Magister
Leoninus
Sacred Music from
12th-century Paris 2
RED BYRD
MAGISTER LEONINUS II
responsories, and Christus resurgens is a processional antiphon. Unlike the responsories, which were sung in the choir at
Notre Dame, they were sung at various points around the
cathedral and its environs. Christus resurgens was written for
the procession to the Baptistry of Saint-Jean-le-Rond after
Second Vespers on Easter Sunday and Saturday in Easter
Week, and Advenit ignis was destined for the procession before
Mass on the feast of Pentecost. Sedit angelus was used an
astonishing number of times: in the procession after Second
Vespers on its return to Notre Dame, on Easter Sunday and
Sunday after Easter, in the procession after Terce during the
return from Saint-Jean-le-Rond and Saint-Denis-du-Pas,
during the Octave of Easter and the Fifth Sunday of Easter, and
in the procession on arrival at Saint Marcel, on the second
Rogation Day before Ascension. The final work on this
recording sets one of the best-known texts in the entire liturgy.
Benedicamus Domino was heard at the end of every one of the
canonical hours and at the end of the Mass when the Gloria
was not sung. The principal manuscript for this repertory contains no fewer than eleven settings, of which the one recorded
here is the ninth.
Performing the duplum lines in organum per se is a skill
that is difficult to regain eight centuries after this music
was originally conceived. The music notated in the original
manuscripts gives a mixture of information: some idea of what
the composers overall structure might have been, an idea of
at least one (and probably more than one) performers view of
the musicand it has to be remembered that a performers
view of this music would almost certainly have entailed
changes to pitch and rhythm, and a sense of what a thirteenthcentury editor would have done in trying to copy down and
render consistent a wide range of material. So these sections
which, in their floridity, resemble late eighteenth- and early
nineteenth-century coloratura vocal lines, differ in that they
are not just blueprints to be ornamented; they are blueprints
that have already been partially ornamented, and the singer of
the duplum part treads a very careful path between the slavish
duplication of a medieval performers view of the work and the
complete recreation of Leoninus music. In this recording, Red
Byrd include a composition that in turn includes a rare example
of what medieval theorists called copula, wherefor short
passages in organum per sethe upper voice adopts the
rhythms of discantus in a sequential pattern and then returns
to its original style. This is audible in the verse of Iudea et
Iherusalem, as the first syllable of Constantes changes to the
second and after the short passage of discantus on the word
estote.
It used to be thought that the sustained notes in organum
duplum were to be held relentlessly: a challenge to breath
control and the sanity of the singer taking the part. Re-readings
of thirteenth-century theory suggest that the tenor is responsible for contributing with great subtlety to the texture of the
work by breaking the sound, at the same time as one or more
of the upper voices, and this is the procedure that Red Byrd
employ in this recording.
The editions of the music are taken from the manuscripts
Florence, Biblioteca Medicea-Laurenziana, Pluteus 29.1
(polyphony) and Paris, Bibliothque Nationale de France, fonds
Latin 151812 (plainsong). The music appears in volume 2 of
Le Magnus liber organi de Notre Dame de Paris (Monaco:
ditions de lOiseau-Lyre, 2003). The English translations were
supplied by Leofranc Holford-Strevens, and thanks are also
due to Mary Berry and the Schola Gregoriana of Cambridge for
their assistance.
MARK EVERIST 2001
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1 Iudea et Iherusalem
Iudea et Iherusalem, nolite timere.
Cras egrediemini et Dominus erit
vobiscum.
Constantes estote videbitis auxilium
Domini super vos.
Cras etc.
Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto.
Et Dominus etc.
2 Descendit de celis
Descendit de celis missus ab arce
Patris introivit per aurem Virginis in
regionem nostram indutus stola purpurea.
Et exivit per auream portam lux et decus
universe fabrice mundi.
Tanquam sponsus Dominus procedens
de thalamo suo.
Et exivit etc.
Prosa Fac Deus munda corpora nostra et
animas die ista ut tua protecti dextra
collaudemus auctorem fabrice mundi.
Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto.
Et exivit etc.
Prosa Familiam custodi Christe
tuam qui natus alma de Maria redemisti
morte tua ut cognoscat
te conditorem fabrice mundi.
Descendit de celis etc.
Prosa Facinora nostra relaxari mundi
gloria petimus mente devota David
regis proles inclita virgo que casta seclo
Maria protulit summi Patris gratia
cuius ortus salvet omnes cuncta
per secula et die hac nobis dignanter
faveat atque omni fabrice mundi.
3 Et valde mane
Et valde mane una sabbatorum veniunt
ad monumentum orto iam sole.
Alleluya.
Et respicientes viderunt revolutum
lapidem erat quippe magnus valde.
Orto iam sole etc.
Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto.
Et etc.
And very early in the morning, the first day of the week,
they came to the sepulchre, the sun being now risen.
Alleluia.
And looking, they saw the stone rolled back.
For it was very great.
The sun being now risen etc.
Glory be to the Father, and the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
And etc.
4 Christus resurgens
Christus resurgens ex mortuis iam non moritur.
Mors illi ultra non dominabitur
quod enim vivit vivit Deo.
Alleluya, alleluya.
Dicant nunc Iudei quomodo milites
custodientes sepulchrum perdiderunt regem.
Ad lapidis positionem quare
non servabant petram Iusticie?
Aut sepultum reddant,
aut resurgentem adorent nobiscum dicentes.
Mors illi etc.
5 Sedit angelus
Sedit angelus ad sepulchrum Domini
stola claritatis coopertus; videntes eum
mulieres nimio terrore perterrite astiterunt a longe.
Tunc locutus est angelus et dixit eis.
Nolite metuere; dico vobis quia illum
quem queritis mortuum iam vivit
et vita hominum cum eo surrexit. Alleluya.
Crucifixum in carne laudate ac
sepultum propter vos glorificate
resurgentemque de morte adorate.
Nolite metuere etc.
6 Dum conplerentur
Dum conplerentur dies Pentecostes
erant omnes pariter dicentes Alleluya
et subito factus est sonus de celo. Alleluya.
Tamquam Spiritus torrens replevit totam domum.
Alleluya.
Repleti sunt omnes Spiritu Sancto
et ceperunt loqui.
Tamquam Spiritus torrens etc.
Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto.
Alleluya.
7 Advenit ignis
Advenit ignis divinus non comburens
sed illuminans nec consumens
sed lucens et invenit corda
discipulorum receptacula munda,
et tribuit eis karismatum dona.
Alleluya.
Invenit eos concordes caritate et illustravit
eos inundans divinitas Deitatis.
Et tribuit etc.
Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. Alleluya.
Advenit ignis divinus etc.
9 Benedicamus Domino
Benedicamus Domino.
Deo gratias.
MAGISTER LEONINUS II
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10
MAGISTER LEONINUS II
11
langen Melismen des Chorals genomen und sie zu wiederholten rhythmischen Zellen geordnet, um dann ein rhythmisch
entsprechend straffes Duplum darber zu setzen. Die rhythmische Bedingtheit dieses Vorgehens fhrte zur Entstehung der
sogenannten rhythmischen Modi (dieser Stil wurde Discantus
genannt). Beide Musikarten bestehen nebeneinander in ein
und derselben Komposition; die auf ausgeprgt melismatischen Gesngen unter Einsatz der rhythmischen Modi
beruhenden Abschnitte heien Klauseln (clausulae), wenn
sie eigenstndige, in sich geschlossene Form annehmen. Die
resultierende Struktur aus abwechselnd Cantus planus,
Organum per se und Discantus lt sich an Hand einer Abschrift des Textes von Repleti sunt omnes illustrieren:
Choralabschnitten, die den ursprnglichen Gesang verzierenauf die gleiche Weise, wie das Organum selbst den
Cantus planus verziert. Es ist nicht ganz klar, ob die Liturgie
von Notre Dame den gleichzeitigen Gebrauch einer Prosa und
eines Organums zulie, oder ob sie jeweils zu verschiedenen
Anlssen eingesetzt wurden. Auf jeden Fall bietet Red Byrd
eine vollstndige Fassung des Stcks einschlielich Organum
und Prosae dar. Die vorliegenden Responsorien sind fr den
einen oder anderen der beiden wichtigsten Gottesdienste
des liturgischen Tagesablaufs gedacht: Vesper und Matutin.
Iudea et Iherusalem ist das Responsorium zur ersten Vesper
am Weihnachtstag (die brigens in der vorangehenden
Nacht gesungen wurde), und Descendit de celis ist das
dritte Responsorium (von insgesamt neun) zur Matutin am
Weihnachtstag.
Drei der Werke dieser Einspielung wurden fr Prozessionen
verfat. Sedit angelus und Advenit ignis sind Prozessionsresponsorien, und Christus resurgens ist eine Prozessionsantiphon. Anders als die im Chor von Notre Dame gesungenen
Responsorien wurden sie an verschiedenen Stellen der
Kathedrale und deren Umgebung zu Gehr gebracht. Christus
resurgens wurde fr die Prozession zur Taufkirche Saint-Jeanle-Rond nach der zweiten Vesper am Ostersonntag bzw. am
Sonnabend der Osterwoche geschrieben, und Advenit ignis war
fr die Prozession vor der Messe zum Pfingstfest vorgesehen.
Sedit angelus wurde erstaunlich oft eingesetzt: in der Prozession nach der zweiten Vesper auf dem Rckweg nach Notre
Dame am Ostersonntag und am Sonntag nach Ostern, in der
Prozession nach der Terz bei der Rckkehr von Saint-Jean-leRond und Saint-Denis-du-Pas, an der Oktav zu Ostern und am
fnften Ostersonntag sowie in der Prozession bei der Ankunft
an Saint Marcel am zweiten Bittag vor Himmelfahrt. Das letzte
Werk dieser CD vertont einen der bekanntesten Texte der
gesamten Liturgie. Benedicamus Domino war am Ende eines
jeden kanonischen Stundengebets und am Ende der Messe
zu hren, wenn das Gloria nicht gesungen wurde. Das
magebliche Maunskript fr dieses Repertoire enthlt nicht
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13
Also available
Lonin Magister Leoninus (fl1150s, d c1201)
Magister Leoninus, Volume 1
Sacred Music from 12th-century Paris
RED BYRD, CAPPELLA AMSTERDAM
Compact Disc CDH55328
Sung with beguiling beauty. These readings renew
our sense of wonder at Western musics most
fundamental innovationthe sound of two voices
simultaneously singing different lines that not only fit
with, but also enhance, each other (The Sunday
Times) A fine contribution to the repertoire on disc of
twelfth-century polyphony. A composite sound of great
beauty (Gramophone) Marvellously atmospheric. A
rare and highly rewarding disc. Brilliant performances
of neglected treasures (Classic CD) Absolutely
stunning. Lost music re-born (BBC Music Magazine)
14
Copyright subsists in all Hyperion recordings and it is illegal to copy them, in whole or in part, for any purpose whatsoever,
without permission from the copyright holder, Hyperion Records Ltd, PO Box 25, London SE9 1AX, England. Any unauthorized
copying or re-recording, broadcasting, or public performance of this or any other Hyperion recording will constitute an
infringement of copyright. Applications for a public performance licence should be sent to Phonographic Performance Ltd,
1 Upper James Street, London W1F 9DE
15
CDH55338
Magister Leoninus 2
LONIN
(fl 1150s, d c1201)
Christmas
1 Iudea et Iherusalem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [6'55]
2 Descendit de celis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [12'42]
Easter
3 Et valde mane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [10'49]
4 Christus resurgens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [5'55]
5 Sedit angelus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [13'07]
Pentecost
6 Dum conplerentur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [7'42]
7 Advenit ignis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [6'21]
8 Repleti sunt omnes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [7'12]
9 Benedicamus Domino
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
RED BYRD
JOHN POTTER, RICHARD WISTREICH
YORVOX
[2'31]
A superb disc gloriously sung in an ideal acoustic (The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs)
Highly recommended (Fanfare, USA)
Magister Leoninus 2
LONIN
Christmas
1 Iudea et Iherusalem [6'55]
2 Descendit de celis [12'42]
Easter
3 Et valde mane [10'49]
4 Christus resurgens [5'55]
5 Sedit angelus [13'07]
Pentecost
6 Dum conplerentur [7'42]
7 Advenit ignis [6'21]
8 Repleti sunt omnes [7'12]
A HYPERION RECORDING
DDD
RED BYRD
JOHN POTTER, RICHARD
YORVOX
MADE IN ENGLAND
HELIOS
CDH55338
CDH55338
Duration 74'33
HELIOS
CDH55338