The last, perhaps most interesting chapter gathers up some subjects and problems that arose during the research into the Aquileian office liturgy (VI, pp. 252–317). Here the examination may focus on a single item or group. Yet the chapter yields the most new findings, applicable to office research as a whole and allowing general conclusions to be drawn.
Neumes and formulas – on note-grouping of chants
I first examined a seemingly secondary variant type of notation (VI.1). Even with medi-eval codex copying, it became general for each copyist to phrase notes differently into ligatures, without essentially affecting the melody itself. It was shown by an authorita-tive quantity of comparaauthorita-tive material that this notational freedom (or liberty taking) appears mainly in one type of formulas specific to a group of sources, e. g. cadences.
Furthermore, it can be linked with the 13th–14th-century type of square notation found in Aquileia: an experimental method that copyists probably used with some uncertain-ty.82 Although the pitches were marked, the notes in the neumes remained together in this type of notation, so the details found in the early notations (e. g. differentiated forms of liquescent notes) largely remained, which differed from the practice with the uniform square notation used after the 15th century, or the designation of notes in later printed Italian sources.
Laudabilem virum, Adaperiat Dominus cor A virtual series of invitatories in the autumn offices
The second case concerns the special invitatories (Laudabilem virum, Adaperiat Do mi-nus cor) of scriptural per annum historiae, widespread in Aquileia, but found spor ad
ic-81 This may also explain the Italian elements in the Codex Albensis. See Note 79.
82 Behind the spread of square notation is seen the domination of a simpler form replacing archaic
ones, so that authors are not inclined to concern themselves with the interesting transitional forms of square notation either.
al ly in the Middle Ages (VI.2, pp. 259–274).83 Examination of these revealed a hidden series of medieval invitatories. The second-tone invitatory type reconstructed from the Temporale for the autumn period formed a homogeneous group of office chants whose items were a legacy from an old sphere of Mediterranean sources. (And yet they could also be identified in Aquileia and Esztergom.) The interest lay not only in the process of collecting these pieces – the successive appearances – but in understanding the concept itself: the compilers’ purpose with the series may have been to extend the ideas of All Saints’ feast over the whole autumn period.
Lenten responsories in the light of the Aquileian repertory and other European office traditions
The next section discusses chronological layers in the Lenten responsory sets, based on some forty sources or source groups from various places (VI.3, pp. 274–291).84 The Lenten office gained its developed medieval form by adopting office elements in vari-ous periods. If these layers are separated, the parts are found to have been chosen from the per annum chant repertory or to use proper chants in various ways. Remarkable differences can also be found between rites in keeping the repertory intact or treating it flexibly. Here the examination proved that the Aquileian Lenten responsory series is related to Central European traditions. The accord with the Esztergom and Salzburg materials is notable, while no relations appear in a southerly direction, to material from other Italian dioceses.
Two Aquileian responsories in a European context.
Early permeability of the office and mass repertory – Further findings from an examination of the Occurrerunt Maria et Martha responsory
These two sections examine two Lenten responsories (Occurrerunt Maria et Martha, Lamentabatur Jacob, VI.4–5, pp. 292–300 and 300–305). Office-structure and musical analysis of the two rare items and comparison of them with other medieval materials
83 See also Gabriella Gilányi, “Laudabilem virum, Adaperiat Dominus cor – Egy virtuális
invitató-rium-széria az őszi zsolozsmákban” [A virtual invitatory series in the fall offices], in Zenetudományi Dolgozatok 2006–2007 (Budapest: MTA Zenetudományi Intézet, 2007), 27–41.
84 See also Gabriella Gilányi, “Ad Magnificat, Hebdomada per Annum – Egy g-tonalitású
antifóna-sorozat Dél-Európában” [An antiphon series in G in Southern Europe], Magyar Zene 45/1 (2007), 53–63.
had a remarkable outcome: it proved the possibility of transfer between the Gregorian and Ambrosian traditions, even between the early Mass and office rites, while the lit-erature stressed the closed, untouched nature of these liturgies.85
Ferial Magnificat antiphons in 14th–15th-century Cividale sources and in the Mediterranean
Finally, I examined an ancient Mediterranean antiphon series in G, which appears in Cividale (and a few Mediterranean sources) for the per annum weekdays (VI.6, pp. 306–317). The examination shows that the series, which employs text from the Magnificat canticle, may have entered the repertory in ancient times, as homogeneous pieces in the same mode (G). Thereafter it was adopted into some Franco-Roman rites, consequently its tonal unity was broken. Some texts with melodies in other modes were inserted to even it out musically and to make the musical material more varied.
Gregorian melodies are strongly variable, the scale of variation depending on the age and the geographical distance of the sources. The series was preserved in its fullest form in the early Mediterranean traditions; it is found only sporadically in the north.
Tracing the Magnificat series in this way shows when and by what steps in the Middle Ages a musical layer seen as obsolete fell behind, as well as what attempts were made to save it and to what extent they succeeded.
* * *
Studying the Aquileian rite and tracing content differences among the source strata, while seeking unity among them, was an exciting task over many years. It was interest-ing to see how a universal structure and melodic material gained its Aquileian com-plexion, in what ways the variations in the rite occurred, what links Aquileia to other medieval rites, and what divides it from them. The search for answers opened new lines of research in several directions. I hope these will advance in years to come.
(English translation by Brian McLean)
85 See Gabriella Gilányi, “Lamentabatur Jacob, Occurrerunt Maria et Martha. Responsories in the
Lenten Office of Medieval Aquileia”, in Papers Read at the 12th Meeting of the IMS Study Group Cantus Planus, Lillafüred/Hungary, 2004 (Budapest: Institute for Musicology of the Hungarian Aca demy of Sciences, 2006), 583–594.