"A Short Responsory" for Lent: Illumina oculos ("Lighten my eyes")

Here's something interesting, for Lent: a "short responsory" that comes from Medieval Hungary.  It's beautifully sung here by the Schola Hungarica:




The text is taken from Psalm 12/(13):4-5/(3-4), and Psalm 87/(88):2:

12:4b Illumina oculos meos, ne unquam obdormiam in morte,
12:5a Ne quando dicat inimicus meus. Praevalui adversus eum.

2. Domine, Deus salutis meae, in die clamavi et nocte coram te.

13:3b Lighten mine eyes, that I sleep not in death.
13:4a Lest my enemy say "I have prevailed against him."

2. O Lord God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee.

Perfect for Lent!   But, this text is nowhere to be found in the Trent Breviary.  The CD lists it as included in "The Istanbul Antiphonary,"  which I have not found online (although I have found numerous references to it).  I need to look more at this.

Fortunately, Cantus Database lists it as a Compline Responsory, found 18 times in various manuscripts, most from Eastern Europe:  Czechia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland, etc.  It's used, variously, on the first four Sundays of Lent.  (In one exception below, St. Gall, it's listed as "uncertain usage" for feasts of the BVM.  So not much help there.) 

I've copied the concordance table from Cantus here for easier reading:

Siglum	Folio	Incipit				Feast	Mode	Image	DB
A-Gu 29	128r	Illumina oculos meos ne	C	R		Dom. 4 Quadragesimae	6	Image	CD
A-Gu Ms. 211	064v	Illumina oculos meos ne	C	R		Dom. 3 Quadragesimae			CD
A-VOR 287	066v	Illumina oculos meos ne	C	R		Dom. 3 Quadragesimae	5		CD
A-Wda D-4	001v	Illumina oculos meos ne	C	R		Dom. 3 Quadragesimae	5		CD
A-Wda D-4	039v	Illumina oculos meos*	C	R		Dom. 3 Quadragesimae	*		CD
CH-SGs 388	476	Illumina oculos meos ne	X	R	2	De BMV	?	Image	CD
CZ-Pst DE I 7	107v	Illumina oculos meos ne	C	R		Dom. 1 Quadragesimae	5		CD
PL-KIk 1	059r	Illumina oculos meos ne	C	R		Dom. 3 Quadragesimae	5		CD
PL-WRu R 503	056r	Illumina oculos meos ne	C	R		Dom. 3 Quadragesimae	5		CD
SI-Lna 18 (olim 17)	083r	Illumina oculos meos ne	C	R		Dom. 2 Quadragesimae	5		CD
TR-Itks 42	059r	Illumina oculos meos ne	C	R		Dom. 1 Quadragesimae	5		CD
SK-BRsa SNA 2	089r	Illumina oculos meos ne	C	R		Dom. 1 Quadragesimae		Image	CSK
SK-BRsa SNA 4	095r	Illumina oculos meos ne	C	R		Dom. 1 Quadragesimae		Image	CSK
SK-BRsa SNA 17	018v	Illumina oculos meos ne	C	R		Dom. 3 Quadragesimae		Image	CSK
SK-Bra EC Lad. 6	054v	Illumina oculos meos ne	C	R		Dom. 1 Quadragesimae		Image	CSK
PL-KIk PL-KiK 1	059r	Illumina oculos meos ne	C	R		Dom. 3 Quadragesimae	5		CPL
PL-PłS PL-PłS 35	047v	Illumina oculos meos ne	C	R		Dom. 1 Quadragesimae	5	Image	CPL
PL-PłS PL-PłS 35	053v	Illumina*	C	R		Dom. 2 Quadragesimae	*	Image	CPL

The usual "Short Responsory" at Compline in the Trent Breviary (and others)  is this:   

Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.
– Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.
You have redeemed us, Lord God of truth.
– Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.

I wonder if Illumina oculos replaced it during Lent, in some of these Eastern European breviaries?    Would be very interesting to know, so here's another thing I'll have to investigate.


Here's an image of the chant from the Antiphonary of Bratislava (15th C. ); here is one from the Antiphonarium from Płock Cathedral, a 15th C. Polish source.  (I cannot post these images on this page because of copyright restrictions.)   They differ slightly, in places, from what's on the video above - but they are clearly the same tune.  The pretty rise and fall of the melody on "oculos" is the same in every case.

Here's one from the Antiphonarium Benedictinum (1400) (Austria), which doesn't have the same restriction.  The text does not seem to be complete here, though:

Here's the St. Gall/BVM version; it's written in the old-style chant notation, without staff, so hard to tell - but it seems to me to be a similar melody, with the same rise and fall on "oculos."  The St. Gall MS is from the 13th Century.

St. Gallen, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. Sang. 388, p. 476 – Antiphonary

There is another "Illumina oculos" in the repertoire, though; a different text that begins the same way is the Offertory at Lent IV in Year C.   (This chant was formerly the Offertory on the Fourth Sunday of Pentecost.)

St. John the Baptist, June 24: De Ventre Matris Meae ("From my mother’s womb")

De Ventre Matris Meae is the Introit for the Feast of St. John Baptist, June 24. It's sung here by Schola Sanctae Sunnivae & Hartkeriana.



The text comes from Isaiah 49; here's the Latin, along with an English translation from Divinum Officium:

De ventre matris meæ vocávit me Dóminus in nómine meo: et pósuit os meum ut gládium acútum: sub teguménto manus suæ protéxit me, et pósuit me quasi sagíttam eléctam

From my mother’s womb the Lord called me by me name, and made of me a sharp-edged sword; He concealed me in the shadow of His arm, and made me a polished arrow.

Here's the chant score:

Here are the actual verses from Isaiah 49:

1 Give ear, ye islands, and hearken, ye people from afar. The Lord hath called me from the womb, from the bowels of my mother he hath been mindful of my name.

2 And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword: in the shadow of his hand he hath protected me, and hath made me as a chosen arrow: in his quiver he hath hidden me.

In the Cantus database this chant is only listed as a Matins Responsory; not sure why that would be.  Here's an image of that Responsory from the Antiphonarium Massiliense; the large red "D" is where the chant begins:

Interesting, though:  I don't find this listed as a Matins Responsory in Divinum Officium.   So, not quite sure what's going on there.


Here's the famous Deesis Mosaic from Hagia Sophia; that's John the Baptist on the right:

This is from Wikipedia's Deesis entry:

In Byzantine art, and later Eastern Orthodox art generally, the Deësis or Deisis (Greek: δέησις, "prayer" or "supplication"), is a traditional iconic representation of Christ in Majesty or Christ Pantocrator: enthroned, carrying a book, and flanked by the Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist, and sometimes other saints and angels. Mary and John, and any other figures, are shown facing towards Christ with their hands raised in supplication on behalf of humanity.

In early examples, it was often placed on the templon beam in Orthodox churches or above doors, though it also appears on icons and devotional ivories.

A Lauds antiphon for Advent: Ecce Dominus veniet ("Behold the Lord comes")

Ecce Dominus veniet ("Behold the Lord comes") is a Psalm antiphon at Lauds on the First Sunday of Advent.



 These are the words, from CPDL:

Ecce dominus veniet et omnes sancti ejus cum eo
et erit in die illa lux magna alleluia.

Behold, the Lord comes and all his saints with him
and on that day there will be great light, alleluia.

(The Psalm verses sung here come from Psalm 148:

1  Alleluja. Laudate Dominum de caelis; laudate eum in excelsis.
2  Laudate eum, omnes angeli ejus; laudate eum, omnes virtutes ejus.)

So here's a clear example of a text referring to the Second Coming, as was (and still is) the theme in late Pentecost (or Trinity) and early Advent.   The footnote at the Roman Breviary (1879) says that the text comes from Zechariah 14:5-6 - and that's this:

5 And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.

6 On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost.

Intriguing to see that the text of the antiphon reverses the second verse of the citation!  I love it when that happens.  Although I should point out, too, that a footnote at verse six notes that "Compare Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate, Targum; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain."  And that verse 7 goes on to say:

And there shall be a unique^[b] day, which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light.

So perhaps it doesn't actually count as a "reversal."  It's an odd text  in any case.

It's interesting to look at the other 4 Psalm antiphons for this day, too.  Here are all 5, which show up various arrangements of order in the manuscripts below:

1.  In illa die * stillabunt montes dulcedinem, et colles fluent lac et mel, alleluia.

2.  Iucundare * filia Sion, et exsulta satis filia Ierusalem, alleluia.

3.  Ecce Dominus veniet, * et omnes Sancti eius cum eo et erit in die illa lux magna, alleluia.

4.  Omnes sitientes * venite ad aquas quaerite Dominum, dum inveniri potest, alleluia.

5.  Ecce veniet * Propheta magnus, et ipse renovabit Ierusalem, alleluia.

1.  In that day * the mountains shall drop down sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk and honey. Alleluia.

2. Sing, O daughter of Zion, * and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. Alleluia.

3.  Behold, the LORD shall come, * and all His saints with Him ; and it shall come to pass in that day that the light shall be great. Alleluia.

4.  Ho, every one that thirsteth * come ye to the waters : seek ye the LORD while He may be found. Alleluia.

5.  Behold, a great Prophet * shall arise, and He shall build up a new Jerusalem. Alleluia.

These texts are all taken from the various Prophets of Advent:  Zechariah, Joel, Isaiah.  And they all do allude to both the First and Second Coming; that's one of the great things about Advent, to me:  it's not just one thing - and it's cosmic in a way that no other season really is.

At Cantus database, I've found some good, clear instances of Ecce Dominus veniet; it's quite easy to read and follow along with the scores.  You'll see that this melody is indeed the same as what's on the video, and is quite consistent between the manuscripts, too.   The antiphons all start with a highly decorated, larger capital letter, often in another color.



For instance, here's a page from a Fourteenth-century antiphoner from Klosterneuburg, Austria, used at the Augustiner-Chorherrenstift.  Ecce Dominus veniet is the 4th Lauds antiphon:

This one comes from the same monastery, but is 200 years earlier ("Twelfth-century antiphoner from Klosterneuburg, Austria").  Interesting to note the difference in musical notation styles!  This is the old style chant notation:

This one's from the Antiphonarium Benedictinum (1400), which comes from the Abbey of Sankt Lambrecht (Steiermark, Austria); here, Ecce Dominus veniet is the 3rd Lauds antiphon.

And this last one is from Einsiedeln, Stiftsbibliothek / Codex 611(89) – Antiphonarium pro Ecclesia Einsidlensi / f. 3r. ("14th-century antiphoner from the monastery of Einsiedeln, Switzerland.")  Ecce Dominus veniet was the 3rd Lauds antiphon at this monastery, too.

One of the interesting things, to me, about this text is that it shows up again, as the 2nd Responsory at Matins on Advent 2 - but includes another interesting bit of content:

R. Ecce Dominus veniet, et omnes Sancti ejus cum eo, et erit in die illa lux magna: et exibunt de Jerusalem sicut aqua munda: et regnabit Dominus in aeternum
* Super omnes gentes.
V. Ecce Dominus cum virtute veniet: et regnum in manu ejus, et potestas, et imperium.
R. Super omnes gentes.

R. Behold, the Lord shall come, and all His saints with Him, and it shall come to pass in that day that the light shall be great; and they shall go out from Jerusalem like clean water; and the Lord shall be King for ever,
* Over all the earth.
V. Behold, the Lord cometh with an host, and in His hand are the kingdom, and power, and dominion.
R. Over all the earth.

Recall that  Advent 2 is notable for its inclusion of references to Jerusalem, something I talked about last year.    Dom Dominic Johner points out, in his Chants of the Vatican Gradual, that:

[On Advent 2] the Introit, Gradual, and Communion speak of Sion, i.e., of Jerusalem.  The Alleluia-verse also alludes to this.  For at Rome the principal service was held in the Church of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, close to the Lateran.  It was a royal palace; now it shelters a most venerable relic of the holy cross.  Our present Sion is the Catholic Church.  It is also our individual soul, and likewise the church building in which we look for the Redeemer today.  Here it is that we are being prepared for the heavenly Sion.

And so we have a preview of that emphasis on Sion at Matins by the addition of the extra text to the previous Sunday's Lauds antiphon, Ecce Dominus veniet: 

Behold, the Lord comes and all his saints with him
and on that day there will be great light, alleluia.

And shall go out from Jerusalem, like pure water.
And the Lord shall reign for ever over all the nations.

The reference to "pure water" is another bit of text from Zechariah 14 - this time, from verse 8:

On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter.

(Revelation 22:1 picks up the theme later on, too:

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb....)

I wish I had a sound file of this Responsory, but alas - I don't.  My plan going forward is to create files in MuseScore and post them, though; it'll be electronic music and without words, but at least we'll get the sense of how the chants sounded.

But Hieronymus Praetorius set this text, and I can post a video of that piece:




Here are all the mass propers for Advent 2, from ChristusRex.org and sung by the monks of St. Benedict's Monastery, Sao Paulo, Brazil:

Hebdomada secunda adventus
Dominica Introitus: Cf. Is. 30, 19.30; Ps. 79 Populus Sion (3m15.8s - 3061 kb) score
Graduale: Ps. 40, 2.3. V. 5 Ex Sion (2m50.7s - 2675 kb) score
Alleluia: Ps. 121, 1 Lætatus sum (2m11.2s - 2057 kb) score
Offertorium: Ps. 84, 7.8 Deus, tu convertens (2m01.6s - 1901 kb) score
Communio: Bar. 5, 5; 4, 36 Ierusalem, surge cum Ps. 147, 12.13 (1m56.7s - 1825 kb) score

Here are posts on Chantblog for the Advent 2 Propers:

• The Introit:  Advent 2: Populus Sion ("People of Zion")
• The Advent 2 Gradual: Ex Sion ("Out of Zion")
• The Advent 2 Alleluia: Laetatus sum ("I was glad")
• The Advent 2 Offertory: Deus, tu convertens ("God, wilt Thou not turn again?")
•  The Communio:  Advent 2: Ierusalem Surge ("Arise, Jerusalem")
•  The Advent Office

Kyrie: Rex immense, Pater Pie

This Kyrie trope/motet comes from the Codex Calixtinus (or, as some call it - and more accurately, too! -  the Liber Sancti Jacobi).   This video comes from the Budapest Schola Cantorum; here's the information about it that they posted at the YouTube page:

Budapesti Énekes Iskola / Schola Cantorum Budapestiensis
Művészeti vezetők / Artistic directors: János MEZEI, Tamás BUBNÓ

Kyrie "Rex immensae" for two voice, from Codex Callixtinus

From the photos I've seen, the Schola appears to be a mixed choir of male and female voices, both young and older.  Very nice! 



Here are the words they are singing; I found them in a German Google book.  Interestingly, there is a bit of Greek mixed with the Latin text.

              Kyrie.
Fulbertus episcopus de sancto Jacobo.

 Rex immense, pater pie,
        eleison,
 Kyrie, eleìson,
 Palmo cuncta qui concludis,
        eleison,
         Kyrie, eleison,
  Sother, theos athanatos,
        eleison,
         Kyrie, eleison.

 Christe, fili patris summi,
      eleison,
        Christe, eleisou,
Qui de coelis descendisti,
      eleìson,
        Christe, eleison,
Tuum plasma redemisti,
      eleìson,
        Christe, eleison.

Consolator, dulcis amor,
      eleison,
        Kyrie, eleison,
Qui Jacobum illustraSti,
      eleison,
        Kyrie, eleison,
Cujus prece nobis parce,
      eleison,
        Kyrie, eleison.


Great King, gentle father,
        have mercy,
      Lord have mercy,
 You hold all things in your hand,
        have mercy,
      Lord have mercy,
  Savior, immortal God,
        have mercy,
      Lord have mercy.


 Christ, Son of the Most High,
        have mercy,
      Christ have mercy,
He came down from heaven,     
       have mercy,
     Christ have mercy,
You have redeemed your creatures,
      have mercy,
    Christ have mercy.


Comforter, sweet love,
      have mercy,
    Lord have mercy,
You are illumined by James,
      have mercy,
    Lord have mercy,
By his prayer spare us,
      have mercy ,
    Lord have mercy.


The words are also here, at a Wikisource site about the Codex Calixtinus; there are some misspellings there, though.

This Kyrie is apparently contained in in an appendix to the Codex.   (I have not been able to find a full digital copy of this manuscript online so far, so this is just an assumption on my part.)   A note at this page says (in reference to the organum included in the Codex) that:

It is possible that the Benedictines of Cluny (France) assembled this collection from various sources and presented it to the Cathedral of Santiago.  The concluding appendix to the codex contains 20 polyphonic pieces and one more appears in the main body of the codex.

Kyrie: Rex Immense is a trope on the Mass 12 (Pater cuncta) Kyrie.  A trope is a musical composition in which something new - either music or text, or both - added to an original chant.

In most cases, the original chant - the Kyrie, in this case - became melismatic (ornate in melody) over time; that is, musical ornament was, over the course of years, added to a simple Kyrie eleison chant.    (The ornament here is in the wandering melody of the "Kyrie" and "Christe" sections.)

Later on (or at the same time), words were written to the melodic ornament on the simple chant; the words - and perhaps the melody? - for this particular Kyrie are apparently attributed to Bishop Fulbert of Chartres.  Fulbert actually lived from the middle of the tenth century until 1028, two full centuries before the era of the Liber Sancti Jacobi (12th Century), so this attribution may not be accurate - although Fulbert was a hymn-writer.  (One of his compositions was the familiar Ye Choirs of New Jerusalem.)

(Just to note:  Mass 12 may originally have been known as Mass 13; I'm finding several references that may indicate this.)

Here's the Mass 12 Kyrie itself:



Here's a score:

Here's a page at DIAMM with some information about the LSJ - although, again, no images of the manuscript itself.  (You can apparently see a few images at this Wikipedia page, though.  I'm not sure where these are coming from.)  This Kyrie is listed as piece #16, folio 189.  (Which is, perhaps, otherwise known as folio 218!  Really, I have no idea, since I can't see what's going on.)

In this video, you can see and hear the original chant, as well as the trope; listen for the complete "Kyrie eleison" and "Christe eleison" chants.  These are included in the words I cited above, but are left out in the video above.




And another, similar interpretation (to start with, anyway!), from Ensemble Nu:n, a favorite group of mine.   They mix medieval chant and jazz improvisation, always to interesting effect.  How could I not like them?