Notre Dame de Rouen. The façade of the Gothic Church in France. Photographer: Hippo1947. Licence: SHUTTERSTOCK.

Thursday 19 September 2013

The Office of Compline In A Cistercian Abbey. Chant Grégorien De L'abbaye De Fontfroide, France. Complies Cisterciennes.


Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.


File:Abbaye de Fontfroide (Cloitre).jpg


English: The Cloisters 
at Fontfroide Abbey, France.
Français: Cloitre de Fontfroide
Photo: 23 April 2011.
Source: Own work.
Author: J-f.desvignes.
(Wikimedia Commons)


File:Abbaye de Fontfroide 30.JPG


English: Fontfroide Abbey, France.
Français: Abbaye de Fontfroide, Narbonne, Aude, 
Languedoc-Roussillon, France.
Photo: 22 September 2012.
Source: Own work.
Author: Romain Bréget.
(Wikimedia Commons)


File:Abbaye Fontfroide cloitre 03.jpeg


The Cloisters at Fontfroide Abbey, 
Languedoc, France.
Photo: 23 March 2009.
Source: Own work.
Author: Harmonia Amanda.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Fontfroide Abbey, or l'Abbaye Sainte-Marie de Fontfroide, is a former Cistercian Monastery in France, situated 15 kilometers South-West of Narbonne, near to the Spanish border.

It was founded in 1093 by the Viscount of Narbonne, but remained poor and obscure until, in 1144, it affiliated itself to the Cistercian reform movement. Shortly afterwards, the Count of Barcelona gave it the land in Spain that was to form the great Catalan Monastery of Poblet, of which Fontfroide counts as the Mother House, and, in 1157, the Viscountess Ermengarde of Narbonne granted it a great quantity of land locally, thus securing its wealth and status. The Abbey fought, together with Pope Innocent III, against the heretical doctrine of the Cathars, who lived in the region. It was dissolved in 1791 in the course of the French Revolution.


File:Abbaye Fontfroide AL 21.jpg


English: Fontfroide Abbey, France.
Français: Abbaye de Fontfroide (Narbonne).
Photo: 4 April 2010.
Source: Own work.
Author: ArnoLagrange.
(Wikimedia Commons)


File:FONTFROIDE.jpg


Fontfroide Abbey, France.
Photo: 6 September 2004.
Source: Own work.
Author: CARPEDIEM13.
(Wikimedia Commons)


It was re-founded in 1858 by Monks from Sénanque Abbey. The Community was driven out of France by French legal changes in 1901. The premises, which are of very great architectural interest, passed into private hands in 1908, when the artists, Gustave and Madeleine Fayet d'Andoque, bought it to protect the fabric of the buildings from an American collector of sculpture. They restored it over a number of years and used it as a centre for artistic projects.

It still remains in private hands. Today, wine is produced here of the AOC Corbières quality, under the French appellations system. It also has a small working farm, bookstore and restaurant and takes paying guests.




The Office of Compline 
in a Cistercian Abbey.
Chant grégorien de 
l'abbaye de Fontfroide.
Complies cisterciennes.
Available on YouTube at


File:Narbonne Abbaye Sainte-Marie de Fontfroide 14.JPG


English: Fontfroide Abbey, France.
Français: Abbaye Sainte-Marie de 
Fontfroide à Narbonne.
Photo: 11 August 2012.
Source: Own work.
(Wikimedia Commons)


File:Narbonne Abbaye Sainte-Marie de Fontfroide 8.JPG


English: Fontfroide Abbey, France.
Français: Abbaye Sainte-Marie de Fontfroide à Narbonne.
Photo: 11 August 2012.
Source: Own work.
(Wikimedia Commons)


File:Narbonne Abbaye Sainte-Marie de Fontfroide 12.JPG


English: Fontfroide Abbey, France.
Français: Abbaye Sainte-Marie de Fontfroide à Narbonne.
Photo: 11 August 2012.
Source: Own work.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Tuesday 17 September 2013

Romanesque (Part Eight).


Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.


File:Chevet abbHommes.JPG


English: The Abbey of Saint-Etienne, Caen, France. The Abbey is also known as 
Abbaye aux Hommes ("Men's Abbey"), and is a former Monastery in the French city of 
Caen, Normandy. Dedicated to Saint Stephen ("Saint Étienne"), it is considered, along 
with the neighbouring Abbaye aux Dames ("Ladies' Abbey"), to be one of the most notable Romanesque buildings in Normandy. Like all the major Abbeys in Normandy, it was Benedictine. Lanfranc, before being an Archbishop of Canterbury, was Abbot of Saint-Etienne.
Français: Abbaye aux Hommes, Caen, France.
Español: Abadía de los Hombres de Caen.
Photo: February 2005.
User: Urban.
Author: Urban.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Eastern End of a Romanesque Church is almost always semi-circular, with either a high Chancel, surrounded by an Ambulatory, as in France, or a Square End, from which an Apse projects, as in Germany and Italy. Where Square Ends exist in English Churches, they are probably influenced by Anglo-Saxon Churches. Peterborough and Norwich Cathedrals have retained round East Ends, in the French style. However, in France, simple Churches, without Apses and with no decorative features, were built by the Cistercians, who also founded many Houses in England, frequently in remote areas.


File:F06.Nevers St.-Etienne.1066.JPG


English: Saint-Étienne, Nevers, France, displays a round Chancel with 
Ambulatory, Apsidal Chapels and strongly-projecting Transepts. The Church of Saint Etienne, Nevers, is a specimen of the Romanesque style of Auvergne, France, of which the disposition 
of the Apse, with its three radiating Chapels, is characteristic. 
It was consecrated at the close of the 9th-Century, and 
belonged to a Priory affiliated to Cluny.
Deutsch: Saint-Etienne, Nevers, Chorhaupt.
Date: 2008-03-16 (original upload date).(Original text : 31.08.06)
Source: Transferred from de.wikipedia; transferred to Commons by 
(Original text : selbst fotografiert)
Permission: Licensed under the GFDL by the author.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Romanesque Church facades, generally to the West End of the building, are usually symmetrical, have a large central Portal, made significant by its mouldings or Porch, and an arrangement of Arched-topped windows. In Italy, there is often a single central Ocular, or Wheel Window. The common decorative feature is Arcading.

Smaller Churches often have a single Tower, that is usually placed to the Western End in France or England, either centrally or to one side, while larger Churches and Cathedrals often have two Towers.

In France, Saint-Étienne, Caen, presents the model of a large French Romanesque facade. It is a symmetrical arrangement, of Nave, flanked by two tall Towers, each with two Buttresses of low flat profile that divide the facade into three vertical units. The lowest stage is marked by large doors, each set within an Arch in each of the three vertical sections. The wider central section has two tiers of three identical windows, while in the outer sections there are two tiers of single windows, giving emphasis to the mass of the Towers. The Towers rise above the facade through three further tiers, the lowest of tall Blind Arcading, the next of Arcading pierced by two narrow windows and the third of two large windows, divided into two Lights by a Colonnette.

This facade can be seen as the foundation for many other buildings, including both French and English Gothic Churches. While the form is typical of Northern France, its various components were common to many Romanesque Churches of the period across Europe. Similar facades are found in Portugal. In England, Southwell Cathedral has maintained this form, despite the insertion of a huge Gothic window between the Towers. Lincoln Cathedral and Durham Cathedral must once have looked like this. In Germany, the Limburg Cathedral has a rich variety of openings and Arcades in horizontal Storeys of varying heights.


File:Normandie Calvados Caen5 tango7174.jpg


English: The Cloister Galleries, in The Abbey of Saint-Etienne, Caen, France. The Abbey is also known as Abbaye aux Hommes ("Men's Abbey"), and is a former Monastery in the French city of 
Caen, Normandy. Dedicated to Saint Stephen ("Saint Étienne"), it is considered, along 
with the neighbouring Abbaye aux Dames ("Ladies' Abbey"), to be one of the most notable Romanesque buildings in Normandy. Like all the major Abbeys in Normandy, it was BenedictineLanfranc, before being an Archbishop of Canterbury, was Abbot of Saint-Etienne.
Français: Abbaye-aux-Hommes, Caen, Calvados, Normandie, France. Galeries du cloître.
Photo: 7 September 2008.
Source: Own work.
Author: Tango7174.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Churches of San Zeno Maggiore, Verona, and San Michele, Pavia, present two types of facade that are typical of Italian Romanesque, that which reveals the architectural form of the building, and that which screens it. At San Zeno, the components of Nave and Aisles are made clear by the vertical Shafts that rise to the level of the Central Gable and by the varying roof levels.

At San Miniato al Monte, the definition of the architectural parts is made even clearer by the polychrome marble, a feature of many Italian Mediaeval facades, particularly in Tuscany. At San Michele, Pavia, the vertical definition is present, as at San Zeno, but the rooflines are screened behind a single large Gable decorated with stepped Arcading. At Santa Maria della Pieve, Arezzo, this screening is carried even further, as the roofline is horizontal and the Arcading rises in many different levels, while the Colonnettes, that support them, have a great diversity of decoration.


File:Seu urgell.jpg



The Cathedral of Santa Maria d'Urgell, Spain, has an Apsidal East End, 
projecting at a lower level to the Choir and decorated 
with an Arcade below the roofline. 
This form is usual in Italy and Germany.
This File: 26 December 2006.
User: Mgclpe.
Author: kev the wev.
(Wikimedia Commons)


In the Rhineland and the Netherlands, the Carolingian form of West End, known as the Westwerk, prevailed. Towers and Apse of the Western End are often incorporated into a multi-storey structure that bears little structural or visual relationship to the building behind it. These Westwerks take a great variety of forms, as may be seen at Maria Laach Abbey, Saint Gertrude, Nivelles, and Saint Servatius, Maastricht.

Towers were an important feature of Romanesque Churches and a great number of them are still standing. They take a variety of forms: Square; Circular; and Octagonal. They are positioned differently in relation to the Church building in different countries. In northern France, two large Towers, such as those at Caen, were to become an integral part of the facade of any large Abbey or Cathedral. In Central and Southern France, this is more variable and large Churches may have one Tower or a Central Tower. Large Churches of Spain and Portugal usually have two Towers.


File:Dom zu Worms (Chor).jpg


English: The Choir, Worms Cathedral. The Cathedral of Saint Peter (German: Wormser Dom) is a Church in Worms, Southern Germany. It was the Seat of the Catholic 
Prince-Bishopric of Worms until its extinction in 1800.
Deutsch: Ansicht des Chores im Dom zu Worms.
Photo: 26 September 2011.
Source: Own work.
Author: Ratog.
(Wikimedia Commons)


File:Worms Dom st peter 001.jpg


(Dom Saint Peter), Worms, Germany.
Photo: 14 December 2007.
Source: Own work.
Author: Mattana.
(Wikimedia Commons)


File:Normandie Calvados Caen3.jpg


English: Abbaye-aux-Dames, Caen, Calvados, Normandie, France. 
Apse of Sainte Trinité Church.
Français: Abbaye-aux-Dames, Caen, Calvados, Normandie, France. 
Abside de l'église abbatiale de la Trinité.
Photo: 7 September 2008.
Source: Own work.
Author: Tango7174.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Many Abbeys of France, such as that at Cluny, had many Towers of varied forms. This is also common in Germany, where the Apses were sometimes framed with circular Towers and The Crossing surmounted by an Octagonal Tower, as at Worms Cathedral. Large paired Towers, of Square Plan, could also occur on the Transept Ends, such as those at Tournai Cathedral, in Belgium.

In Germany, where four Towers frequently occur, they often have Spires, that may be four- or eight-sided, or the distinctive Rhenish Helm shape, seen on the Cathedrals of Limburg or Speyer. It is also common to see Bell- or Onion-Shaped Spires, of the Baroque period, surmounting Romanesque Towers, in Central and Eastern Europe.


PART NINE FOLLOWS.


Monday 16 September 2013

Petre, Ego Pro Te Rogavi. Salve Regina. Francisco Guerrero (1528 - 1599).


Petre, Ego Pro Te Rogavi can be found on ATRIUM MUSICOLOGICUM


File:Kathedraal van Sevilla 1.JPG


English: Seville Cathedral, Spain.
Kathedraal van Sevilla.
Photo: 10 March 2007.
Source: Own work.
Author: pepijntje.
(Wikimedia Commons)


File:Catedral de Santa María de la Sede. Interior.jpg


English: Seville Cathedral.
Español: Once mil metros cuadrados, un sueño imposible, 
de arte en la catedral que Inocencio IV la tituló Santa María de la Sede.
Photo: September 2012.
Source: Own work.
Author: José Luis Filpo Cabana.
(Wikimedia Commons)


File:Sevilla2005July 043.jpg


English: Façade of Seville Cathedral.
Español: Una de las fachadas de la Catedral, 
vista desde el Patio de los Naranjos.
Photo: 7 July 2005.
Source: Own work.
Author: Source: dubaduba.
(Wikimedia Commons)




Petre Ego Pro Te Rogavi
by
Francisco Guerrero.
Available on YouTube at


The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.

Latin text.

Ego pro te rogavi Petre, ut non deficiat fides tua:
Sed tu aliquando conversus confirma fratres tuos.
Et tibi dabo claves regni coelorum.


English translation.

I have prayed for thee, Peter, that thy faith fail not:
But thou, being once converted, confirm thy brethren.
And I will give thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven.

Francisco Guerrero (1528-1599) was a Spanish composer of the Renaissance. He was born and died in Seville, Spain.

Guerrero's early musical education was with his older brother, Pedro. He must have been an astonishing prodigy, for, at the age of 17, he was already appointed maestro de capilla (singing master, i.e. music director) at Jaén Cathedral, Spain. A few years later, he accepted a position in Seville. Apparently, during this time, he was much in demand as a singer and composer, establishing an exceptional reputation before his thirtieth birthday; in addition, he published several collections of his music abroad, an unusual event for a young composer.

After several decades of working and travelling throughout Spain and Portugal, sometimes in the employ of Emperor Maximilian II, he went to Italy for a year (1581–1582), where he published two books of his music. After returning to Spain for several years, he decided to travel to the Holy Land, which he finally was able to do in 1589. His adventure included visits to Damascus, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem; on the return trip, his ship was twice attacked by pirates, who threatened his life, stole his money, and held him for ransom. 

His ransom must have been paid, for he was able to return to Spain; unfortunately he had no money, and endured a series of misfortunes, including some time spent in debtor's prison; at last his old employer at Seville Cathedral extricated him, and he resumed working. His book on his adventurous visit to the Holy Land was published in 1590 and was a popular success (it is reasonable to suppose that Cervantes knew it). At the end of the decade, he planned one more trip to the Holy Land, but, unfortunately, he died in the plague of 1599 in Seville, before he was able to depart.




Salve Regina
by
Francisco Guerrero.
Available on YouTube at


Of all the Spanish Renaissance composers, he was the one who lived and worked the most in Spain. Others, for example, Morales and Victoria, spent large portions of their careers in Italy (though, unlike many Franco-Flemish composers of the time, Spanish composers usually returned home later in life).

Guerrero's music was both sacred and secular, unlike that of Victoria and Morales, the two other Spanish 16th-Century composers of the First Rank. He wrote numerous secular songs and instrumental pieces, in addition to Masses, Motets, and Passions. He was able to capture an astonishing variety of moods in his music, from ecstasy to despair, longing, joy, and devotional stillness; his music remained popular for hundreds of years, especially in Cathedrals in Latin America. 

Stylistically he preferred homophonic textures, rather like his Spanish contemporaries, and he wrote memorable, singable, lines. One interesting feature of his style is how he anticipated functional harmonic usage: There is a case of a Magnificat, discovered in Lima, Peru, once thought to be an anonymous 18th-Century work, which turned out to be a work of his.


Saturday 14 September 2013

Exaltation Of The Holy Cross. 14 September.


The Exaltation Of The Holy Cross.
14 September.

Greater Double.
Red Vestments.






Friday 13 September 2013

Romanesque (Part Seven).


Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.


File:Reims SRemi2 tango7174.jpg


English: Basilica of Saint-Rémi, Rheims, France.
Français: Basilique Saint-Remi, Reims, Champagne-Ardenne, France.
Photo: 31 August 2008.
Source: Own work.
Author: Tango7174.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Ribbed Vaults came into general use in the 12th-Century. In Ribbed Vaults, not only are there Ribs spanning the Vaulted area Transversely, but each Vaulted Bay has Diagonal Ribs, following the same course as the Groins in a Groin Vault. However, whereas in a Groin Vault, the Vault itself is the structural member, in a Ribbed Vault, it is the Ribs that are the structural members, and the spaces between them can be filled with lighter, non-structural, material.


File:Abbaye Fontevraud - Cloître du Grand-Moûtier.jpg


English: Fontevraud Abbey, Chinon, Anjou, France.
[Fontevraud Abbey or Fontevrault Abbey (in French: abbaye de Fontevraud) is a religious building hosting a cultural centre since 1975, the Centre Culturel de l'Ouest, in the village of Fontevraud-l'Abbaye, near Chinon, in Anjou, France. It was founded by the itinerant reforming preacher, Robert of Arbrissel, who had just created a new Order, the Order of Fontevrault. The first permanent structures were built between 1110 and 1119. In the early years, the Plantagenets were great benefactors of the Abbey and, while Isabella d'Anjou was Abbess, Henry II's widow, Eleanor of Aquitaine, became a Nun here. Louise de Bourbon left her Crest on 
many of the alterations she made during her Term of Office.]
Français: Abbaye Fontevraud. Cloître du Grand-Moûtier.
Photo: 27 July 2010.
Source: Own work.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Because Romanesque Arches are nearly always semi-circular, the structural and design problem inherent in the Ribbed Vault is that the Diagonal Span is larger and, therefore, higher than the Transverse Span. The Romanesque builders used a number of solutions to this problem. One was to have the centre point, where the Diagonal Ribs met as the highest point, with the infill of all the surfaces sloping upwards towards it, in a Domical manner. This solution was employed in Italy at San Michele, Pavia and Sant'Ambrogio, Milan.


File:St Remi choir from south east.jpg


View of the Choir, Basilica of Saint-Rémi, 
Rheims, France, from the South-East.
Photo: 6 February 2010.
Source: Own work.
Author: Raggatt2000.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The solution employed in England was to stilt the Transverse Ribs, maintaining a horizontal central line to the roof like a that of a Barrel Vault. The Diagonal Ribs could also be depressed, a solution used on the Sexpartite Vaults at both Saint-Étienne (Abbaye-aux-Hommes) and Sainte-Trinité, (Abbaye-les-Dames), at Caen, France, in the Late-11th- and Early-12th-Centuries.

The problems encountered, in the structure and appearance of Vaults, was solved late in the Romanesque period with the introduction of Pointed Arched Ribs, which allowed the height of both Diagonal and Transverse Ribs to be varied in proportion to each other.


File:FranceNormandieCaenAbbayeAuxDamesNefArcs.jpg


English: Bays in the Nave of the Abbey aux Dames, Caen, France.
[Note the Sexpartite Vaulting.]
Français: Caen, Normandie, France. Travées de la nef de l'abbaye aux Dames.
Photo: 17 October 2010.
Source: Own work.
Author: Ikmo-ned.
(Wikimedia Commons)


File:Caen, Abbaye aux Hommes 02.JPG


English Abbaye aux HommesCaen, France.
Français: Abbaye aux Hommes, Caen, France.
Photo: 5 April 2011.
Source: Own work.
Author: Mattana.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Pointed Ribs made their first appearance in the Transverse Ribs of the Vaults at Durham Cathedral, in Northern England, dating from 1128. Durham is a Cathedral of massive Romanesque proportions and appearance, yet its builders introduced several structural features that were new to architectural design and were later to be hallmark features of the Gothic.

Another Gothic structural feature, employed at Durham, is the Flying Buttress. However, these are hidden beneath the roofs of the Aisles. The earliest Pointed Vault in France is that of the Narthex of La Madeleine, Vézelay, dating from 1130. They were subsequently employed with the development of the Gothic style at the East End of the Basilica of Saint Denis, in Paris, in 1140.


File:Vézelays033.jpg


[Note the Pointed Vaulting.]
Deutsch: Die Basilika Sainte-Marie-Madeleine ist eine romanische Kirche in Vézelay in Burgund.
Nederlands: De basiliek van Vézelay is een beschermde abdijkerk in Vézelay
een Franse gemeente in het departement Yonne, inBourgondië.
dans le département de l'Yonne en Bourgogne, France.
Photo: 2005:08:12.
Source: Own work.
Author: Harmonia Amanda.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Many Parish Churches, Abbey Churches, and Cathedrals, are in the Romanesque style, or were originally built in the Romanesque style and have subsequently undergone changes. The simplest Romanesque Churches are Aisle-less Halls, with a projecting Apse at the Chancel end, or, sometimes, particularly in England, a projecting Rectangular Chancel, with a Chancel Arch that might be decorated with mouldings. More ambitious Churches have Aisles separated from the Nave by Arcades.

Abbey and Cathedral Churches generally follow the Latin Cross Plan. In England, the extension Eastward may be long, while, in Italy, it is often short, or non-existent, the Church being of a T-Plan, sometimes with Apses on the Transept Ends, as well as to the East.


File:Caen, Abbaye aux Hommes 08.jpg


Photo: 5 April 2011.
Source: Own work.
Author: Mattana.
(Wikimedia Commons)


In France, the Church of Saint Front, Périgueux, appears to have been modelled on Saint Mark's Basilica, Venice, or the Byzantine Church of the Holy Apostles, and is of a Greek Cross Plan, with five Domes.
In the same region, Angoulême Cathedral is an Aisle-less Church, of the Latin Cross Plan, more usual in France, but is also roofed with Domes. 

In Germany, Romanesque Churches are often of distinctive form, having Apses at both East and West Ends, the main entrance being central to one side. It is probable that this form came about to accommodate a Baptistery at the West End.

In Section, the typical Aisled Church or Cathedral has a Nave with a single Aisle on either side. The Nave and Aisles are separated by an Arcade carried on Piers or on Columns. The roof of the Aisle and the outer walls help to buttress the upper walls and Vault of the Nave, if present. 

Above the Aisle roof, are a row of windows, known as the Clerestory, which give light to the Nave. During the Romanesque period, there was a development from this two-stage elevation to a three-stage elevation, in which there is a Gallery, known as a Triforium, between the Arcade and the Clerestory. This varies from a simple Blind Arcade, decorating the walls, to a narrow Arcaded Passage, to a fully-developed Second-Storey with a row of windows lighting the Gallery.


PART EIGHT FOLLOWS.


Thursday 12 September 2013

Soirée Of Sacred Music In Support Of The Good Counsel Network.







Project:Opera, the People's Opera Company presents Laudate Dominum,
A soiree of Sacred Music in support of The Good Counsel Network.

Featuring Pianist Ilya Tchetverikov.

Friday 27 September 2013 at 7 p.m.

Saint Patrick's Church, Soho Square, London W1D 4NR

Tickets at the door £17.50. But please let us know if you plan to attend.

Champagne Reception and Buffet included.

Pianist Ilya Tchetverikov and the principals of Project:Opera bring you a celebration of Oratorio and Sacred Classics, to include, among others, selections from Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle, Pergolesi's Stabat Mater and Handel's Messiah.

Advance bookings available online (https://www.facebook.com/events/350097425123188/)
or call 07757 965339.



                         


Project Opera (The People's Opera Company) is an opera initiative where professional singers, musicians and artists support charity projects through opera.

Their mission is:

- To offer free performances to hospices and schools, to bring opera to the young, and to those unable to attend theatres;

- To offer community establishments, such as Churches and less advantaged schools, the opportunity to raise funds through our productions.

- To hold performances in support of Charities.

A Little One Needs Our Help And Prayers.


A request from THE GOOD COUNSEL NETWORK





Please pray for “Baby S”, her Mother is planning to have an abortion this week, her Husband wants to keep the Baby. We have counselled her, but she really, really, needs Prayer.

Image: The Good Counsel Network 
at


Wednesday 11 September 2013

Spiritus Sanctus. Hildegard Von Bingen.


Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.


File:Abtei St. Hildegard (Eibingen).jpg


English: The Benedictine Abbey of Saint Hildegard in Eibingen, Germany. 
 Founded in 1165 by Hildegard von Bingen.
Deutsch: Die Abtei St. Hildegard ist eine Benediktinerinnen-Abtei 
in Eibingen bei Rüdesheim im Bistum Limburg.
Photo: 26 May 2012.
Source: Own work.
Author: Tiggr.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Saint Hildegard of Bingen, O.S.B. (German: Hildegard von Bingen; Latin: Hildegardis Bingensis) (1098 - 1179), also known as Saint Hildegard, and Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German writer, composer, philosopher, Christian mystic, Benedictine Abbess, Visionary, and polymath.

Elected a magistra by her fellow Nuns in 1136, she founded the Monasteries of Rupertsberg, in 1150, and Eibingen, in 1165. One of her works as a composer, the Ordo Virtutum, is an early example of Liturgical drama and, arguably, the oldest surviving morality play.


File:Abtei St. Hildegard Eibingen Innenansicht.JPG


English: Interior of the Abbey of Saint Hildegard, 
Eibingen, Germany.
Deutsch: Abtei St. Hildegard in Eibingen, 
Ortsteil von Rüdesheim am Rhein
Innenansicht der Abteikirche.
Photo: 29 May 2012.
Source: Own work.
Author: Haffitt.
(Wikimedia Commons)


She wrote theological, botanical and medicinal texts, as well as Letters, Liturgical songs, and poems, while supervising brilliant miniature illuminations.

Although the history of her formal recognition as a Saint is complicated, she has been recognised as a Saint by parts of the Roman Catholic Church for centuries. On 7 October 2012, Pope Benedict XVI named her a Doctor of the Church.




Hildegard von Bingen.
Spiritus Sanctus.
Available on YouTube at


English: Spiritus Sanctus, the Second Antiphon and
Psalm 110/111 from Vespers of Hildegard von Bingen.
Deutsch: Spiritus Sanctus, die zweite Antiphon
und Psalm 110/111 aus der Vesper von Hildegard von Bingen.

English: Admiring the height of God´s Creation,
praising Him, thanking Him.
Deutsch: Voller Bewunderung für die Grösse der Schöpfung Gottes,
sie bewundernd und preisend.

English: Together with the photos of Marcus "Coy Dog" Werner.
Photos, visualising God´s splendour in bees, butterflies, birds and flowers.
Deutsch: Zusammen mit den Photos von Markus Coy Dog Werner.
Photos, die Gottes Grösse durch Bienen, Schmetterlinge,
Vögel und Blüten veranschaulichen.


Romanesque (Part Six)


Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.


File:Klosterkirche Maulbronn.jpg


English: Maulbronn Monastery
a former Cistercian Monastery, 
situated in Maulbronn, Germany. 
Since 1993, the Monastery is part of UNESCO World Heritage.
Deutsch: Klosterkirche Maulbronn (Innenansicht), 
durch Bildverarbeitung verfremdet.
Photo: 30 October 2012.
Source: Own work.
(Wikimedia Commons)


File:Maulbronn 3443.JPG


English: The Galilee is a variation of the Atrium, or the Narthex, in the Western part of a Church. The Galilee to the Convent Church of Maulbronn is also called The Paradise (1210 - 1215). It is regarded as a unique and perfect example of art from the time of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. The influences from Burgundy, France, are obvious and can be seen 
in the special finish of the Capitals and in the High Plinths. 
[This paragraph can be found in Romanesque - Architecture - Sculpture - Painting, 
Edited by Rolf Toman. Published by KONEMANN.]
Deutsch: Kloster Maulbronn.
This File: 12 March 2007.
Source: Own work.
Author: User:Fb78.
(Wikimedia Commons)


In most parts of Europe, Romanesque Columns were massive, as they supported thick upper walls with small windows, and sometimes heavy Vaults. The most common method of construction was to build them out of stone cylinders called Drums, as in the Crypt at Speyer Cathedral.

Where really massive Columns were called for, such as those at Durham Cathedral, they were constructed of ashlar masonry, and the hollow core was filled with rubble. These huge untapered Columns are sometimes ornamented with incised decorations.

A common characteristic of Romanesque buildings, occurring both in Churches and in the Arcades that separate large interior spaces of Castles, is the alternation of Piers and Columns. The most simple form that this takes is to have a Column between each adjoining Pier. Sometimes, the Columns are in multiples of two or three. At Saint Michael's, Hildesheim, an ABBA alternation occurs in the Nave, while an ABA alternation can be seen in The Transepts.


File:Aachener1723aDom.jpg


English: Charlemagne's Palatine Chapel, Aachen, Germany. 9th-Century.
Modelled on the Byzantine Church of San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy.
Deutsch: Aachener Dom.
Photo: 23 April 2009.
Source: Bojin, on request by Túrelio.
Author: Bojin.
Permission:
The permission to use this work has been archived in the Wikimedia OTRS system. It is available as ticket #2009102710046455 for users with an OTRS account. If you wish to reuse this work elsewhere, please read the instructions at COM:REUSE. If you are a Commons user and wish to confirm the permission, please leave a note at the OTRS noticeboard.
(Wikimedia Commons)


At Jumièges, there are tall Drum Columns between Piers, each of which has a Half-Column supporting the Arch. There are many variations on this theme, most notably at Durham Cathedral, where the mouldings and Shafts of the Piers are of exceptional richness and the huge masonry Columns are deeply incised with geometric patterns.

Often, the arrangement was made more complex by the complexity of the Piers, themselves, so that it was not Piers and Columns that alternated, but, rather, Piers of entirely different form from each other, such as those of Sant' Ambrogio, Milan, where the nature of the Vault dictated that the alternate Piers bore a great deal more weight than the intermediate ones and are, thus, very much larger.

The foliate Corinthian style provided the inspiration for many Romanesque Capitals, and the accuracy with which they were carved depended very much on the availability of original models, those in Italian Churches, such as Pisa Cathedral, or Church of Sant'Alessandro, in Lucca, and Southern France, being much closer to the Classical than those in England.


File:Hildesheim St Michael.jpg


Interior of Saint Mary's Cathedral and Saint Michael's Church,
Hildesheim, Germany. 
The Corinthian Capitals are clearly seen.
Photo: Autumn 2005.
Author: Dronkitmaster.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Corinthian Capital is essentially round at the bottom, where it sits on a circular Column, and square at the top, where it supports the wall or Arch. This form of Capital was maintained in the general proportions and outline of the Romanesque Capital. This was achieved most simply by cutting a rectangular cube and taking the four lower corners off at an angle, so that the block was square at the top, but octagonal at the bottom, as can be seen at Saint Michael's, Hildesheim, Germany.

This shape lent itself to a wide variety of superficial treatments, sometimes foliate, in imitation of the source, but often figurative. In Northern Europe, the foliate Capitals generally bear far more resemblance to the intricacies of manuscript illumination than to Classical sources. In parts of France and Italy, there are strong links to the Pierced Capitals of Byzantine architecture. It is in the figurative Capitals that the greatest originality is shown. While some are dependent on manuscript illustrations of Biblical scenes and depictions of beasts and monsters, others are lively scenes of the legends of local Saints.


File:Abbaye aux hommes intérieur 03.jpeg


English: The Ribbed Vaults, 
are sexpartite and span two Bays of the Nave.
Français: Nef de l'église Saint-Étienne 
de l'ancienne abbaye aux Hommes de Caen.
Photo: 23 March 2009.
Source: Own work.
Author: Harmonia Amanda.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Capitals, while retaining the form of a square top and a round bottom, were often compressed into little more than a bulging cushion-shape. This is particularly the case on large masonry Columns, or on large Columns that alternate with Piers, as at Durham Cathedral.

The majority of buildings have wooden roofs, generally of a simple truss, tie beam or king post form. In the case of trussed rafter roofs, they are sometimes lined with wooden ceilings in three sections, like those that survive at Ely and Peterborough Cathedrals, in England. In Churches, typically the Aisles are Vaulted, but the Nave is roofed with timber, as is the case at both Peterborough and Ely. In Italy, where open wooden roofs are common, and tie beams frequently occur in conjunction with Vaults, the timbers have often been decorated, as at San Miniato al Monte, Florence.

Vaults of stone or brick took on several different forms and showed marked development during the period, evolving into the pointed Ribbed Arch characteristic of Gothic architecture.


File:Peterborough south choir aisle.JPG


Peterborough Cathedral, South Choir Aisle.
The Aisles at Peterborough Cathedral 
have quadripartite Ribbed Vaults. 
The Nave has an ancient painted wooden ceiling.
Photo: 2007.
Source: Own work.
Author: TTaylor.
(Wikimedia Commons)


File:Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe (86) Abbatiale Intérieur 01.JPG


English: The Abbey Church of Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe 
is located in Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe, in Poitou, France
The Romanesque Church was begun in the Mid-11th-Century 
and contains many beautiful 11th- and 12th-Century murals
which are still in a remarkable state of preservation. 
[Note the decorated Columns and the decorated Nave roof.] 
It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983.
Français: Vue vers l'orient de la nef de l'abbatiale 
de Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe.
Photo: 12 June 2012.
Source: Own work.
Author: GO69.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The simplest type of Vaulted roof is the Barrel Vault, in which a single Arched surface extends from wall to wall the length of the space to be Vaulted, for example, the Nave of a Church. An important example, which retains Mediaeval paintings, is the Vault of Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe, France, of the Early-12th-Century. However, the Barrel Vault generally required the support of solid walls, or walls in which the windows were very small.

Groin Vaults occur in Early-Romanesque buildings, notably at Speyer Cathedral, where the High Vault, of about 1060, is the first employment in Romanesque architecture of this type of Vault for a wide Nave. In later buildings employing Ribbed Vaultings, Groin Vaults are most frequently used for the less visible and smaller Vaults, particularly in Crypts and Aisles. 

A Groin Vault is almost always square in Plan and is constructed of two Barrel Vaults intersecting at right angles. Unlike a Ribbed Vault, the entire Arch is a structural member. Groin Vaults are frequently separated by Transverse Arched Ribs of low profile, as at Speyer Cathedral and Santiago de Compostela. At Sainte Marie Madeleine, Vézelay, the Ribs are square in Section, strongly projecting and polychrome.


PART SEVEN FOLLOWS.


Tuesday 10 September 2013

Taedet Animam Meam. Requiem Aeternam. Officium Defunctorum. Tomás Luis De Victoria (1548 - 1611). Composed For The Funeral Of The Mother Of Two Emperors.


Text from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.




Taedet Animam Meam are the opening words in Chapter 10 of The Book of Job.
Job laments his afflictions and begs God to be delivered from them.




Taedet Animam Meam 
and Requiem Aeternam.
Tomás Luis De Victoria 
(1548 - 1611).
Available on YouTube at


Officium Defunctorum is a musical setting of the Office of the Dead, composed by the Spanish Renaissance composer, Tomás Luis de Victoria, in 1603. It includes settings of the movements of the Requiem Mass, accounting for about twenty-six minutes of the forty-two minute composition, and the work is sometimes referred to as "Victoria's Requiem".

Officium Defunctorum was composed for the funeral of the Dowager Empress Maria, sister of Philip II of Spain, daughter of Charles V, wife of Maximilian II and mother of two emperors; it was dedicated to Princess Margaret for “the obsequies of your most revered mother”. 

The Empress Maria died on 26 February 1603 and the great obsequies were performed on 22 April 1603 and 23 April 1603. Victoria was employed as Personal Chaplain to the Empress Maria from 1586 to the time of her death.




Victoria published eleven volumes of his music during his lifetime, representing the majority of his compositional output. Officium Defunctorum, the only work to be published by itself, was the eleventh volume and the last work Victoria published. The date of publication, 1605, is often included with the title to differentiate the Officium Defunctorum from Victoria's other setting of the Requiem Mass (in 1583, Victoria composed and published a book of Masses (Reprinted in 1592) including a Missa Pro Defunctis for Four-Part Choir).

Officium Defunctorum is scored for Six-Part SSATTB Chorus. It includes an entire Office of the Dead: In addition to a Requiem Mass, Victoria sets an Extra-Liturgical Funeral Motet, a Lesson that belongs to Matins (scored for only SATB and not always included in concert performances), and the ceremony of Absolution, which follows the Mass. 

Polyphonic sections are separated by unaccompanied Chant Incipits, that Victoria printed himself. The Soprano II usually carries the cantus firmus, though "it very often disappears into the surrounding part-writing since the Chant does not move as slowly as most cantus firmus parts and the polyphony does not generally move very fast."





The sections of the work are as follows:

Taedet Animam Meam. Second Lesson of Matins (Job 10:1-7);

Missa Pro Defunctis (Mass for the Dead). With the Council of Trent, the Liturgy of the Requiem Mass was standardised. Victoria sets all of the Requiem Mass sections, except the Dies Irae (Sequence);

Introit;

Versa Est In Luctum Cithara Mea (Funeral Motet);

The Absolution:

Responsory;
Libera Me;
Kyrie.




Versa Est In Luctum Cithara Mea
(Funeral Motet).
Alonso Lobo
(1555 - 1617).
Available on YouTube at


I Stand In Support Of Fr. Ray Blake.





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