Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows: Origins of the Sequence "Stabat Mater'

Some time ago, I published at Dominican Liturgy three posts on the then new discoveries about the origins of the Stabat Mater.  As today is the the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, I thought is useful to gather these earlier posts together in one post.

I thank Fr. Innocent Smith O.P. for calling my attention to the original article announcing the discovery of the famous Stabat Mater being used as a sequence in the Gradual produced by a convent of Dominican nuns in Bologna in the later thirteenth century. This is by far the earliest known manuscript example of this hymn used as a sequence rather than as a devotional hymn. It has been commonly believed that the hymn only became used as a sequence in the late middle ages. It is also interesting that the melody provided matches neither the received Roman one nor that found in the printed Dominican books. This text is found in Bologna: Museo Civico Medievale MS 518, fo. 200v-04r.

The news was published in Cesarino Ruini, "Un antico versione dello Stabat Mater in un graduale delle Domenicane bolognesi," Deo è lo scrivano ch’el canto à ensegnato: Segni e simboli nella musica al tempo di Iacopone, Atti del Convegno internazionale, Collazzone, 7-8 luglio 2006, ed. Ernesto Sergio Mainoldi and Stefania Vitale, Philomusica On-line, 9, no. 3 (2010). Those who would like the full text of the chant may find it at the end of this article.

For those who do not wish to read the article in Italian, here is an English summary:

The discovery of a Stabat Mater version set to music as a sequence in a late 13th-century Gradual from a Bolognese Dominican nunnery, makes it possible to advance new hypotheses about the origins and history of this renowned text. Untilnow there was no evidence that it was used as a sequence before the mid 15th century. The analysis of the piece highlights previously unidentified peculiarities regarding the historical and the liturgico-musical context in which it was used, whilst the comparison with the wealth of textual variants offered by its complex tradition points to concordances with later sources, mainly originating in Veneto and Emilia. As one of the earliest witnesses of this popular composition (there is only one other contemporary version, also from Bologna, but it is unnotated) there can be no doubt about its importance for textual criticism, and, inter alia, it does not favour the disputable paternity of Iacopone da Todi.

Here is the image of the manuscript with the beginning of the chant.



Careful readers will not that there are textual variants in this version as well. The Dominican Rite used by the friars added the Stabat Mater as a sequence on the feast of our Lady of Sorrows only in the 15th Century, thereby conforming the rite to the Roman, which had already added it. But the melody is not that of the thirteenth-century version. Here it is for comparison:



And here for additional comparison is the first verse with the melody as found in the 1961 Roman Gradual:



The discovery of this manuscript, as explained in the article (in Italian) linked above, shows, by the manuscript date that the traditional ascription of authorship to Jacopone of Todi can no longer be sustained. The date, however, leaves open the possibility, often mentioned, that it is the work of Pope Innocent III.

This new version is interesting for a number of reasons. First, this is the earliest use of the text as a sequence. Until the discovery of this version, it was only known as a hymn until the late middle ages. This manuscript shows that the earliest known use of the text as a sequence was among Italian Dominican nuns in the late 1200s.

Next, the text includes not only a number of verbal variants, but also includes two verses absent from the commonly received version. Those who wish to examine these can download my transcription and compare the text to the received version here.

Even more interesting is the music. As pointed out to me by the nuns of Summit NJ, this ancient sequence borrows, with the exception of one stanza, the melody (cf. verses 19 and 20), the melodies of the Sequence of St. Dominic in the Dominican Rite. There are a number of minor musical variants as well. Those interested might want to compare the music to that found in the Dominican Gradual for the Mass of St. Dominic.


Through the kindness of one of our readers who converted the PDFs of this music into JPGs I am posting below the newly discovered 13th-Century Sequence version of the Stabat Mater for viewing by readers. The PDFs may still be downloaded here.

I am aware that these images are a bit blurry; if you click on them or download them, you will get a clearer image.Perhaps some Dominicans (and non-Dominicans) may want to make use of the ancient version on the up-coming celebration of Our Lady of Sorrows.

Votive Masses for Death, Election, and Installation of a Pope

Cardinals Entering a Conclave

 I am sure that our readers are saying prayers for the repose of the soul of our Holy Father, Pope Francis, who died this morning. Although a Mass with an intention for the repose of his soul may be said immediately, an actual Requiem Mass with the suitable collects cannot be said during the Octave of Easter since those days are first class feasts, and so only the Requiem Mass of the Funeral itself can be said during this week. The Requiem on news of a death would be second class and so the next possible date for such a Mass would be Monday, April 28, the third-class feast of St. Paul of the Cross.

 The Votive Mass of the Holy Spirit for the Election of a Supreme Pontiff would be a fourth-class votive  Mass, and so the next possible date would be Saturday, May 3. A votive Mass for a special occasion like an election of a prior, and so hypothetically for the election of a pope, would be second-class, but that would assume it would be said at the actual papal election itself. But such a Mass would never have been a Dominican Rite Mass. Thus this Votive Mass in the Dominican Missal would never be higher than fourth-class. The papal election itself will take place between May 6 and May 12, 2025, the earliest and latest dates for convoking the conclave. In that time frame the dates on which a fourth-class votive Mass may be celebrated are May 6 and May 12 themselves. The other days all have at least a third-class celebration.

 Finally, the Votive Mass for the Papal Coronation (now called Installation) is second-class in our rite. Of course, it would never have been used at the actual coronation, so this Mass is in our rite actually "on the occasion" of the installation. It can be said so long as there is no first-class feast on that date. Even though, it would be assumed that this votive Mass would be said on the actual day of ceremony, it could, I think, be anticipated or deferred to an open date, should that be pastorally indicated.

Let us all pray, not only for the repose of the soul of Pope Francis, but also for the Holy Spirit's guidance of the coming conclave!

 

Dominican Rite English Lectionary Revision Now Available

As readers know, some ten years ago, Dominican Liturgy Publications published an English lectionary for the Dominican Rite, containing all the Epistles and Gospels of the year. As there have been additions to the calendar since then for new Dominican saints and because we have become aware of some minor errors in the old edition, Dominican Liturgy Publications has now published a revised edition. 

 This lectionary will allow those publicly celebrating Mass in Latin to read the readings in the vernacular as is expected under the terms of Traditionis Custodes, which requires this practice, either by replacing the Latin readings with vernacular or reading the vernacular before the sermon. If you would like to order a copy of this new edition of the lectionary or want to read about it, you can access the order page here.