In the Byzantine Rite, today is the first day of Great Lent, traditionally known as Clean Monday. As I have described before in various articles, it is the long-standing custom of the rite that the Divine Liturgy is not celebrated on the weekdays of Lent, except on the feast of the Annunciation. In compensation, the Divine Office is lengthened in various ways: the Psalter is read twice within the week, rather than once as normal, and on the weekdays, Compline is celebrated in the much longer form known as Great Compline. (Described in three articles: part 1, part 2, part 3.)
An icon of St Andrew of Crete (650 ca. - 740).
One of the most complex features of the Byzantine Office is known as the Canon, which I have described in detail elsewhere. (The name has nothing to do with the Canon of the Roman Mass.) Proportionally, canons are by far the largest part of the material in the Byzantine liturgical books. They are appointed to be said at both Orthros, the longest service of the day, which is much like the Roman Matins and Lauds, and at Compline, whether it be said according to the longer or the shorter form. But because of their length, they are very often abbreviated at Orthros, and omitted completely at Compline.
On the first four days of Great Lent, the canon of Compline is one of the most famous examples of the genre, composed by the man who invented it, St Andrew of Crete, and traditionally known simply as “The Great Canon.” It is an astonishingly long piece of work, even for a Canon; in my Greek hand-missal sized “synekdemos”, an anthology of the most commonly used liturgical texts, it runs to 26 pages of eye-wateringly small type. For these days, therefore, only one quarter is said per day, but the whole thing is appointed to be said at Orthros of the Fifth Thursday of Lent as well. (In practice, it is often very much abbreviated outside of the more liturgically energetic monasteries.)
The second hymn will suffice here to indicate its penitential theme.
“Whence shall I begin to mourn for the deeds of my miserable life? What sort of beginning shall I make, o Christ, with the lament I now sing? But as One that hath compassion, give me remission of my transgressions.”
The text is replete with Biblical typologies, of which, again, a single example must suffice here.
“In Adam the first-created, I recognized myself, having imitated (him) in transgression, despoiled of God, and of the everlasting kingdom and of delight through my sins.”
An ivory box carved with a scene of the Expulsion from the Garden, made in Constantinople in the 11th century, now in the Cleveland Museum of Art. (Public domain image from Wikimedia Commons.)
The following record was made earlier today at the seminary of the Holy Spirit of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church in L’viv. The Slavs have retained the original custom by which the Great Canon is said at the beginning of Compline after the opening prayer and a single Psalm, in this recording it lasts until about 40:15. The text can be read in English at this link, from pages 196 to 212 of the pdf: https://www.ponomar.net/data/lenten_triodion.pdf.
At 48:35 there starts one of the loveliest chants of Great Compline, “God is with us”, the text of which I give in full in part one of my article about it.
Today is the feast of St Thomas Aquinas, who died on this day in the year 1274 at the Cistercian Abbey of Fossanova, while traveling to attend the Second General Council of Lyons. (Thomas was born at the castle of Roccasecca in 1225; one of my Latin teachers, the great Fr Reginald Foster, was fond of pointing out that Thomas was born on Dry Rock, and died in New Ditch.) On the General Calendar of the post-Conciliar Rite, his feast was moved to January 28, the day on which his relics were translated to the French city of Toulouse, the cradle of the Order of Friars Preachers. Some places, however, still keep the feast on the older day even in the new rite, one of them being the Dominicans’ Roman University, officially named for St Thomas, but commonly called the Angelicum, as he is commonly called the Angelic Doctor.
The Vision of Saint Thomas, by Santi di Tito; in the church of San Marco, one of the two Dominican churches in Florence.
We are also in the middle of the 3rd week of Lent, a season in which the Dominican Use brings forth some its best treasures for the singing of the Hour of Compline. (Like many medieval Uses, Dominican Compline is far more variable than that of the traditional Roman Use, often changing the antiphon of the psalms, the hymn, and the antiphon of the Nunc dimittis.) The most famous of these is certainly the Media vita, a piece which will always be associated with the Angelic Doctor, whose biographers note that he would always weep copiously when it was sung. Although written as a responsory, with verses and the repetition of the second part of the beginning, it was sung in many uses as an antiphon for the Nunc dimittis.
As Father Thompson has noted previously, the Media vita may now be used by the Dominicans as a responsory, rather than as an antiphon, and it is thus that we can hear it sung by the Dominican students at Blackfriars.
R. In the midst of life, we are in death; whom shall we seek to help us, but Thee, o Lord, who for our sins art justly wroth? Holy God, holy mighty one, holy and merciful Savior, hand us not over to bitter death. V. Cast us not away in the time of our old age, when our strength shall fail, forsake us not, o Lord. Holy God, holy mighty one etc.
The Use of Sarum appointed Media vita to be sung at the same time as the Dominicans, during the third and fourth weeks of Lent, but with more verses, and the division of the refrain as follows:
Aña In the midst of life, we are in death; whom shall we seek to help us, but Thee, o Lord, who for our sins art justly wroth? Holy God, holy mighty one, holy and merciful Savior, hand us not over to bitter death. V. Cast us not way in the time of our old age, when our strength shall fail, forsake us not, o Lord. Holy God. V. Close not Thy ears to our prayers. Holy mighty one. V. Who knowest the secrets of the heart, show mercy to our sins. Holy and merciful Savior, hand us not over to bitter death.
Many composers have put their hand to this text; one of the finest versions of it is the setting by the Franco-flemish composer Nicolas Gombert. (1495-1560 ca.)
St. Thomas’ great contribution to the liturgy of the Church is of course the Office and Mass of Corpus Christi, which he composed at the behest of Pope Urban IV in 1264, when the feast was formally promulgated by the Pope for the entire Latin Church. If I may indulge in a personal reminiscence: although I am normally pretty averse to large crowds, on June 2, 2010, the day before Corpus Christi of that year, I decided to attend the Pope’s general audience for the first time in quite a while, for no particular reason that I can recall. I knew that the Pope was in the midst of his series of audiences on great theologians and other important figures in the history of the church, but I did not know when I went to the audience that he had reached the thirteenth-century, and would be talking about St Thomas. I was joyfully surprised when I realized whom he was talking about, not only for the sake of the topic, but also because my father, who had passed away the previous December, was born on St Thomas’ day, and given his name in baptism for that reason. Pope Benedict spoke like the kind of professor whose lectures people remember 20 years after they graduate, learned and passionate about his subject, and eager to share that passion with his listeners. The most beautiful moment, though, was at the end, when the Pope told the following story.
The life and teaching of St Thomas Aquinas could be summed up in an episode passed down by his ancient biographers. While, as was his wont, the Saint was praying before the Crucifix in the early morning in the chapel of St Nicholas in Naples, Domenico da Caserta, the church sacristan, overheard a conversation. Thomas was anxiously asking whether what he had written on the mysteries of the Christian faith was correct. And the Crucified One answered him: “You have spoken well of me, Thomas. What is your reward to be?” And the answer Thomas gave him was what we too, friends and disciples of Jesus, always want to tell him: “Nothing but Yourself, Lord!”
As he delivered these words, Pope Benedict himself seemed moved to tears. In view of his later resignation of the papacy, I wonder whether His Holiness was perhaps also thinking of the end of St. Thomas’ life, which he recounted thus, (in the paragraph preceding the one cited above.)
The last months of Thomas’ earthly life remain surrounded by a particular, I would say, mysterious atmosphere. In December 1273, he summoned his friend and secretary Reginald to inform him of his decision to discontinue all work because he had realized, during the celebration of Mass subsequent to a supernatural revelation, that everything he had written until then “was worthless”. This is a mysterious episode that helps us to understand not only Thomas’ personal humility, but also the fact that, however lofty and pure it may be, all we manage to think and say about the faith is infinitely exceeded by God's greatness and beauty which will be fully revealed to us in Heaven. A few months later, more and more absorbed in thoughtful meditation, Thomas died while on his way to Lyons to take part in the Ecumenical Council convoked by Pope Gregory X … after receiving the Viaticum with deeply devout sentiments.
In his book “St. Thomas Aquinas”, Jean-Pierre Torrell O.P. writes that Thomas was particularly moved by the versicle of the Media vita, “Cast us not way in the time of our old age, when our strength shall fail, forsake us not, o Lord.”
The breviary and missal of St Pius V derive from the liturgical tradition used by the Papal curia in the high Middle Ages, formally codified at the beginning of the 13th century in a document known as the Ordinal of Pope Innocent III (1198-1216). This tradition was extremely conservative, and relative to many others (e.g. Sarum), much simpler. In the Divine Office, this simplicity is most evident at Compline, which follows the changes common to all Hours in the Easter season, and often varies the doxology of the hymn, but never the hymn itself, nor the chapter, or the antiphon of the Nunc dimittis.
All of these elements, plus the antiphon of the Psalms, were commonly varied for specific seasons and feast days in almost all other Uses of the Roman Rite, although the Psalms (4 – 30, 2-6 – 90 – 133) were the same in all of them every day until the Psalter reform of St Pius X. One of the most common customs in this regard was to sing the hymn Christe, qui lux es et dies in Lent, in place of the default hymn Te lucis ante terminum. The use of this hymn is first attested ca. 500 in the Regula Virginum of St Caesarius of Arles, who prescribes it for the whole year, except Eastertide. It was long attributed to St Ambrose, but this attribution is no longer accepted.
Here is a splendid recording by The Sixteen in alternating chant and polyphony, the latter by the English composer Robert White (ca. 1538-74). The English translation in the table below is by Daniel Joseph Donahoe, from the second series of his Early Christian Hymns (1911), with a slight amendment of the first verse. (His translation does not include the doxology, which I have here rendered in prose.)
Christe qui lux es et dies,
Noctis ténebras détegis,
Lucísque lumen créderis,
Lumen beátum prædicans.
O Christ, who art our light and day That drivest the shades of night away
The sun, to guide our steps aright
In blessed life and saving light.
Precámur, sancte Dómine,
Defénde nos in hac nocte:
Sit nobis in te réquies,
Quiétam noctem tríbue.
O Holy One, we cry to thee,
This night our strong defender be,
Our souls from sin and danger keep,
And bring us rest and quiet sleep.
Ne gravis somnus írruat,
Nec hostis nos surrípiat:
Nec caro illi conséntiens
Nos tibi reos státuat.
Let no temptations vile or vain,
Or evil will our slumber stain,
Lest by the power of hell beguiled,
Our souls be darkened or defiled.
Oculi somnum cápiant,
Cor ad te semper vígilet:
Déxtera tua prótegat
Fámulos qui te díligunt.
But while our eyes are closed in sleep,
Still let our hearts sharp vigil keep ;
Let thy right hand be with us still
To shield and save from every ill.
Defénsor noster, áspice,
Insidiántes réprime:
Gubérna tuos fámulos
Quos sánguine mercátus es.
Dear Jesus, hear our cry and bless;
All thoughts and deeds of wrong repress;
Our guard, our guide, our ruler be,
Whom thou hast bought upon the tree.
Meménto nostri, Dómine,
In gravi isto córpore:
Qui es defénsor ánimæ,
Adesto nobis, Dómine.
Remember, Lord, our need and woe,
How weak are we, thy strength bestow;
O thou, the soul’s best advocate,
Haste, haste and help our feeble state.
Deo Patri sit glória,
Ejusque soli Fílio,
Cum Spirítu Paráclito,
Et nunc et in perpétuum. Amen.
To God the Father glory,
And to His Only Son, With the Spirit, the Paraclete Both now and forever. Amen.
Lent is also the period for the most common variant (although still rather less common than any of the others) to the short responsory, which is still used by the Dominicans. The first part of it is sung only once at the beginning.
R. br. In pace in idipsum, * dormiam et requiescam. V. Si dedero somnum oculis meis, et palpebris meis dormitationem, dormiam et requiescam. Gloria Patri... dormiam et requiescam. (In peace at once I will sleep and take my rest. V. If I shall give sleep to my eyes, and slumber to my eyelids...)
This was also used in the Sarum liturgy, and hence we have this very beautiful polyphonic version by another English composer, John Sheppard (ca. 1515-58), sung very well in this recording by Stile Antico.
Speaking of Sarum Vespers, the YouTube channel of an Oxford-based early music group called Antiquum Documentum recently published a video of Vespers and Compline celebrated in the Use of Sarum for the feast of St Cecilia this past November. The music is very, very good indeed, and includes work by Thomas Tallis, and his contemporaries Nicholas Ludford and John Sutton. The church in which the service was held is the famous St Mary’s, where Oxford University began, and where St John Henry Newman began serving as vicar in 1828, and earned his reputation as one of the great preachers of his time. The text of the service can be read in Latin and English, with some very useful liturgical notes, in this document (I will add some explanatory notes below):
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JGD8eVjZLd_XsSDUHJH8BPFvr43oQOSd/view?pli=1.– In the Roman Office nowadays, Vespers on the evening of Nov. 21 would be of the Presentation of the Virgin, rather than First Vespers of St Cecilia, but the former feast was not of general observance at Sarum. (It is in an appendix in Dickinson’s critical edition of the Sarum Missal.
– The five Psalms of Tuesday Vespers (121-125) are said under a single, semidoubled antiphon “Triduanas a Domino poposci”, the last of the five for Lauds and Vespers in the Roman Breviary. (This was a very common arrangement in medieval Uses of the Roman Office, especially for feasts of the middle or lower grades, but in some places, even for those of the highest solemnity.)
– After the Chapter, one of the responsories from Matins is said; this was by far the norm, rather than the exception, for first Vespers of all but the lowest grades of feasts in almost all medieval Uses apart from that of the Papal court, the Use which became the breviary of St Pius V.
– There is no audible response to the versicle or to “Benedicamus Domino”; the antiphon of the Magnificat is also semidoubled.
– At Compline, the chapter is said before the hymn, rather than after it is in the Roman Breviary, which in this regard is very much the outlier.
Many of the features of the third part of Great Compline are also in the shorter and more frequently used version of that Hour known as Small Compline, and I refer the reader to my description of it published last month for the full texts.
The third part starts with just the final element of the Usual Beginning, as is normal when one Hour is said right after another. There follow Psalms 69, 142, and the Small Doxology, all of which are said at Small Compline. When Great Compline is said as part of the All-Night Vigil on the eves of Christmas, Epiphany and the Annunciation, it ends here, and another service called the Liti begins, which I will write about another time.
Otherwise, at this point there is supposed to be said every day a canon, one of the most complex features of the Byzantine Office, which I have described elsewhere, and which varies from day to day. On the first four days of Great Lent, the canon is one of the Byzantine Rite’s most famous texts, composed by the inventor of the genre, St Andrew of Crete, and traditionally known simply as “The Great Canon.” It is an astonishingly long piece of work; in my Greek hand-missal sized “synekdemos”, an anthology of the most commonly used liturgical texts, it runs to 26 pages of eye-wateringly small type. For these days, therefore, only one quarter is said per day, but the whole thing is appointed to be said at Orthros of the Fifth Thursday of Lent as well. (In practice, it is usually very much abbreviated outside of the more liturgically energetic monasteries.)
The second hymn will suffice here to indicate its penitential theme.
“Whence shall I begin to mourn for the deeds of my miserable life? What sort of beginning shall I make, o Christ, with the lament I now sing? But as One that hath compassion, give me remission of my transgressions.”
The text is replete with Biblical typologies, of which, again, a single example must suffice here.
“In Adam the first-created, I recognized myself, having imitated (him) in transgression, despoiled of God, and of the everlasting kingdom and of delight through my sins.”
An ivory box carved with a scene of the Expulsion from the Garden, made in Constantinople in the 11th century, now in the Cleveland Museum of Art. (Public domain image from Wikimedia Commons.)
Most of the Slavs have preserved the older custom by which on these four days, Psalm 69 and the Great Canon are said as the very first feature of Great Compline after the opening prayers. The Greeks, on the other hand, have moved it to the same place where the other canons are said; a Greek Horologion printed by the Patriarchate of Constantinople in 1900 has a rubric in the apposite place that states, “this Great Canon is today usually sung after (the Small Doxology), by almost everybody.” Because nothing ever changes in the East, except the things that do...
After the canon, a tropar based on Psalm 45 is sung between the verses of Psalm 150.
“Lord of hosts be with us, for we have no help apart from Thee in our tribulations. Lord of hosts, have mercy upon us.”
When the Psalm is done, assuming there are two choirs singing in alternation, the first choir sings, “Praise God in His Saints”, to which the second answers, “Praise Him in the firmament of His might”, and the two then repeat “Lord of hosts…” together. This segues into “Glory be to the Father…”, and two more tropars; the last in such a group of three is always about the Virgin Mary.
Lord, if we had not Thy Saints as our intercessors, and Thy goodness that did suffer with us, how had we dared, o Savior, to sing of Thee, whom the angels bless unceasingly? Knower of the heart, spare our souls. Both now and forever…
Great are the multitudes of my transgressions, o Mother of God; to Thee have I fled, o pure one, begging for deliverance. Look upon my ailing soul, and intercede to Thy Son and our God, that remission may be given to me for the terrible things I have done, o only blessed one.
The first choir sings, “All-Holy Mother of God, abandon me not all the time of my life to the protection of men; entrust me not (i.e. to myself), but do Thou help me and have mercy on me.” And the second replies, “All my hope I have placed in Thee, o Mother of God, protect me beneath Thy shelter.”
There follows a series of elements also said at the other Hours except for Vespers and Orthros, and which at this point have already also been said in the first two parts: Kyrie, eleison 40 times, the Prayer of the Hours, Kyrie, eleison 3 times, Glory be, a brief prayer to the Virgin (“Higher than the Cherubim…”), a conclusion said by the priestly celebrant, and in Lent, a very well-known prayer of St Ephraim the Syrian, accompanied by three prostrations.
Twelve more Kyrie, eleisons are added, and then the prayers “O stainless, undefiled, uncorrupted, immaculate, chaste Virgin…”, “And grant to us, o Master, as we go to sleep…”, “Most glorious, Ever-Virgin…”, “My hope is the Father…”, and “All my hope I place in Thee…” as at Small Compline.
All those present in the church now bow, and the priest says this prayer.
“Master of great mercy, Lord Jesus Christ our God, by the intercessions of our all-immaculate Lady, the Mother of God and ever-Virgin Mary, by the power of the previous and life-giving Cross, by the protection of honorable bodiless powers of heaven, by the supplications of the honorable and glorious Prophet, Fore-runner and Baptist John, of the holy, glorious and all-renowned Apostles, of the holy, glorious and nobly triumphant Martyrs, of our venerable and God-bearing Fathers, of the holy and just ancestors of God Joachim and Anne, and of all Thy Saints, make acceptable our supplication, grant to us remission of our transgressions, watch over us beneath the protection of Thy wings, chase away from us every enemy and adversary, give peace to our lives; Lord, have mercy on us and on Thy world, and save our souls, as Thou are good and lovest mankind. Amen.”
Finally, there is a mutual asking of forgiveness between all those present in the church, a brief litany of intentions “for the peace of the world, for all pious and right-believing Christians” etc., and a final prayer.
“Forgive those that hate us and treat us unjustly, o Lord, do good to them that do good to us, grant to our brethren and those of our household all they ask that is profitable to salvation, and eternal life; watch over those who are sick, and grant them healing, guide those upon the sea, walk beside those who travel, fight beside the king, grant forgiveness of sine to those who serve and those who have mercy on us, forgive those who enjoin us, though we are unworthy, to pray for them, and have mercy upon them according to Thy great mercy. Remember, o Lord, all our fathers and brothers who have fallen asleep before us, and give them rest, where the light of Thy countenance looketh upon them. Remember, o Lord, our brothers who are prisoners, and deliver them from every difficulty. Remember, o Lord, those that bring fruit (i.e. material contributions for the poor) and do good works in Thy holy churches, and give them all they ask that is profitable to salvation, and eternal life. Remember also, o Lord, us Thy humble and sinful and unworthy servants, and enlighten our minds with the light of the knowledge of Thee, and lead us on the path of Thy commandments, by the prayers of Thy all-immaculate Mother, our Lady, the Mother of God, and of all Thy Saints, for Thou are blessed unto all ages. Amen.”
As I described in an article in November of 2020, the Byzantine Rite has a feature called the Inter-Hours, a second Prime, Terce, Sext and None, which are said after the main Prime etc. These are now something of an archaism, and are rarely said, but have not, of course, been removed from the liturgical books. The second part of Great Compline, which is much simpler than the first, originated as the Inter-Hour of Compline, as attested in a Horologion (the book that gives the basic structure of the Hours) of the 13th or 14th century at the monastery of St Catherine on Mt Sinai. (Sinai gr. 868, cited by Archimandrite Job Getcha, The Typikon Decoded, p. 93.)
The Usual Beginning is cut down to just its final element, as it normal when one Hour is said right after another. There then follow three Psalms, the first of which, Psalm 50, is also said at three other Hours almost every day. The second is Psalm 101; both of these form part of the group known as the Penitential Psalms in the West.
A lunette over one of the windows of the Sistine Chapel, painted by Michelangelo and assistants in 1511-12, with King Manasseh on the right, and his wife Meshullemeth on the left, holding their son Amon. Notice that Manasseh’s head is bowed, in accordance with the words of his prayer “I am not worthy to look at the height of heaven”, which are said in one of the Office responsories from the books of Kings in the weeks after Pentecost.
The third psalm is the apocryphal text known as the Prayer of Manasseh, which purports to be the prayer of repentance offered by King Manasseh when he was deported to Babylon, as stated in 2 Chronicles, 33, 19: “His prayer also, and his being heard, and all his sins, and contempt, … are written in the words of Hozai.” In the West, it is found in most medieval manuscripts and early printed version of the Vulgate immediately after 2 Chronicles, before the canonical book of Ezra. The Tridentine editions of the Vulgate relegated it, along with the books known as Third and Fourth Esdras, to an appendix of the Old Testament. Although there is no Hebrew version of it, the standard criterion among the early Protestants for denoting a book as apocryphal, it was included in several of their early Bibles, including that of Luther himself, and the Geneva Bible, the most widely used English version before the King James.
Some liturgical books indicate that this is said by the priest celebrant, rather than the reader, and that all kneel at the words “And now I bow the knee of my heart …”
O Lord Almighty, God of our fathers, of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and of their righteous seed; Who made heaven and earth with all the array thereof; Who bound the sea by the word of Thy command; Who shut up the deep and sealed it by Thy fearful and glorious Name; Whom all things fear, and before Whose might they tremble; for the majesty of Thy glory cannot be borne and the anger of Thy threatening toward sinners is unbearable; and yet measureless and unsearchable is the mercy of Thy promise; for Thou art the Lord most high, of great compassion, long-suffering, abundant in mercy, and repentest of the evil of man. Thou, O Lord, according to the fullness of Thy goodness, didst promised repentance and forgiveness to them that have sinned against Thee; and in the fullness of Thy mercies hast appointed repentance for sinners unto salvation. Thou, therefore, o Lord, God of hosts, did not appoint repentance to the just, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, those have not sinned against Thee; but Thou hast appointed repentance for me, a sinner; for my sins are greater in number than the sand of the sea. My transgressions, o Lord, are multiplied, my transgressions are multiplied, and I am not worthy to look up and see the height of Heaven for the multitude of mine iniquities, being bowed down with many iron bands, so that I cannot lift up my head, and I have no respite; for I have provoked Thy wrath and done evil before Thee, having not done Thy will, and not kept Thy commandments.
And now I bow the knee of my heart, beseeching Thy goodness. I have sinned, o Lord, I have sinned, and I acknowledge mine iniquities; Forgive me, o Lord, forgive me, and destroy me not with my iniquities, and be not angry with me forever, reserving my evils for me; neither condemn me to the depths of the earth; for that Thou, o Lord, art God, the God of them that repent; and in me wilt Thou show all Thy goodness; for Thou wilt save me that am unworthy, according to Thy great mercy, and I will praise Thee for all the days of my life; for all the host of the heavens singeth Thy praise, and Thine is the glory unto ages of ages. Amen.
The Trisagion prayers are then said, followed by this group of tropars, which are the same as those of the Inter-Hour of Prime. On a major feast, they are replaced by one of its proper chants called a kontakion.
Have mercy upon us, o Lord, have mercy upon us; for lacking all apology, we sinners bring to Thee this supplication, as to our Master: have mercy on us. Glory be…
Lord, have mercy us, for in Thee we have placed our trust, be not exceedingly wroth with us, and remember not our iniquities, but look (upon us) even now, as one merciful, and ransom us from our enemies; for Thou art our God, and we are Thy people, all of us the works of Thy hands, and we have all called upon Thy name. Both now and forever…
Open to us the gate of mercy, blessed Mother of God; as we hope in Thee, let us not err; may we be delivered through Thy urgent prayers, for Thou art the salvation of the nation of Christians.
(A setting of the tropar “Open to us the gates of mercy” as a motet, recorded at the Greek-Catholic parish of the Exaltation of the Cross in Krakow, Poland.)
There follows a series of elements also said at the other Hours except for Vespers and Orthros, and which had previously been said in the first part of Great Compline: Kyrie, eleison 40 times, the Prayer of the Hours, Kyrie, eleison 3 times, Glory be, a brief prayer to the Virgin (“Higher than the Cherubim…”), and a conclusion said by the priestly celebrant. The reader then says a brief prayer attributed to a Saint called Mardarius, which is also said at Terce and the Midnight Office.
O Master God, Father Almighty, o Lord, Only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit, one divinity, one power: have mercy on me a sinner, and by the judgments which Thou knowest, save me, Thine unworthy servant; for Thou art blessed unto the ages of ages. Amen.
The third part begins immediately after this, and will be described in a separate article.
The longer form of Byzantine Compline known as “Great Compline” is celebrated twice in the first week before Lent (this week on the Gregorian calendar), on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. It is also said on the ferial days of Lent (but excluding Friday in the Greek tradition), and the first two days of Holy Week. On the eves of Christmas and Epiphany, it is celebrated with significant modifications and joined to Orthros as part of what is called an All-Night vigil; there is another important change to the order on the first four days of Lent. I shall here describe it as it appears in the liturgical books, and the major variants later. Unlike the shorter form of Byzantine Compline which is said most of the year, and which I described in an article last week, the longer form does require the participation of a choir.
After the opening prayers known as the Usual Beginning, a group of six psalms are said in two blocks: 4-6-12 and 24-30-90. (A similarly arranged group is said at the beginning of Orthros, 3-37-62 and 87-102-142.) These include three of the four Psalms traditionally said at Roman Compline, 4, 30 (the first six verses only) and 90; 6 and 12 were added to the psalmody of Compline on Monday and Tuesday respectively by the reform of St Pius X.
This is followed by a very ancient chant attributed to St Basil the Great, in which the reader sings a verse from Isaiah 8 once, then a selection of verses from Isaiah 8 and 9, after each of which the choir sings the last part of the first verse as a refrain. As with so many liturgical compositions of all traditions, the Biblical texts are not exact citations. While I am a great admirer of the Slavic choral tradition, it has to be said that many of the common settings of this particular text are extremely bombastic. Here is a more properly liturgical version in which the full verse is sung very beautifully at the end, but the doxology is omitted.
God is with us; know this, ye nations, and be defeated, * for God is with us.
– Hear ye, unto the ends of the earth, for God is with us. Isa. 8, 9 – Ye that have grown mighty, be defeated, for God is with us. – For if again ye grow mighty, again ye shall be defeated, for God is with us. – And if ye take counsel together, the Lord shall scatter it, for God is with us. vs. 10 – And whatsoever word ye shall speak shall not abide in you, for God is with us. – And we shall not fear your terror, nor be troubled, for God is with us. vs. 12 – And the Lord our God, Him shall we sanctify, and He shall be our fear, for God is with us. vs. 13 – And if I put my trust in Him, He shall be my sanctification, for God is with us. vs. 14 – And I will put my trust in Him, and shall be saved through Him, for God is with us. – Behold, I and the children whom God hath given me, for God is with us. vs. 18 – The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light, for God is with us. Isa. 9, 2 – We that dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, on us hath the light shined, for God is with us. – For unto us a Child is born, and unto us a Son is given, for God is with us. vs. 6 – And the government shall be upon His shoulder, for God is with us. – And of His peace there shall be no end, for God is with us. – And his name shall be called the Angel of Great Council, for God is with us. – Wonderful, Counsellor, for God is with us. – The Mighty God, the Great Ruler, the Prince of Peace, for God is with us. – The Father of the world to come, for God is with us. – Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. – God is with us; know this, ye nations, and be defeated, for God is with us. – Both now and ever, and unto ages of ages. – God is with us; know this, ye nations, and be defeated, for God is with us.
The next two chants were created as choral parts, although in practice, they are now often done by just the same reader who sings the verses of “God is with us.” The rubrics for how they were sung in alternation by two parts of the choir or by both choirs together vary from one tradition to another.
The first is a set of tropars praying for peace in the coming night, in which four words in Greek are varied at each repetition.
Having completed the day, I thank Thee, o Lord; grant, I ask, that the evening with the night may be sinless, o Savior, and save me. Glory to the Father… – Having passed the day, I glorify Thee, o Master; grant, I ask, that the evening with the night may be without offence, o Savior, and save me. Both now… – Having run the course of the day, I praise Thee, o Holy One, grant, I ask, that the evening with the night may be undisturbed, o Savior, and save me.
Then:
The bodiless nature, the Cherubim, with never-silent hymns glorifieth Thee. – The six-winged living beings, the Seraphim, with unceasing voices exalt Thee. – And all the host of the angels with thrice-holy songs praiseth Thee. – For Thou art before all things, the Father who art, and hast Thy Son, Who with Thee is without beginning. – And bearing the Spirit of life, equal in honor, Thou showest forth the undivided nature of the Trinity. – O all-holy Virgin, Mother of God, and ye eye-witnesses and servants of the Word. – All the choirs of the prophets and the martyrs, as those who have immortal life, – Intercede fervently for us all, for all we are in dangers: – That being delivered from the deception of the evil one, we may sing out the song of the Angels: – Holy, holy, holy, thrice-holy Lord, have mercy on us, and save us. Amen.
The reader continues with the Nicene Creed, which is the only proper element from the first part of Great Compline also said in Small Compline. The two choirs then alternate the following invocations, the first of which is said three times, the rest twice; the members of each choir are supposed to prostrate themselves as the other choir sings.
All-holy Lady, Mother of God, intercede for us sinners. – All ye heavenly powers of the holy angels and archangels, intercede for us sinners. – Saint John, Prophet and Forerunner and Baptist of our Lord Jesus Christ, intercede for us sinners. – Holy, glorious apostles, prophets and martyrs, and all the saints, intercede for us sinners. – Our venerable and God-bearing fathers, shepherds and teachers of the world, intercede for us sinners. – Invincible and perpetual and divine power of the honorable and life-giving Cross, forsake not us sinners. – O God, be gracious unto us sinners. (three times) – And have mercy on us (once.)
Part of the ceiling of the narthex in the monastery of St Luke (Hosios Loukas) in Distomo, a town in the Greek province of Boeotia. (Photo from Wikimedia Commons by Shakko, CC BY-SA 4.0) At the left from this point of view is Christ; in the center, the Virgin, the Baptist and the archangels Michael and Gabriel; around them, several of the Apostles.
The reader then says the Trisagion prayers, which are the same as the Usual Beginning, minus the first two and last parts, and then another group of troparia are sung, which are certainly some of the most beautiful in the vast Byzantine repertoire of such compositions. On a major feast, however, they are replaced by its single troparion.
On Monday and Wednesday evenings, the following are sung.
Enlighten my eyes, o Christ God, lest ever I sleep unto death, lest ever mine enemy say: I have prevailed against him. Glory to the Father…
– Be Thou the defender of my soul, o God, for I walk amidst many snares; deliver me from them, and save me, o Good One, as the lover of mankind. Both now… – Since we have no confidence because of our many sins, do thou, o Virgin Mother of God, fervently entreat Him Who was born of Thee: for the prayer of a mother availeth much to the good will of the Master. Despise not the supplications of sinners, o all-revered one, for merciful and mighty to save is He Who undertook to suffer for us in the flesh. (This last is also said daily at Sext.)
The set for Tuesday and Thursday has four chants.
Thou understandest, o Lord, the sleeplessness of my invisible enemies, and knowest the weakness of my miserable flesh, Thou Who madest me; wherefore into Thy hands will I commit my spirit. Cover me with the wing of Thy goodness, that I sleep not unto death; and enlighten my spiritual eyes in the delight in Thy divine words; and raise me up in an acceptable time unto Thy glorification, as the only Good One and lover of mankind. Ps. 118, 132 Look Thou upon me, and have mercy on me, according to the judgment of them that love Thy name. – How fearful is Thy judgment, O Lord, when the angels stand round about, and men are led before Thee, and the books are opened, and deeds are searched through, and thoughts examined. What sort of judgment shall be unto me, who was conceived in sins? Who shall quench the flame for me? Who shall enlighten my darkness, if Thou, o Lord, shall not have mercy upon me as the lover of mankind. Glory to the Father… – Grant me tears, O God, as to the sinful woman of old, and vouchsafe that I may wash Thy feet which delivered me from the path of straying, and bring forth unto Thee as ointment of sweet fragrance even a pure life, fashioned by my repentance, that I may also hear so, hear Thy longed-for voice (saying), “Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.” Both now … – Having in thee, o Mother of God, that hope which knoweth no shame, I shall be saved; possessing Thine intercession, o all-immaculate one, I will not fear. I will pursue mine enemies, and drive them away, cloaked round by Thy protection alone as by a breastplate, and fervently imploring Thine all-powerful aid, I cry to Thee: o Lady, save me by Thine intercessions, and raise me up again from dark sleep to Thy glorification, by the power of Him that was incarnate from Thee, even the Son of God.
There follows a series of elements also said at the other Hours except for Vespers and Orthros: Kyrie, eleison 40 times, the Prayer of the Hours, Kyrie, eleison 3 times, Glory be, a brief prayer to the Virgin (“Higher than the Cherubim…”), a conclusion said by the priestly celebrant, and then in Lent, a very well-known prayer of St Ephraim the Syrian, accompanied by three prostrations.
The first part of Great Compline concludes with a prayer said by the reader, which is attributed to Saint Basil.
Lord, Lord, Who hast delivered us from every arrow that flieth by day, deliver us also from everything that walketh about in darkness. Receive the lifting up of our hands as an evening sacrifice. Vouchsafe us also to pass without blame the course of the night untempted by evils, and redeem us from every disturbance and dread that cometh to us from the devil. Grant to our souls contrition, and unto our thoughts care for the trial of Thy fearful and just judgment. Nail our flesh to the fear of Thee, and mortify our earthly members, that, even in the quiet of sleep, we may be illuminated by the contemplation of Thy judgments. Put away from us every unseemly fantasy and noxious desire. Raise us up at the time of prayer confirmed in the faith and progressing in Thy commandments, through the favor and goodness of Thine only begotten Son, with Whom Thou art blessed, together with Thine all-holy and good and life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages.
The second part begins immediately after this, and will be described in a separate article.
The Greek word for Compline, ἀπόδειπνον (“apodeipnon”; повечерїе (“povecherije”) in Church Slavonic), means “after dinner”, and derives from the tradition that monastic communities would only take their principal meal after they had celebrated Vespers in the early to mid-evening. Even to this day, the blessing of meals is placed in Greek liturgical books between Vespers and Compline. The earliest occurrence of the term is in the life of a Saint named Gregory, whose term as bishop of Agrigentum in Sicily overlaps with that of his most famous namesake in Rome (590-604), with whom he corresponded. The author, an abbot called Leontius, puts it in the plural (ἀποδείπνια), as does St Theodore, abbot of the Studion monastery in Constantinople, two centuries later. (Lampe, Patristic Greek Lexicon, p. 191). This may very well reflect the fact that the older form of it results from the conflation of more than one service.
The emergence and evolution of Compline in the Byzantine Rite is a very complex matter, which I do not propose to delve into here. Suffice it to say that it currently exists in two forms, known as Great and Small Compline, since the former is very considerably longer than the latter.
Great Compline was formerly celebrated more often than it is now; the current rubrics limit it to the ferial days of Lent (but excluding Friday among the Greeks), Tuesday and Thursday of this coming week, which is known as Cheesefare, as part of the preparation for the arrival of Lent, and the first two days of Holy Week. With certain modifications, it is also said on the vigils of Christmas and Epiphany.
The scholarly consensus seems to be that Small Compline is a later abbreviation of Great Compline. It is now appointed to be said on all the days apart from those listed above, and apart from Easter week, when it is replaced by a service known as the Paschal Hour. In order to present them both in a more manageable form, I will describe Small Compline in this article first, and then the three parts of Great Compline in three separate articles. As with all things Byzantine, exceptions and variations abound, and this does not pretend to be a comprehensive explanation.
Small Compline is a minor Hour, and like the others (Prime, Terce, etc.), is celebrated as what is called a reader’s service; a single reader does almost the whole of it, with a priest saying only the conclusions of the prayers and the blessings. Its structure is largely the same as that of the other minor Hours, but with a few significant and lengthy variations.
The Repentance of King David, the episode which, according to the title of Psalm 50, led to its composition, “when the Prophet Nathan came to him after he had gone in to Bathsheba.” (2 Samuel 11-12) At the upper right, the hands of the personification of Repentance indicate contemplation, as David prostrates himself below her. (Illustration from the Paris Psalter, ca. 950 AD; Bibliothèque nationale de France. Département des manuscrits. Grec 139, folio 136v.)
Like the other minor Hours, it begins with a group of prayers helpfully called “the Usual Beginning”, which segue into three Psalms, in this case 50, 69 and 142, in the traditional numbering of the Septuagint. (This is the fourth occurrence of Psalm 50 in the ordinary daily course of the Hours, and on some days, the fifth.) At the other minor Hours, the three Psalms in the analogous place are followed by the simple doxology, three repetitions of “Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to Thee, o God!”, “Lord, have mercy” three times, and the doxology again. At Compline, however, they are followed directly by what is called the Small Doxology, to distinguish it from a slightly longer version said at Orthros called the Great Doxology. Both versions are almost the same as the Gloria in excelsis of the Roman Mass, but with a number of Psalm verses added on to them; the Byzantine Rite does not treat this extremely ancient text as something reserved for feast days as the Roman Rite does.
“Glory to God in the highest… unto the glory of God the Father. Amen.
- Ps. 144, 2 Every day I will bless thee: and I will praise thy name for ever; yea, for ever and ever.
- Ps. 89, 2 Lord, thou hast been our refuge from generation to generation. - Ps. 40, 5 I said, ‘O Lord, be thou merciful to me: heal my soul, for I have sinned against thee.’ - Ps. 142, 9-10 O Lord, to thee have I fled: teach me to do Thy will, for Thou art my God. - Ps. 35, 10-11 For with thee is the fountain of life; and in Thy light we shall see light. Extend thy mercy to them that know Thee. - Deign, o Lord, to keep us without sin this night. - Dan. 3, 26 Blessed art thou, O Lord, the God of our fathers, and praiseworthy and glorious is Thy name is forever. Amen. - Ps. 32, 22 Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, as we have hoped in Thee. - Ps. 118, 12 Blessed art thou, O Lord: teach me Thy justifications. - Blessed art thou, O Lord: give me to understand Thy justifications. - Blessed art thou, O Holy one; enlighten me with Thy justifications. - Ps. 137, 8 Thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever: despise not the work of Thy hands. - Praise becometh Thee, a song becometh Thee, glory becometh Thee, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages Amen.”
A Church Slavonic version of the Great Doxology as sung at Orthros
This is followed by the Nicene Creed, which is also said every day at the Midnight Office, and at every celebration of the Divine Liturgy. All of these elements (the three Psalms, the Small Doxology and the Creed) are also said at Great Compline, but in a different order.
After the Creed, there is supposed to be said every day a canon, one of the most complex features of the Byzantine Office, which I have described elsewhere. The default is a canon of the Virgin Mary, which varies from day to day, but that of a Saint on the calendar may be said in its place, especially when his canon cannot be said in its normal place at Orthros. On Mt Athos, however, the custom has been for many centuries to say every day a famous hymn to the Virgin called the Akathist, the hymn “for which one does not sit.” Particularly on Saturday evenings, a special canon of preparation for the reception of Holy Communion may be said. The canon may also just be omitted.
Regardless of whether a canon is said or not, there is then said the same text which serves as the default hymn of the Virgin Mary during the anaphora of the Divine Liturgy. “It is truly right to bless thee, o Mother of God, the ever blessed, and most pure, and the Mother of our God. More honorable than the Cherubim, and beyond compare more glorious than the Seraphim, who without corruption gavest birth to God the Word, the true Mother of God, we magnify thee.”
At this point, Compline returns to follow the order of the other minor Hours: the Trisagion prayers, which are the same as Usual Beginning, omitting the first two parts and the last part, are said, and then a series of chants called tropars. The liturgical books give the following as a fixed group for daily use, but they are replaced by those of the day on Sundays and major feasts.
God of our fathers, who dealest with us ever according to Thy goodness, put not Thy mercy away from us, but by their prayers, govern our life in peace.
Adorned in the blood of Thy martyrs throughout the world, as in purple and fine linen, Thy Church through them crieth out to Thee, o Christ our God: Send down Thy mercies upon Thy people; grant peace to Thy community, and great mercy to our souls. Glory to the Father…
With the Saints, give rest, o Christ, to the souls of Thy servants, where there is no toil, or grief, or sighing, but life everlasting. Both now… (This text is also sung as a prominent part of the funerary service.)
Through the intercession, o Lord, of all the Saints and the Mother of God, give us Thy peace, and have mercy on us, as Thou alone art compassionate.
There follows a series of elements also said at the other Hours except for Vespers and Orthros: Kyrie, eleison 40 times, the Prayer of the Hours, Kyrie, eleison 3 times, Glory be, a brief prayer to the Virgin (the same given above, starting at “Higher than the Cherubim…”), a conclusion said by the priestly celebrant, and then in Lent, a very well-known prayer of St Ephraim the Syrian, accompanied by three prostrations.
At this point, the other minor Hours conclude with a single prayer, which at Prime and Terce is quite short, at Sext and None, rather longer. Compline, on the other hand, concludes with several prayers, some of them very long indeed. The first of these is addressed to the Virgin Mary, and was written by a Saint called Paul, who founded an important monastery known as the “Evergetis” in the suburbs of Constantinople on the European side, in the mid-11th century.
Those who have sung traditional Compline may remember the flimsy blue booklet with tiny print, prepared by the Fraternity of St. Peter ages ago, and published by Saint Austin Press in England. The booklets have been out of print for so long that extant copies fetch exorbitant prices. People who have wanted to do Compline have been forced to throw together their own booklet or photocopies. Ignatius Press published a nice Compline book some years ago, but it was for the Novus Ordo Liturgy of the Hours. There has long been a huge need for a new edition of the old Roman Compline.
And now, after a year of painstaking development, it is here at last.
Our friends at the blog Canticum Salomonis have just published Traditional Roman Compline, containing the entire office from the Antiphonale Romanum of 1912, fully notated musically, and accompanied throughout by an English translation. Not only are the antiphons, hymns, and responsories notated, but also the versicles and collects, all of which make things as limpid as possible for the beginner and as complete as possible for the expert (all the seasonal and proper festal melodies of the hymn Te lucis, as well as the special Offices said during the Holy Triduum and the Octave of Easter, are present; no other book will be needed for any day of the year).
The traditional Roman office of Compline, as codified by the 1568 breviary, had only a minimal amount of variation in the course of the liturgical year, apart from the special offices said during the Holy Triduum and the Easter Octave. Even in these proper offices, the psalms—4, 30 (verses 2–6), 90, 133—and the concluding canticle Nunc dimittis remained unchanged. Here we can see the perfect alignment of the Roman and Monastic uses. With its unvarying daily psalms, traditional Compline is therefore an excellent starting point for persons and communities who wish to begin to sing the hours of the Divine Office.
This beautiful edition, freshly typeset by Gerhard Eger, who also compiled the Benedictiones mensae published by Pax inter Spinas, includes ceremonial notes for the recitation of Compline in choir. Those unable to say Compline in church, however, can easily adapt these rubrics for their own circumstances. The booklet opens with a meditation, borrowed from a 15th-century English Brigittine prayer-book, on the spiritual significance of Compline.
I heartily recommend this booklet to all who wish to unite their voices with those of generations past in a liturgical conclusion to the day’s toils.
Traditional Roman Compline (based on Antiphonale Romanum of 1912, itself in direct continuity with the 1568 Breviarium Romanum), typeset by Gerhard Eger. Paperback, $12. Available from Amazon and affiliates.
On January 28 and February 23, the Benedict XVI Institute’s Mary Ann Carr Wilson, an experienced teacher of chant and also a children’s chant specialist, will team up with eminent Stanford Prof. William Mahrt to offer workshops in Gregorian Chant on the Stanford campus. Everyone is welcome, space permitting; email mwilson@bxvi.org to apply, or register online at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/chant-workshop-at-stanford-tickets-55111358557! A donation of $10 to cover the cost of food and supplies is requested, payable at the door. Learn this ancient and moving language of the Church with fascinating friends, old and new, then pray together the ancient prayers of the Church: Compline or Night Prayer, part of the Liturgy of the Hours.The event will be held at the Braun Music Center, Room 103, located at 547 Lasuen Mall, Stanford, California.
This past November 1, the students of Wyoming Catholic College organized a beautiful Eucharistic Procession through the downtown of the city of Lander and up to the parish church of Holy Rosary (where many collegiate liturgies are conducted). Chaplain Fr. Robert Frederick carried the monstrance. Once arrived at the parish church, the local pastor Fr. James Schumacher officiated at Solemn Vespers in Latin (OF), with the choir and the schola leading the chant. After Vespers, chaplain Fr. Hugo Blotsky conducted Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. This, plus the college Mass at noon, made for a wonderful observance of this great feastday.
On the following day, the College celebrated the Commemoration of All Souls with an all-usus antiquior schedule: a Requiem Missa cantata before lunch,Vespers for the Dead before dinner, and finally a nighttime visit to the cemetery, where we prayed the Rosary, said prayers for the faithful departed, and returned to the church for Compline for the Dead (EF).
A friend recently brought to my attention the following website, which contains the full text of Compline from the Breviary of St Pius X. http://bbloomf.github.io/compline/ It is a work in progress, and from the fact that the word Compline is on the other-side of a /, it would seem the creator plans to expand it. The clever thing about how it is arranged it that every possible variant is represented by two or more buttons, which you can click and instantly bring up the relevant texts. For example, is a priest officiating or not, is it the Easter season or the rest of the year; all the possible variant doxologies and hymn tones have their own buttons as well. The most important button for this particular Hour, which would allow one to choose which day’s Psalms will be said, has yet to be installed, so as of now, the Psalms of the Feria appear, even on days when the Sunday Psalms would be said. The most useful feature of all is that the text is given in Latin, with all of the corresponding chant notation. including the Antiphon of the Virgin at the end.
No other information is given, but I would encourage the creator of the site to continue to develop this highly useful resource.
Screen shot of the beginning of today’s Compline as it appears on the site.
containing the office of Compline from the Liturgia Horarum in Dominican Gregorian chant, is now available at Lulu.com. This booklet contains all the music needed to sing Compline thoughout the entire liturgical year.
The music has been carefully reset from authentic sources and published chant books of the Dominican Order. The psalms have been pointed for singing, and additional chants approved for use by the Dominican Order in the Proprium Ordinis Praedicatorum (1982) are all included. A preview of the book can be seen at the sales page, just click "preview" below the image of the cover. The price is $8.20 a copy, with a discount of 4% or more on orders of 15 or more copies, free shipping is available on orders of more than 3 copies.
This economical edition is printed in black and white, condensed to 88 pages, and bound in saddle-stitched paper. A hard-back version, with red and black printing, and including music for the Nunc Dimittis on various memorials of Dominican saints (omitted due to space constraints), will appear shortly. Any profit on these books will go to support the Western Dominican Province House of Studies at Saint Albert the Great Priory in Oakland, California. An electronic version may be downloaded for free on the left side bar at Dominican Liturgy.
I thank all the readers of New Liturgical Movement and Dominican Liturgy for the comments and questions that they have sent me by email or left in comment boxes. Corrected versions of the Completorii Libellus Novus according to Dominican usage are now up at Dominican Liturgy on the sidebar. Most importantly, two musical problems were fixed. The Litany of Loreto is now cleaner, and I have added choir rubrics from Dominican Proprium (1982) to the introduction.
A number of questions and comments sent to me concern choices made in the compilation of this booklet, as to why I did nor did not include some piece of chant or text. My goal in this project was to include everything that is in the Liturgia Horarum for Compline exactly as it is modified by the official Properium Ordinis Praedicatorum of 1982. My hope wat that this would keep my personal taste out of the process as much as possible. Everything present in the normative Liturgia Horarum is included; anything changed or added by the Properium is changed or added. Nothing else is added, changed, or deleted. Options present in these texts are all present, but no others.
I received one gratifying piece of news, a student from one of the American Dominican provinces contacted me to let me know that they have downloaded the Completorium Novum in the booklet format and intend to start using it at Saturday Night Compline in their Studentate. Very gratifying!
I would still appreciate comments and corrections on this project by as comments or by email, and I will do my best to address them. If you decide to use this book for singing Compline, I would be very pleased to here about how it works out.
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