Learn the Office 2.13: Lauds Pt 2 - The three forms of Lauds

At Lauds on Sunday, let the 66th psalm be said first simply, without an antiphon.

After that let the 50th psalm be said with Alleluia; after this let the 117th and the 62d be said; then the blessing and the praises, one lesson from the Apocalypse, said by heart, a responsory, the Ambrosian hymn, the verse and the canticle from the Gospel, the litany, and it is finished.

Rule of St Benedict chapter 12

On week days let Lauds be celebrated in the following manner, to wit: Let the 66th psalm be said without an antiphon, drawing it out a little as on Sunday, that all may arrive for the 50th, which is to be said with an antiphon.

After this let two other psalms be said according to custom...On the other days, however, let the canticle from the Prophets, each for its proper day...After these let the psalms of praise follow; then one lesson from the Apostle, to be said from memory, the responsory, the Ambrosian hymn, the verse, the canticle from the Gospel, the litany, and it is finished.

Rule of St Benedict chapter 13

The three forms of Lauds

Lauds has a number of variants, for Sundays, weekdays, and major and minor feasts.

The key differences between them relate to:

• how many antiphons are said with the psalms (three or five); 
• the particular psalms said;
• the Old Testament canticle used; and
• the texts and chants for the chapter, responsory, hymn, versicle, and Benedictus antiphon.

The main structural differences, though, relate to the psalm section of the hour, and so this post focuses primarily on how this section works in more detail.

It looks first at the particular psalms used at Lauds, and then looks at how the antiphon structure can change.

The psalms of  Lauds

Psalm without antiphon: Ps 66

In the Benedictine Office, the first psalm of the hour,  Psalm 66, is sung everyday, immediately after the opening prayers, and without an antiphon.

St Benedict specified that it should be sung rather slowly, in order to allow latecomers to sneak into choir without penalty.

The 'Tonus ín directum' (Antiphonale Monasticum pg 1219)  is usually used for this purpose.

Three psalms (with antiphon(s))

Three psalms then follow.

On most days these consist of Psalm 50 (the Miserere) and two variable psalms of the day.

At some times of the year on Sundays, however, as well as on major feasts, the Benedictine Office has adopted the use of Psalms 92, 99 and 62 from the Roman Office as 'festal' psalms.

This group of psalms can be said under one antiphon (on Sundays and during Eastertide), following the pattern used at Prime to None, or with an antiphon for each psalm, following the Vespers pattern (weekdays and feasts).

Old Testament canticle

Lauds also includes a canticle on each day of the week, always with its own antiphon.

The 'ferial' canticles included in Office books are the set St Benedict refers to in his Rule as being the customary set used in the Church of Rome in his time.

The weekday 'festal' canticles were added in the early twentieth century, and can either be used on minor feasts, or at times during the year other than Lent and Advent.

The Old Testament canticle is sung as if it were a psalm (ie initial intonation only, not for each verse as for the New Testament canticles), and with a doxology except for the Sunday canticle (Daniel 3).

The Laudate psalms

The last set of three psalms - Psalms 148-150 - are said under one antiphon and one doxology (Gloria Patri, at the end).

The meaning of the psalms

For links to notes on the psalms and ferial Old Testament canticles of Lauds, see below.

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wed.	Thurs.	Friday	Saturday	Festal
Ps 66
Ps 50							Ps 92
Ps 117	Ps 5	Ps 42	Ps 63	Ps 87	Ps 75	Ps 142	Ps 99
Ps 62	Ps 35	Ps 56	Ps 64	Ps 89	Ps 91		Ps 62
Daniel 3	Isaiah 12	Hezekiah	Anna	Moses	Habbakuk	Deuteronomy	Daniel 3
Ps 148
Ps 149
Ps 150

Note that the 'festal' canticles were an early twentieth century addition, and their use is entirely optional.

The antiphons

One of the key differences between Lauds on Sundays and other days relates to the number of antiphons used: three or five.

Lauds with three antiphons: Sunday Lauds throughout the year and weekday Lauds during Eastertide

On most Sundays throughout the year, Psalm 66 is followed by a group of three psalms - Psalms 50, 117 and 62 - each with a doxology but said under one antiphon.

An Old Testament canticle (which for Sundays is always from Daniel 3, Benedicite omnia) then follows, and is treated as if it were a psalm except that it always has its own (fixed) antiphon, and does not have a doxology.

A third antiphon (Alleluia) is used for the three Laudate psalms that give the hour its name (Psalms 148-150).

This structure of three antiphons is also used on weekdays during Eastertide, but with the psalms of the relevant day of the week.

The basic structure then, is summarised in the table below.

Psalm 66

antiphon 1 (Alleluia) Psalm 50+Gloria Psalm 117+Gloria Psalm 62+Gloria Antiphon 1 repeated

Antiphon 2 (Tres pueri or Surrexit Christus during Eastertide) Canticle: Benedicite omnia opera Domini Antiphon 2 repeated

antiphon 3 (Alleluia) Ps 148+149+150+Gloria Antiphon 3 repeated

Note that some books (such as the Diurnal) include the Lauds festal psalms (Psalm 92&99) in the Sunday section of the psalter, so you need to skip over these as they are only said at certain times of the year and on feasts.

Also, if you are singing Lauds, note that while the Antiphonale Monasticum (AM) only provides the intonation for the antiphon before the psalm, canticle or group of psalms, under the 1962 rubrics the antiphon is sung in full both before and after the psalm(s).  Accordingly, you need to flick to the end of each group of psalms to find it written out in full.

Lauds with five antiphons: weekdays during the year, feasts and Class I Sundays

The second version of Lauds differs from the structure above in that Psalm 50 and the two psalms of the day of the week  each have their own antiphon, used just the way as at Vespers.

The basic structure is:

Psalm 66

antiphon 1+Psalm 50+Gloria+antiphon 1

antiphon 2+psalm of the day+Gloria+antiphon 2

antiphon 3+psalm of the day+Gloria+antiphon 3

antiphon 4+canticle of the day+Gloria+antiphon 4

antiphon 5+Ps 148+149+150+Gloria+antiphon 5

On weekdays, the antiphons normally used are provided in the psalter section.
On Sundays during special seasons (such as Lent) and feasts though, the five antiphons will be found in either the 'temporale' or sanctorale' sections of your Office book, on which more in the next post.

SUMMARY

The table below summarises the three main variants of Lauds.

LAUDS	Sunday (except seasons when festal psalms used)	Weekdays/minor feasts	Festal (Class III feasts with proper antiphons, Class I&II feasts, Sundays in certain seasons)
Opening prayers	As for all the hours
Invitatory psalm	Psalm 66
Antiphon 1		of the day, season or feast	of the feast or from the Common
	Psalm 50		Psalm 92 (MD 44/AM 28)
Antiphon1/Antiphon 2	none	of the day, season or feast	of the feast or from the Common
Psalm	of the day of the week		Ps 99 (MD 44/AM 28)
Antiphon 2/Antiphon3	none	of the day, season or feast	of the feast or from the Common
Psalm	of the day of the week		Ps 62 (MD 44/AM 28)
Antiphon 3/Antiphon 4		of the day, season or feast	of the feast or from the Common
OT Canticle	Canticle of the three young men (Benedicite)	Ferial or festal canticle of the day of the week	Canticle of the three young men
Antiphon 4/Antiphon 5		of the day, season or feast	of the feast or from the Common
Laudate psalms	Psalm 148+Psalm 149+Psalm 150+Gloria
Antiphon 5		of the day, season or feast	of the feast or from the Common

The next and last post in this series focuses on when these three variants of Lauds are used.