves, either with new motifs, or with those
taken from the Gregorian chant or based upon it". The "Instruction" immediately
adds that "psalms known as di concerto are, therefore, forever excluded and
prohibited". These di concerto psalms are "theatrical compositions . .  with
soli, chorus, and orchestra, comprising adagios, allegros, and often dance airs"
(Duclos, 106, footnote 2). Pius X alludes to these in his letter to Card.
Respighi (8 Dec., 1903): "For the devout psalmody of the clergy, in which the
people also used to join, there have been substituted interminable musical
compositions on the words of the Psalms, all of them modelled on old theatrical
works, and most of them of such meagre artistic value that they would not be
tolerated for a moment even in second-rate concerts. Certain it is that
Christian piety and devotion are not promoted by them; the curiosity of some of
the less intelligent is fed, but the majority, disgusted and scandalized, wonder
how it is that such an abuse can still survive. We, therefore, wish the cause to
be completely extirpated, and that the solemnity of vespers should be celebrated
according to the liturgical rules indicated by us." As to the hymn, the
"Ceremonial of Bishops" permits recitation of alternate stanzas with
accompaniment of organ.




SOURCES

JOHNER, New School of Gregorian Chant (New York, 1906), 9-14; BENEDICTINES OF
STANBROOK, Grammar of Plainsong (London, 1905), 68-9; POTHIER, Les mélodies
grégoriennes (Tournai, 1880), 240-68; TERRY, Catholic Church Music (London,
1907), 21-38 (Church legislation), 125-6 (Order of Vespers), 128 (Pontifical
Vespers), 136 (Vespers of the Dead); DUCLOS, Sa sainteté Pie X et la réforme de
la musique religieuse (Rome, 1905), 105-7; FINN, WELLS, and O'BRIEN, Manual of
Church Music (Philadelphia, 1905), 90-4, 134-5; JOHNER, Die Psalmodie nach der
Vaticana (Ratisbon, 1911); Ecclesiastical Rev., Feb., 1904, 184-8 (Letter of
Pius X to Card. Respighi): "There is much to be corrected or removed in the
chants of the Mass . . . but that which needs a thorough renewal is the singing
of Vespers of the feasts celebrated in the different churches and basilicas. The
liturgical prescriptions of the 'Cæremoniale episcoporum', and the beautiful
musical traditions of the classical Roman school, are no longer to be
found. . . . And do you, Lord Cardinal, neither grant indulgences nor concede
delays. The difficulty is not diminished but rather augmented by postponement,
and since the thing is to be done, let it be done immediately and
resolutely. . . . The Vesper service will, indeed, be notably shortened. But if
the rectors of the churches desire on a special occasion to prolong the function
somewhat . . . [they may] have a suitable sermon after the vespers, closed with
Solemn Benediction of the Most Holy Sacrament"; LEMAISTRE, Vatican Chant (New
York, 1905), 69-95; BENEDICTINES OF SOLESMES, Rules for Psalmody (Rome, 1904),
no. 598, English ed.; IDEM, Psalmi in notis pro vesperis et officiis in omnibus
dominicis et festis duplicibus (Rome, 1909), no. 590, gives the texts in full
under each of the eight psalm tones in notation; PIÉRARD, Psautier-vespéral,
séméiographie nouvelle (Rome, 1908); BONVIN, On Recitation in Church Music
(March, 1906, 145-56).


ABOUT THIS PAGE

APA citation. Henry, H. (1912). Music of Vespers. In The Catholic Encyclopedia.
New York: Robert Appleton Company. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15382a.htm

MLA citation. Henry, Hugh. "Music of Vespers." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol.
15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912.
<http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15382a.htm>.

Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Elizabeth T.
Knuth. In honor of Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland, O.S.B.

Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. October 1, 1912. Remy Lafort, S.T.D.,
Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.

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