Take a look: Hymn Melodies for the Whole Year from the Sarum Service Books. I haven't figured out how to read it yet - to put the hundreds of chant melodies in the back together with the texts in the front, I mean - but this looks to be a truly great find.
EDIT: Actually, after giving this a pretty quick glance, it really seems that it could not be easier to read and to match the tunes to the words. Simply go to page 27, where the list of appointed hymns begins, sorted by Season and then by Saints' and other Holy Days (and even the Little Hours are in there, last). Then, read the number on the right on the same line as the hymn; that's the chant score number for that hymn. The chant scores begin on page 43 and are numbered from 1 through 77. Just match the two numbers, and there you are! It's great - and there are even some Sequence hymn scores in the back of the book. AND the book is complete and downloadable as a PDF. Wonderful!
Note the souce, too: it's the "Plainsong & Medieval Music Society." Which could definitely be the same organization I've posted on before.
Thanks Fr. Chris. (He also links to this item at Google Books: The Hymner: Containing Translations of the Hymns from the Sarum Breviary, "for those who don't have access to the texts of the Sarum hymns anywhere else." Thanks again!)
1 comment:
The old Cowley breviary, Hours of Prayer, gives the tune numbers at the top of the office-hymn texts, so presumably they had the Hymn Melodies book nearby when praying the office.
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