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| O Antiphons |
Let those who have been ordered, intone the psalms or the antiphons in their turn after the Abbot. No one, however, should presume to sing or read unless he is able so to perform this office that the hearers may be edified; and let it be done with humility, gravity, and reverence by him whom the Abbot hath ordered.
Rule of St Benedict, ch 47
SINGING THE PSALMS
This post looks at how the to sing the psalms, and in particular, how to decipher the cues given in the Antiphonale Monasticum.
OVERVIEW
The
antiphon determines which tone is used to chant the psalm.
There
are eight main chant tones, plus a few others that are regularly used.
The
Antiphonale Monasticum provides the number of the chant tone as well as the
ending (differentiae), and includes a summary for the ending.
The antiphons
Each of the antiphons have their own chant setting, which you can find in the Antiphonale Monasticum, either in the psalter section of the book, or the sections for the seasons, saints or commons of feasts.
The antiphon normally used for the first psalm of Sunday Vespers, for example, can be seen on page 125 of the Antiphonale, depicted in the image below.
Note that the Antiphonale only provides a short cue for the antiphons before the psalms for Sunday Vespers - but under the 1962 rubrics, the antiphon is sung on full both before and after the psalm.
The psalms themselves are sung to one of a series of fixed tones, numbered 1 to 8, with a couple of extras thrown in.
The 'mode' of the antiphon determines which chant tone should be used for the following psalm.
Normally the key to which psalm tone to use is the letter and number combination usually written underneath the 'Ant' in the book (as on page 125 for the second psalm of Sunday Vespers, pictured above, which uses Tone 4 g).
But in the case of the first psalm of Sunday Vespers, for example, the book tells you that the psalm tone is 7 c2.
The first number (VII) for Dixit Dominus tells you to use tone 7.
The antiphon normally used for the first psalm of Sunday Vespers, for example, can be seen on page 125 of the Antiphonale, depicted in the image below.
Note that the Antiphonale only provides a short cue for the antiphons before the psalms for Sunday Vespers - but under the 1962 rubrics, the antiphon is sung on full both before and after the psalm.
The psalms themselves are sung to one of a series of fixed tones, numbered 1 to 8, with a couple of extras thrown in.
The 'mode' of the antiphon determines which chant tone should be used for the following psalm.
The chant tones
Normally the key to which psalm tone to use is the letter and number combination usually written underneath the 'Ant' in the book (as on page 125 for the second psalm of Sunday Vespers, pictured above, which uses Tone 4 g).
But in the case of the first psalm of Sunday Vespers, for example, the book tells you that the psalm tone is 7 c2.
The first number (VII) for Dixit Dominus tells you to use tone 7.
Once you know the correct psalm tone to use, you can consult pages 1210-1219 of the Antiphonale Monasticum to find the details of that particular chant set out in generic form.
The second letter/number combination tells you which 'differentiae' or ending, to use. The image below shows the corresponding entry in the Antiphonale.
The four notes used in the word 'Septimus' (seven) are only used for the intonation of the first verse of the psalm (though they are used for every verse of a canticle) - all subsequent verses start on the note used for 'modus...' (re).
The note change marked 'flectitur' is only used when you see the dagger figure in the text of a psalm.
The note changes for 'sic mediatur', however, are always used in the syllables leading up to the * in the middle of each psalm verse.
The pattern of note changes for the second half of the verse varies depending on the 'differentiae', each of which is indicated by a letter (or letter number combination), such as a, c, c2 or d in the case of tone 7.
Most chant books also include some cues on the page with the antiphon for the ending of the verse, so that if you know the start of tone 7 off by heart (and if you sing them regularly over time you will learn them), you don't have to go check the end of the book. Instead you just look at the arrangement notes that go with 'Euouae', which stands for 'Et in saecula saeculorum Amen' (ie the end of the doxology).
Audio resources and learning the psalm tones
You can find audiofiles of all of the standard chant tones (as well as many other useful audio resources) on the Chantblog. or sung individually on youtube.
Or you can try the video below.
If you are starting from scratch though, I recommend starting with the simplest tones such as Psalm 8. Sing the psalms using that tone in the Antiphonale, and once you are comfortable with it, add in the next one (2 then 5, then 6, 4 and 7).
Note that there are some minor differences between the psalm tones as set out in the Antiphonale Monasticum and those used in the Roman form of the Office (mainly affecting tones 3 and 6 and the labelling of some of the differentiae).
Matching the verses to the psalm tones
In theory you could work out which places to change note on for yourself.
In practice, especially at first, it is simplest to use a book with the psalms 'pointed' for you.
There are several books that have been produced at various times for Vespers and Compline, and some of these can be downloaded from CC Watershed (Tomus 9 Psalmiis in notis). In addition, the Liber Usualis contains a fair number of psalms pointed to tones used in the Benedictine Office.
The simplest solution these days, though, is to use a psalm tone generator to generate your own set of pointed psalms as needed for the particular season, hour or feast.
The image below gives you a feel for the kind of product you can generate.
How the antiphons and psalms are sung - rubrics
Finally, a note on the rubrics for singing the psalms.
When the Office is sung in choir or in common, the cantor intones the first part of the antiphon, then everyone joins in the rest of it.
The cantor then sings the first half of the first verse of the psalm or canticle, and his or her side of the choir join in with the second half of the verse.
Verses are then alternated between the two sides of the choir.
Everyone stands for the doxology.
When the antiphon is repeated again after the doxology, it is sung by everyone.
And for the next part in this series, continue on to learn about the hymns of the Office.
When the Office is sung in choir or in common, the cantor intones the first part of the antiphon, then everyone joins in the rest of it.
The cantor then sings the first half of the first verse of the psalm or canticle, and his or her side of the choir join in with the second half of the verse.
Verses are then alternated between the two sides of the choir.
Everyone stands for the doxology.
When the antiphon is repeated again after the doxology, it is sung by everyone.
And for the next part in this series, continue on to learn about the hymns of the Office.
