Videos of Reenacted Medieval English Liturgies

A friend of mine brought to my attention some interesting videos recently posted on the YouTube channel of a man named Sebastian Nelson. In September of 2011, the School of Music at Bangor University in Wales staged the reenactment of three liturgies as they would have been celebrated in England in the early decades of the 16th century, two Masses and a Vespers. The church where these were done is called St Teilo’s, located in Llandeilo Tal-y-Bont in southern Wales; after being partly demolished in 1984, remains of medieval paintings were discovered under the whitewash, and the building was then restored to its current appearance, broadly as it would have looked around 1530. There are also people dressed in costume as ordinary laymen and women attending the ceremonies, including, e.g., a female pilgrim carrying a staff with a seashell on it, as a sign that she had been to or was going to the great shrine of St James in Compostella. Of course, not every detail is accurate, particularly in the third video, in which we see women singing in the choir dressed in cassock and surplice; their singing is particularly nice. The resolution of the videos is low, but still watchable.

The Saturday Votive Mass of the Virgin Mary, the text of which is very similar to that of the Missal of St Pius V, celebrated solemnly with a deacon and subdeacon. In the Middle Ages it was normal for the Ladymass, as it was often called in English, to be said every day in major churches, and in order to alleviate the tedium of singing the same thing every day, variants were introduced. At Sarum, a different sequence was added after the Alleluja on each day of the week; the one sung here is called Hodiernae lux diei.

A votive Mass of the Most Sweet Name of Jesus, as the devotion was called in medieval England, where it became very popular in the later 15th and early 16th centuries. This is celebrated as a typical chancel Mass, a Missa cantata with the priest and servers.

In the third video, a group of nuns (presented in the reenactment as pilgrims to the shrine of St David in Pembrokeshire, the westernmost part of Wales), sing Vespers of the Virgin Mary, which was also said daily, concomitantly with the Ladymass.

The Use of Sarum Book of Hours: Beautiful 14th-Century English Illuminations

A Model for Artists Today

I was recently made aware of this remarkable collection of English medieval illuminations through Hilary White’s Sacred Images Project Substack, and I was immediately struck by the quality of the draftsmanship. Looking at these images, it became clear to me that these are among the finest models I have encountered for artists who wish to learn to draw and paint in a style appropriate for the renewal of sacred art in our own time.

The Annunciation

The Sarum Use and Its Living Descendants

Before turning to the images themselves, it is worth pausing to consider what this Psalter actually is - it is significant in a way that resonates today. 

The Sarum Use was a distinctly English form of the Roman Rite, developed at Salisbury and prevalent across much of England throughout the medieval period, right up to the Reformation. This particular Psalter belongs to that tradition. 

This gives these illuminations a particular resonance with Christians in the Anglo-American world. The Psalter from the Book of Common Prayer, called the Coverdale Psalter - after Miles Coverdale, who translated the text into English in the 16th century - is a liturgical descendant of the Sarum Use of the Roman Rite. It is the Psalter that generations of Anglicans have prayed, and which continues to be prayed today. It is approved for use by Catholics (in the 1928 revision used by the Anglican Ordinariates), Orthodox, and many Protestant denominations. All share a living connection to the liturgical world that produced the images shown here. To look at this Psalter is, for many of these Christians, to encounter a visual companion of their contemporary daily worship.

Woman and Bishop (identities unkown)

The School of St Albans — Broadly Understood

I have referred in the past to the tradition these images represent as the School of St Albans, though I use that phrase in a more generic sense than art historians might. Strictly speaking, the School of St Albans refers to the English illumination of the early Gothic and late Romanesque period, particularly the work of the 13th-century monk Matthew Paris, who worked at St Albans Abbey. His style can be seen in manuscripts such as the Westminster Psalter and in the wall paintings that still survive in English churches.

This Psalter was likely not produced at St Albans; it comes from elsewhere in England. The Cambridge Digital Library, which provided the images, suggests that it is likely somewhere in southeast England, either Lincoln or East Anglia. But it still contains the essential elements of the style as I have described it: the primacy of line in describing form, a limited palette, and an emphasis on flat coloration rather than blended tonal modeling. Whether we call it the School of St Albans or simply the English medieval tradition, this manuscript is a full expression of it!

These limitations in stylistic features, which distinguish it from naturalistic forms of art, are its strength. As a result, the style sidesteps what I consider the blight of so much modern sacred art: sentimentality. When you cannot render every gradation of light and shadow, you are forced to think clearly about form, about meaning, and about what is essential. Line demands clarity, while tonal naturalism invites sentiment. The School of St Albans offers artists today a discipline that might hold sentimentality at bay!

St Catherine and St Margaret

What to Notice in These Images

As you look at these beautiful reproductions from the Psalter, there a couple of points I would make:.

Consistent with the broader Western tradition of sacred art, there is a heavy emphasis on beautiful, ornate patterns in the borders, backgrounds, and across the surface of the image. This richly ornamented flatness is distinct from what we encounter in much contemporary Byzantine iconography, for example, which tends toward greater austerity in those areas that could be decorated.

St George

At the same time - and here is an example of how the English tradition converges with the Byzantine - the content follows traditional customs. Notice, for example, how the Nativity is depicted. St Joseph is portrayed as significantly older than Our Lady: by tradition, he was a widower, and is depicted in imagery as set apart from the Virgin and Child in the Nativity. This deliberate distancing signals his temporary doubt about the Virgin Birth. Contemporary depictions of St Joseph in the Roman church, on the other hand, tend to portray him as a young and vigorous man.

Continue Reading this Article. . .

A Sequence for the Annunciation

One of the most widely used sequences for the feast of the Annunciation in the Middle Ages is known from its opening words as Mittit ad Virginem. It is often attributed to the famous (or infamous) scholar Peter Abelard (1079-1142), but it should be noted that the Analecta hymnica, the massive collection of medieval hymns and scholarly notes about them, makes no mention of him in its entry on this particular text. (vol. 54, pp. 296-98) In some uses, such as that of Sarum, it was not sung on the feast, since the Annunciation usually occurs in Lent (three years out of four), and it was a common custom to omit sequences altogether in Lent; at Sarum, it was used at the Advent votive Mass of the Virgin instead, which shares many of its texts, including the Gospel, with today’s feast. The Latin text with English translation is taken from Sequences from the Sarum Missal, with English Translations, by Charles Buchanan Pearson (Bell and Daldy; London, 1871. Click images to enlarge.) This recording was made by the monks of Clear Creek Abbey.

A polyphonic setting by the mighty Josquin des Prez, in two parts; the second begins at the words “Accede, nuntia.”

The Annunciation, depicted on the doors of a triptych by an anonymous French artist known as the Master of Moulins, within the last two decades of the 15th century. Many altarpieces were designed to be kept closed during Lent, and then opened back up at the Easter vigil. The outsides of the wings were very often painted with images of the Annunciation in shades of black and grey, a technique known as grisaille, since the feast usually occurs in Lent; the absence of color in the image thus did not compromise the austerity of the church’s appearance, but marked the solemnity of the feast in an appropriate manner.

Bl. Rabanus’ Hymn for the Purification Quod Chorus Vatum

In the Roman tradition, the feast kept on February 2nd was always known as the Purification of the Virgin Mary. Of course, it also commemorates the presentation of the Lord in the temple, which is why liturgical commentators of the Middle Ages such as our dear friend William Durandus often referred to it as a “double feast”. The Roman Office for it was always a mixture of parts proper to the feast, and others drawn from the common Office of the Virgin Mary, with the three hymns taken from the latter. But there were other traditions which mixed these elements differently; for example, in the use of Liège, the hymn for Lauds of Christmas, A solis ortus cardine, was sung at both Vespers.

Many medieval Uses have a hymn for Vespers, Quod chorus vatum, which was written by the Blessed Rabanus Maurus (780 ca. - 856), whose feast day is today. Among them is the Use of Sarum, (along with those of the Carmelites and Premonstratensians), which is why we have this lovely setting in alternating chant and polyphony by the famous English composer Thomas Tallis (1505-85). In the post-Conciliar Liturgy of the Hours, it was by some miracle incorporated into the feast without any of the usual cack-handed mangling of the text. The English translation below is the Anglican priest Thomas Alexander Lacey (1853-1913), and very cleverly keeps the meter of the original. The individual lines are too long for the side-by-side tables which I normally use for hymns.

Quod chorus vatum venerandus olim,
Spiritu Sancto cecinit repletus,
In Dei factum genitrice constat
   Esse Maria.

Hæc Deum cæli Dominumque terræ
Virgo concepit peperitque virgo,
Atque post partum meruit manere
   Inviolata.

Quem senex Iustus Simeon in ulnis
In domo sumpsit Domini, gavisus:
Ob quod optatum meruit videre
   Lumine Christum.

Tu libens votis, petimus, precantum
Regis æterni genitrix, faveto,
Clara quæ cæli renitens Olympi
   Regna petisti.

Sit Deo nostro decus et potestas,
Sit salus perpes, sit honor perennis,
Qui poli summa residet in arce,
   Trinus et Unus. Amen.

All prophets hail thee, from of old announcing,
By the inbreathèd Spirit of the Father,
God’s Mother, bringing prophecies to fullness,
   Mary the maiden.

Thou the true Virgin Mother of the Highest,
Bearing incarnate God in awed obedience,
Meekly acceptest for a sinless offspring
   Purification.

In the high temple Simeon receives thee,
Takes to his bent arms with a holy rapture
That promised Saviour, vision of redemption,
   Christ long awaited.

Now the fair realm of Paradise attaining,
And to thy Son’s throne, Mother of the Eternal,
Raisèd all glorious, yet in earth’s devotion
   Join with us always.

Glory and worship to the Lord of all things
Pay we unresting, who alone adorèd,
Father and Son and Spirit, in the highest
   Reigneth eternal. Amen.

Sarum Chants for Christmas

I happened to stumble across this video which was posted on YouTube just a couple of days ago, which contains all the proper chants for the Midnight Mass of Christmas according to the Use of Sarum. The recording was made by the Tallis Scholars many years ago, but this video gives the full score of eaxh part. In addition to the regular parts of the Kyriale, (including a troped Kyrie, which was standard in Sarum), it also includes a brief lesson before the Epistle, Isaiah 9, 2 & 6-7, which is sung with a series of tropes, and a sequence. I plan on updating this post with the full text later, but for now, you can read the text of the former in Latin and English at this link, and the sequence in English here.

A Sequence for the Ascension

For the ongoing feast of the Ascension, here is a sequence for it which was sung in the Uses of Sarum, York, and Hereford in England, and in those of Paris and Sens in France. (Despite its great antiquity, and its status as the capital of France, Paris was a suffragan diocese to Sens until 1622.) It is attributed, though far from certainly, to the Blessed Hermanus Contractus (Herman the Cripple), better known as the author of the great Marian antiphons Alma Redemptoris Mater and Salve, Regina. This recording is interesting for the way it alternates between a single voice and the full choir; in fact, sequences were most typically designed to be sung in some form of alternation like this. The Latin text with English translation, taken from Sequences from the Sarum Missal, with English Translations, by Charles Buchanan Pearson (Bell and Daldy; London, 1871. Click images to enlarge.)

Video and Pictures of an Anglican Sarum Liturgy in London

On Saturday, February 1st, the Oxford-based early music group Antiquum Documentum sang a celebration of Candlemas according to the Use of Sarum at the Anglican church of Great St Bartholomew in London. The church’s YouTube channel has posted a video of the complete ceremony; our thanks to Antiquum Documentum for sharing these pictures with us as well. We have previously shared a video which they made of Vespers and Compline in the Sarum Rite for the feast of St Cecilia.

The beginning of the liturgy; as in many medieval uses, the blessing of the candles and the procession are done white (or gold) vestments, rather than in violet as in the Roman Use.

The chant is led by four ministers in cope, called the “rectors chori - the rulers of the choir”; this custom or something like it was also observed in many other medieval uses of the Roman Rite.

The blessing of candles at the Lady Altar.

The procession.

Continue Reading this Article. . .

Anglican Sarum Mass in London on Candlemas Eve

On Saturday, February 1st, the eve of Candlemas, the Oxford-based early music group Antiquum Documentum will hold a celebration of “Mass” according to the Use of Sarum at the Anglican church of Great St Bartholomew. The ceremony will begin at 7:00pm; the church is located on W. Smithfield, City of London (Cloth Fair.) - UPDATE: In my distraction over something else, I originally posted this as a celebration of Vespers; my apologies to the organizers.

Just under a year ago, we posted a video which they made of Vespers and Compline in the Sarum Use for the feast of St Cecilia, at the famous St Mary’s, where Oxford University began, and where St John Henry Newman began serving as vicar in 1828, earning his reputation as one of the great preachers of his time.

Another Sarum Vespers Described, by James Griffin

Better very late than never, we thank our friend Mr James Griffin of The Durandus Institute for Sacred Liturgy and Music for sharing with us these pictures of a Vesper ceremony in the Sarum Rite celebrated back in March, and for providing the written description of the ceremony.

Faithful readers of this site may recall my photo-essay from February 2020, following the Sarum Vespers for Candlemas Eve in Philadelphia, which was attended by 700 or more persons. For many of the faithful in this part of the country, that event is etched in their memories as a last hurrah before the Covid-related shutdowns brought an end to public worship.

It took four years for the right circumstances to allow my associates and me to put together a second celebration of the Sarum Use, which finally took place on Friday, March 1 at the chapel of Princeton University, New Jersey. Some estimates have the headcount at 800 this time! An excellent reflection was written shortly after the event by NLM contributor David Clayton, who also gave an academic presentation before the Vespers began. But I hadn’t found the time, or the right inspiration, to put my own words to paper until now. As with the essay in 2020, photos here are thanks to the efforts of Allison Girone and her associates. A digital version of the congregational booklet may be downloaded here, and below is a professional video recording.

The clergy and servers are led to the chancel by the verger (as the Sarum Customary puts it, “the sacristan with the rod”). At the beginning of Vespers, the candle-bearers enter in surplices, which are exchanged for full albs partway into the ceremony.

We welcomed many priests from far and wide to attend in-choir. Many wore the black cappa, as did the canons of Salisbury Cathedral, a practical measure for any cavernous stone church in a northern climate. The officiant was Fr. Armando G. Alejandro, Jr., a priest of the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, and chaplain for the Durandus Institute.

Just before the officiating priest, the rectores chori — rulers of the choir — make their entrance. Each ruler carries a stave, sometimes called a baculus cantoralis, as a sign of his office. It should be said that the practice of cantors with staves is hardly unique to the Sarum Use, having been practiced in various monastic houses and cathedrals in Europe, and even in some places in Latin America until the 20th century.

Continue Reading this Article. . .

A Day in the Life of Sarum Cathedral

Here is another big win for the YouTube suggestion algorithm, a very interesting lecture which explains the round of daily services at Sarum Cathedral, ca. 1500. It was given three years ago by Dr William Renwick, a professor in the department of music at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, hosted by the Royal School of Church Music. In addition to a very thorough explanation of the daily round of liturgical services, he also shows something of how the choir was set up and used, the division of labor between the various groups within the chapter. The liturgical day which he goes through is Friday, December 19, the Ember day of Advent.

Sarum Use Vespers and Liturgical Art – Heaven on Earth

Some NLM readers will already be aware of the Sarum Use Vespers and Benediction that took place on March 1 at the Princeton University Chapel. Here, I present an account of a talk I gave before the event about the art used in the ceremony, which was commissioned especially for the occasion, explaining the choice of content and style, and how it harmonises with the activity of worship.  

I don’t think I have ever seen a more complete harmony of words, music, art, architecture, and action in the liturgy. The music by 16th-century English composers Thomas Tallis and Robert White was sung magnificently by Gabriel Crouch and the Gallicantus early music group. The spectacular Magnificat by White can be heard at the 39-minute mark in the video below, which I give you now in case you missed it the first time. 

The second video is of the three short talks given before the service. The first, by James Griffin of the Durandus Institute, explained the history of the Sarum Use. I gave the second one about sacred art as a part of worship. In my capacity as Artist-in-Residence of the Scala Foundation - a co-sponsor of the event - I was invited to choose the art which was commissioned especially for this occasion. The third was by Gabriel Crouch, the Director of Choral Activities at Princeton University and the Musical Director of the choir Gallicantus, who spoke about the history of music and its composers. 

Peter Carter, who founded The Catholic Sacred Music Project and is the music director for The Aquinas Institute at Princeton University, was a strong driving force behind the evening. In large part, thanks to his vision and hard work, an estimated 1,000 people attended this incredible event at the Princeton University Chapel, built in the 1930s. I wonder whether so many people have ever knelt in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in this magnificent space. Here is the video of Vespers and Benediction.

...and here is the video of the talks...

The following is what I prepared prior to the occasion, and is a combination of what I said and what appeared in the program:

Choosing Contemporary Art for Sarum Use Vespers Today

St Chad and the Holy Face of Christ were painted by a young artist named Ander Scharbach (https://www.ander-scharbach.com/), from Baltimore, Maryland. The Crucifixion and the Mother of God are painted by an established artist, Ioana Belcea (IoanaBelcea.com), based in Princeton, New Jersey. Their work is for sale, and they take commissions.

St Chad by Ander Scharbach

The Crucifixion and St Chad were painted especially for this occasion. Each artist was asked to draw personal inspiration from the English Gothic style of the 13th century School of St Albans, a period when the Sarum Use Liturgy was at its height. This tradition of sacred art is characterized by the description of form with the elegant flow of line, a limited palette with muted colour, and by having ornate, patterned borders.

The results are contemporary yet traditional. No artist would have painted like this in 13th-century England. Still, everyone in 13th-century England would have been able to relate to the images every bit as much as the worshipers in 21st-century America, who excitedly mobbed the artists after the Vespers were over, to ask about the beautiful icons they had seen. This is because the art conforms to traditional principles of liturgical art, which are universal.

Crucifixion by Ioana Belcea, based on the 12th century Winchester Psalter

Sacred art shows us what we do not see with our eyes in the here and now. It portrays the saints and angels praying with us in heaven eternally. It illuminates the truths behind the actions of the liturgy and focuses our attention on what is important at any given time in the course of our worship.

There is a reason that we follow tradition. The art we chose conforms to a style developed gradually over generations and centuries, going back to the early Church, to fulfil its purpose well, which is to aid us in a deep participation in the worship of God. How would one measure such a thing? It is not primarily by whether people like it, or how we respond emotionally. Instead, the Church, in her wisdom, observes the fruits of that worship. Does the art incline people to go out and serve the Lord and love our neighbors as ourselves? Does it lead to lives of greater virtue? While we always hope that all will like the art and wonder at its beauty, there are other goals than this. The purpose of this art is to influence the lives of Christian worshipers so that they become better Christians. Getting this right takes patience and careful observation of many iterations of style and so once we get it right we mess with traditional forms at our peril. If we arbitrarily change things for no good reason, we are playing with people’s souls.

The sanctuary and altar, with the images forming a temporary rood screen,
in the traditional pre-Reformation Catholic manner

The choice of images

Following tradition, we have placed three images at the core of our schema today. Together, they symbolize the broad themes of salvation history and the mysteries of the Faith made present every time we worship God. In addition, we have added St Chad of Mercia (died A.D. 672), the great evangelist of western England and the Midlands, whom we remember today. May we imitate his Christian faith and good works in our lives.

The three core images are:On the left: the Mother of God with her Son. This image symbolizes the life of the historical Jesus and his human nature, which he received from Mary, and we share with Him.
Center: the suffering Christ on the cross. This image portrays the sacrifice he made for us, his suffering, and his death. It reminds us of our spiritual deaths in baptism. This image gives meaning to our suffering in this life, particularly when placed next to the image of the Risen Christ because it reinforces the message that there is always hope in the Resurrection. Christian hope transcends suffering just as the Light overcomes the darkness.

Right: the Holy Face of the Risen Christ in Glory. The halo of supernatural, uncreated light around his head is prominent, constituting the whole background, which is commonly considered ‘negative’ space but here becomes heavenly ‘positive’ space. This tells us visually that we are looking at a heavenly vision of the Saviour. This image speaks of his Resurrection and victory over death, by death. Through the Church, we ‘put on Christ’ (to use St Paul’s words) and rise with him supernaturally, partaking of the divine nature through participation in the sacraments of confirmation and communion.

We are all people loved by God. Each human life is a unique story that simultaneously and paradoxically mirrors the pattern of the life of Christ and the pattern of the whole of salvation history, the story of the people of God. We share in the life, the suffering, the death of Christ and, as Christians, in His resurrection, partaking in the divine nature. This is a supernatural transformation, a great gift, and is our joy as Christians in this life and the next.

Gabriel Crouch and Gallicantus are on the left

How to pray with the sacred art

The worship of God, which we are participating in at Vespers, is the worship of the Father, through the Son, in the Spirit. Scripture tells us that the Son is the image of the Father, and no one comes to the Father except through the Son. Accordingly, it is a traditional practice to pray to the Father through the Son, who is the image of the Father. This establishes the legitimate principle of praying to a person through their image.

So, each time a prayer is addressed to the Father, let the Holy Spirit draw you in and pray to the Father through the image of Christ. Look at the face in the image and imagine you are speaking to him as he stands before you.

We can use the image of the Son to pray directly to both the Son a much as the Father. So, each time a prayer is addressed to the Son, again, turn to the image and pray to Him through the image. Similarly, each time a prayer is addressed to Mary or St. Chad or is invoking their memory, turn and face their holy icons as the words are sung or recited.

The Magnificat, which the Church sings at every Vespers, is the great hymn of Mary taken from the Gospel of Luke. At this moment, we pray with her, using her words as recounted in Scripture, and it is appropriate to look at Mary’s image when we do so. All the images are incensed during the singing of the Magnificat to draw our attention to them at this heightened moment of prayer.

The censing of the images during the Magnificat

We do not pray to or worship the image itself, as that would be idolatry. Rather, when we pray to anyone other than God, such as Mary or St. Chad, we ask them to join in our prayers and to intercede to God for us, just as we might ask any friend or family member to pray for us.

St Augustine said famously that those who sing their prayers pray twice. In this Vespers, our prayer is not simply two-fold, but multi-faceted: music, art, and incense engage the senses, helping to direct the posture, intellect and will. The heart is the human center of gravity, so to speak, the place where we are, as a person at any moment – the vector sum of our thoughts, feelings and actions. The hope is always that through this multi-faceted engagement, we raise up our hearts to the Lord.

The beauty of the art, the architecture and the music participates in the beauty of the cosmos, which bears the thumbprint of the Creator. This transforming beauty harmonises with the poetic language of the psalms, and of the hymns and the prayers of the liturgy so that the worship stimulates our spiritual imaginations and impresses the pattern of Christ upon our souls. Then we go out and contribute, gracefully and beautifully, in all that we do to the pattern of human life in society. By this, we establish once more a beautiful culture that, like the cosmos, bears the mark of Christ, who did not create it directly but inspired its creation by people.

The Scala Foundation has a mission of transforming American and, hence, Western culture through beauty in education and worship so that we are formed by grace to change society, one personal relationship at a time. To the degree that each of us contributes to this ideal, we will help to create culture of beauty that speaks of the Christian Faith and Western values.

Some may wonder how much an ancient English liturgy such as this might be relevant to Americans in Princeton today. The answer is: a great deal! The American nation emerged out of English culture and the values it incarnated and which were formed by its pre-Reformation liturgy and faith, primarily the Sarum Use of the Roman Rite. It is a truth that worship is the wellspring of culture. These values of English culture were preserved in America subsequently through the liturgical cousins and liturgical descendants of the Sarum Use, and their associated churches formed by them. These are as well as the Catholic Church, the Anglican, Episcopalian and all Christian churches which routinely sang the psalms especially those that used the psalter from the Book of Common Prayer. The Book of Common Prayer developed directly from the Sarum liturgy.

The practice of praying the psalms can, it occurs to me, be a principle of unity for the American nation today. I speak with such hope, and as one who was born and grew up in England and recently became an American citizen. The hope is that the beauty and the dignity of the worship we participate in tonight, may be simultaneously grounding and elevating for us.

On the one hand, it will establish in us in the desire for humble prayer in the home that mirrors, in spirit at least, tonight’s Vespers. We can pray the psalms in the domestic Church. We may not be able to match the great skill and sublime beauty of this occasion, but in our own humble way, we can daily participate in the ideal it presents. This grounding, humble prayer can be elevating in that it inclines us to cooperated with grace and inspire us in our daily activities, contributing to a noble and accesible culture of beauty. Humble prayer and high culture! That is the motto we bring to you.

Tonight we can raise our hearts to heaven in yet another way. It is a participation in something yet more beautiful, the heavenly liturgy in which the saints and angels worship God, who is Beauty itself. This is our destiny as Christians. Every time there is a pause in the singing, you will hear a faint echo enriched by harmonics and resonance created by the acoustics of the majestic gothic architecture of Princeton University Chapel. At these moments, imagine that the angels and saints singing with us in heaven and worshiping God in the perpetual heavenly liturgy are whispering in your ear, urging you to join in with their worship, in which they accept the love of God and return it to Him in the perpetual song of praise.

I pray that we may all be inspired to pray humbly and to love God and our neighbor.

The celebrants and 1,000 people were on their knees before the Blessed Sacrament during Benediction. I wonder if Princeton University Chapel – built for Presbyterians – has ever seen this before.

Video of Sarum Vespers of St Chad of Mercia

On Friday, March 1st, the chapel of Princeton University hosted the celebration of First Vespers of St Chad of Mercia according to the Use of Sarum, followed by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. This event was organized by Mr James Griffin, executive director of the Durandus Institute for Sacred Liturgy and Music, with the help of a great many people, as you can see in this video of the complete ceremony. This is the second time the Institute has organized a service in the Sarum Rite; the first, on February 1, 2020, was a solemn First Vespers of Candlemas. (I jokingly said to James that I hope this one doesn’t set off another global pandemic.)

As he did with the previous ceremony, Mr Griffin is planning on sharing with us a detailed explanation of the ceremony, which will be accompanied by photos by one of our favorite photographers, Allison Girone, and her associate Regina Jelski. For now, enjoy the video; the texts are given below.

The feast of St Chad is ranked as a “single” feast at Sarum, the equivalent of a semidouble in the Roman system. The psalms and antiphons are therefore taken from the feria, in this case a Friday, with semidoubled antiphons.

Antiphon In conspectu angelorum: * psallam tibi Deus meus. (In the presence of the Angels * will I sing praise to thee, my God.) Psalm 137

Antiphon Domine * probasti me et cognovisti me. (O Lord * thou hast searched me out, and known me.) Psalm 138

Antiphon A viro iniquo * libera me Domine. (From the wicked man * O Lord, preserve me.) Psalm 139

Antiphon Domine clamavi * ad te: et exaudi me. (Lord, I call * upon thee, haste thee unto me.) Psalm 140

Antiphon Portio mea Domine * sit in terra viventium. (Let my portion, O Lord * be in the land of the living.) Psalm 141

This is followed by the Chapter as in the Roman Office, Sirach 44, 17: “ Ecce sacerdos magnus qui in diebus suis placuit Deo et inventus est justus: et in tempore iracundie factus est reconciliatio. (Behold an high priest, who in his days pleased God, and was found righteous, and in the time of wrath he was made a propitiation.”

At First Vespers of all the but the lowest-ranked feasts, most medieval Uses of the Office had one of the prolix responsories from Matins between the chapter and the hymn; at Sarum, this was led by two “the rulers of the choir” wearing silk copes, and standing at the steps of the choir.

R. Miles Christi * gloriose Ceddas sanctissime, † Tuo pio interventu, ‡ Culpas nostras ablue. V. Ut celestis regni sedem valeamus scandere. Tuo… Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto. Culpas… (Glorious soldier of Christ * most holy Chad, † Through thy pious intervention. ‡ Cleanse our sins. V. That we may be able to ascend the seat of the heavenly kingdom. † Through… Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. ‡ Cleanse…)

The hymn Iste Confessor and the versicle Amavit eum which follow are the same as in the Roman Rite, but Sarum had a curious custom by which the response to the versicle was not made audibly. The antiphon at the Magnificat is also semidoubled.

Sis pro nobis, * sancte Cedda, rogamus, ad Dominum: ut nos regat et perducat ad celi palatium: ubi tecum et cum sanctis simus in perpetuum. (Be for us, Saint Chad, we ask, unto the Lord, that He may rule us and lead us to the palace of heaven, where we may be with thee and the Saints for ever.)

Oratio Deus, qui sanctorum tuorum meritis ecclesiam toto orbe diffusam decorasti, presta quaesumus: ut intercessione beatissimi Cedde episcopi et confessoris, in sorte justorum tua opitulate pietate censeamur: per Dominum... (God, who hast adorned the Church, spread through the whole world, with the merits of Thy Saints, grant, we ask, that by the intercession of Thy most blessed bishop and confessor Chad, we may be numbered in the lot of the just by the aid of Thy mercy. Through our Lord...)

A New Video of Sarum Vespers and Compline

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.

Sarum Vespers on March 1st at Princeton University Chapel

There will be a solemn choral Vespers according to the medieval Use of Sarum, followed by Benediction, on March 1st, in the beautiful neo-Gothic chapel of Princeton University. The ceremony is organized by Peter Carter of the Catholic Sacred Music Project, who is also the choir director for the Aquinas Institute of Princeton University which is hosting. It is co-sponsored by the Scala Foundation, Durandus Institute, and Benedict XVI Institute. The music will be sung by the internationally known early music choir from the UK, Gallicantus, directed by Gabriel Crouch who is Director of Choral Activities and Senior Lecturer in Music at Princeton University.

The event starts at 6 pm, with two short presentations prior to the Vespers itself, which starts at 7pm. The speakers will be James Griffin of the Durandus Institute and myself. James will focus on an explanation of the Use of Sarum’s expressions of worship and its importance today. I will talk about the sacred art, which will be an integral part of the service, and which I have chosen especially for the occasion. I will describe why I chose the images and will explain how to engage with them fruitfully and authentically in the course of the worship of God. 

The Use of Sarum is a form of the Roman Rite, sung in Latin, that goes back to pre-Reformation England, and which is rooted in the the ancient worship of Salisbury Cathedral. (Sarum is an archaic name for the city of Salisbury.) This characteristically English style of worship subsequently became the foundation for the pattern of Anglican worship, and the Book of Common Prayer. As such, it has been a strong early forming influence on contemporary Anglo-American culture and society, and so its appeal reaches across the spectrum of faith and denominations. This promises to be an excellent opportunity to show the Faith in action to all, in an attractive and dignified way.

Salisbury Cathedral

Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop’s Garden, 1825, by the English painter John Constable.

The liturgical occasion is the feast of St. Chad, who features prominently in the Ecclesiastical History of the English People written by St. Bede. Chad was a 7th-century Anglo-Saxon who evangelized the ancient kingdom of Mercia, re-establishing Christianity in the region after its decline following the departure of the Romans more than two centuries earlier. His example, therefore, is particular relevant and inspiring to those of us who seek to see the Christian values of the West re-established in the secular mainstream of the US and the UK today.

St Chad, painted by Aidan Hart, founder of the Chichester Workshop of Liturgical Art

Sarum Vespers at Princeton Univ. Chapel, March 1

The Durandus Institute for Sacred Liturgy & Music invites all to attend its second major celebration of Vespers according to the Use of Sarum, the rite of the Catholic Church in England before the Reformation. This year’s liturgy will take place at the Princeton University Chapel, with the assistance of the UK early music chamber choir Gallicantus.

Vespers will begin at 7pm on Friday, March 1 (First Vespers of St. Chad of Mercia), followed by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. Music will include the Sarum Litany of Saints, “O Sacrum Convivium” by Thomas Tallis, and works of other pre-Reformation masters of music. All are additionally welcome to attend a brief lecture on the Use of Sarum in the chapel before Vespers, at 6pm.

A Resource for Chanting the Office at Home in English - Singtheoffice.com

I have recently discovered the website singtheoffice.com, an excellent resource for people wishing to sing the Office at home (not for public worship). I imagine that some would adopt it’s basic structure and at times insert preferred hymns or prayers, while others might take parts of it, for example the psalm settings, and insert them into their preferred structure for the Office.

Praying the Divine Office in the home is the wellspring of Catholic culture

It gives the psalms and prayers in the cycle of the Book of Common Prayer, as might be used by the Anglican Ordinariate, which is derived from the tradition of the Church in England before the Reformation. I tend to use the 30-day cycle, by which all 150 psalms (without the omission of the cursing psalms that we find in the Paul VI Psalter) are sung at Matins and Evensong.

The psalm tones are Gregorian and seem to me be derived from the Sarum liturgy, so while the modal format will be familiar to anyone who knows Gregorian chant, some tones do have a particularly English feel to them. The assignment of the tone to the psalm follows the same schema as would be found in the St Dunstan Psalter, which is based, it claims, on tradition English, pre-reformation usage. The hymns are translations of traditional liturgical hymns set to Gregorian melodies.   

As is the custom in this form of the Office, there are two long scripture readings in every Morning and Evening Prayer.

The collects for the season and major feasts are present, but some may wish to insert hymns or prayers for Saints, which do not seem to be reflected in this basic structure.   

There is plenty of scope for changing the settings, depending upon which version of the BCP one prefers.

There is a function that allows the melody to be played, so those who cannot sight-read chant easily can very quickly pick up the tone or hymn melody.   

Below are a number of screenshots giving you a sense of what you see as you use the site.

Continue Reading this Article. . .