Sequence (poetry)
Encyclopedia
A sequence is a chant
or hymn
sung or recited during the liturgical
celebration of the Eucharist
for many Christian denominations, before the proclamation of the Gospel
. By the time of the Council of Trent
(1543-1563) there were sequences for many feasts in the Church's year.
The sequence has always been sung before the Gospel. The latest (2002) edition of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal
, however, reversed the order and places the sequence before the Alleluia
.
The form of this chant inspired a genre of Latin poetry
written in a non-classical
metre, often on a sacred Christian
subject, which is also called a sequence.
s such as the Vexilla Regis
of Venantius Fortunatus
. Venantius modified the classical metres based on syllable quantity to an accentual metre more easily suitable to be chanted to music in Christian worship. In the ninth century, Hrabanus Maurus also moved away from classical metres to produce Christian hymns such as Veni Creator Spiritus
.
The name sequentia, on the other hand, came to be bestowed upon these hymns as a result of the works of Notker Balbulus, who during the tenth century popularized the genre by publishing a collection of sequentiae in his Liber hymnorum. Since early sequences were written in rhythmical prose, they were also called prose
s (Latin: prosae).
Notker's texts were meant to be sung. In the Latin Mass
of the Middle Ages
, it became customary to prolong the last syllable of the Alleluia
, while the deacon
was ascending from the altar to the ambo
, to sing or chant the Gospel. This prolonged melisma
was called the jubilus
, jubilatio, or laudes, because of its jubilant tone. It was also called sequentia, "sequence," because it followed (Latin: sequere) the Alleluia. Notker set words to this melisma in rhythmic prose for chanting as a trope
. The name sequence thus came to be applied to these texts; and by extension, to hymns containing rhyme
and accentual metre. A collection of sequences was called the Sequentiale.
One well-known sequence, falsely attributed to Notker during the Middle Ages, is the prose text Media vita in morte sumus
("In the midst of life we are in death"), which was translated by Cranmer and became a part of the burial service
in the funeral
rites of the Anglican
Book of Common Prayer
. Other well-known sequences include the ninth-century Swan Sequence
, Tommaso da Celano's Dies Irae
, St. Thomas Aquinas
' Pange lingua in praise of the Eucharist
, the anonymous medieval hymn Ave maris stella
("Hail, star of the sea!"), and the Marian sequence Stabat Mater
by Jacopone da Todi
. During the Middle Ages, secular or semi-secular sequences, such as Peter of Blois
' Olim sudor Herculis ("The labours of Hercules") were written; the Goliard
s, a group of Latin poets who wrote mostly satirical
verse, used the form extensively. The Carmina Burana
is a collection of these sequences.
(1570) the number of sequences for the entire Roman Rite
was reduced to four: Victimae paschali laudes
(11th century) for Easter
, Veni Sancte Spiritus
for Pentecost
(12th century), Lauda Sion Salvatorem (c.1264) for Corpus Christi
, and Dies Irae
(13th century) for All Souls and in Masses for the Dead. In 1727, the 13th century Stabat Mater
for Our Lady of Sorrows
was added to this list. In 1970 the Dies Irae
was removed from the Requiem Mass of the revised, new Roman Missal
and was transferred to the Liturgy of the Hours
to be sung ad libitum in the week before the beginning of Advent
. The Christmas sequence "Laetabundus," not present in the Roman Missal, is found in the Dominican Missal. This sequence is permitted for the Third Mass of Christmas, the Epiphany, and Candlemas.
s. Musically, sequences fall into early, middle, and late periods. In the early period, sequences such as Notker's often included single lines that were not part of a couplet. These single lines most often appeared at the beginning or end of the sequence, but could also appear in the middle. Sequences from the middle period, starting around the 11th century, such as the sequence for the Mass of Easter
Day, Victimae paschali laudes
, are less likely to have single lines outside of couplets, and their couplets are more likely to rhyme. By the 12th century, later sequences, such as the sequence for Pentecost
, Veni Sancte Spiritus
, showed increasing regularity of structure, with rhyming couplets throughout.
Medieval sequences are usually modal
melodies. While primarily syllabic, sequences can occasionally have short neumatic moments, but they almost never contain melisma
s. The two verses of each couplet are sung to the same musical line, usually ending on a tonally stabilizing pitch, with variety being created by couplets of different lengths and with different musical arches. Although sequences are vocal and monophonic
, certain sequence texts suggest possible vocal harmonization in organum
or instrumental accompaniment.
The composition of sequences became less frequent when Humanist Latin
replaced medieval Latin
as the preferred literary style
in Latin. New sequences continued to be written in Latin; one of the best known later sequences is the Christmas carol
Adeste Fideles
, known in English as "O Come, All Ye Faithful".
Chant
Chant is the rhythmic speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes to highly complex musical structures Chant (from French chanter) is the rhythmic speaking or singing...
or hymn
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
sung or recited during the liturgical
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
celebration of the Eucharist
Eucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
for many Christian denominations, before the proclamation of the Gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
. By the time of the Council of Trent
Council of Trent
The Council of Trent was the 16th-century Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. It is considered to be one of the Church's most important councils. It convened in Trent between December 13, 1545, and December 4, 1563 in twenty-five sessions for three periods...
(1543-1563) there were sequences for many feasts in the Church's year.
The sequence has always been sung before the Gospel. The latest (2002) edition of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal
General Instruction of the Roman Missal
The General Instruction of the Roman Missal —in the Latin original, Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani —is the detailed document governing the celebration of Mass of the ordinary form of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church since 1969...
, however, reversed the order and places the sequence before the Alleluia
Alleluia
The word "Alleluia" or "Hallelujah" , which at its most literal means "Praise Yah", is used in different ways in Christian liturgies....
.
The form of this chant inspired a genre of Latin poetry
Latin poetry
The history of Latin poetry can be understood as the adaptation of Greek models. The verse comedies of Plautus are the earliest Latin literature that has survived, composed around 205-184 BC, yet the start of Latin literature is conventionally dated to the first performance of a play in verse by a...
written in a non-classical
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
metre, often on a sacred Christian
Christian poetry
Christian poetry is any poetry that contains Christian teachings, themes, or references. The influence of Christianity on poetry has been great in any area that Christianity has taken hold...
subject, which is also called a sequence.
The Latin sequence in literature and liturgy
The Latin sequence has its beginnings, as an artistic form, in early Christian hymnHymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
s such as the Vexilla Regis
Vexilla Regis
The "Vexilla Regis" is a Latin hymn by the Christian poet Venantius Fortunatus, Bishop of Poitiers. It takes its title from its opening stanza:...
of Venantius Fortunatus
Venantius Fortunatus
Venantius Honorius Clementianus Fortunatus was a Latin poet and hymnodist in the Merovingian Court, and a Bishop of the early Catholic Church. He was never canonised but was venerated as Saint Venantius Fortunatus during the Middle Ages.-Life:Venantius Fortunatus was born between 530 and 540 A.D....
. Venantius modified the classical metres based on syllable quantity to an accentual metre more easily suitable to be chanted to music in Christian worship. In the ninth century, Hrabanus Maurus also moved away from classical metres to produce Christian hymns such as Veni Creator Spiritus
Veni Creator Spiritus
Veni Creator Spiritus is a hymn believed to have been written by Rabanus Maurus in the 9th century. It is normally sung in Gregorian Chant and often associated with the Roman Catholic Church, where it is performed during the liturgical celebration of the feast of Pentecost...
.
The name sequentia, on the other hand, came to be bestowed upon these hymns as a result of the works of Notker Balbulus, who during the tenth century popularized the genre by publishing a collection of sequentiae in his Liber hymnorum. Since early sequences were written in rhythmical prose, they were also called prose
Prose
Prose is the most typical form of written language, applying ordinary grammatical structure and natural flow of speech rather than rhythmic structure...
s (Latin: prosae).
Notker's texts were meant to be sung. In the Latin Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
of the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, it became customary to prolong the last syllable of the Alleluia
Alleluia
The word "Alleluia" or "Hallelujah" , which at its most literal means "Praise Yah", is used in different ways in Christian liturgies....
, while the deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
was ascending from the altar to the ambo
Pulpit
Pulpit is a speakers' stand in a church. In many Christian churches, there are two speakers' stands at the front of the church. Typically, the one on the left is called the pulpit...
, to sing or chant the Gospel. This prolonged melisma
Melisma
Melisma, in music, is the singing of a single syllable of text while moving between several different notes in succession. Music sung in this style is referred to as melismatic, as opposed to syllabic, where each syllable of text is matched to a single note.-History:Music of ancient cultures used...
was called the jubilus
Jubilus
Jubilus is the term for the long melisma placed on the final syllable of the Alleluia as it is sung in the Gregorian chant. The structure of the Alleluia is such that the cantor first sings the word "alleluia," without the jubilus, and then the choir repeats the word with the melisma added...
, jubilatio, or laudes, because of its jubilant tone. It was also called sequentia, "sequence," because it followed (Latin: sequere) the Alleluia. Notker set words to this melisma in rhythmic prose for chanting as a trope
Trope (music)
A trope or tropus may be a variety of different things in medieval and modern music.The term trope derives from the Greek τρόπος , "a turn, a change" , related to the root of the verb τρέπειν , "to turn, to direct, to alter, to change"...
. The name sequence thus came to be applied to these texts; and by extension, to hymns containing rhyme
Rhyme
A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds in two or more words and is most often used in poetry and songs. The word "rhyme" may also refer to a short poem, such as a rhyming couplet or other brief rhyming poem such as nursery rhymes.-Etymology:...
and accentual metre. A collection of sequences was called the Sequentiale.
One well-known sequence, falsely attributed to Notker during the Middle Ages, is the prose text Media vita in morte sumus
Media vita in morte sumus
Media vita in morte sumus is the title and first line of a Latin antiphon, which translates as In the midst of life we are in death. It was erroneously attributed to Notker the Stammerer late in the Middle Ages, but was more probably written around 750 in France...
("In the midst of life we are in death"), which was translated by Cranmer and became a part of the burial service
Requiem
A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead or Mass of the dead , is a Mass celebrated for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, using a particular form of the Roman Missal...
in the funeral
Funeral
A funeral is a ceremony for celebrating, sanctifying, or remembering the life of a person who has died. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from interment itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honor...
rites of the Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
Book of Common Prayer
Book of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer is the short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by the Continuing Anglican, "Anglican realignment" and other Anglican churches. The original book, published in 1549 , in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English...
. Other well-known sequences include the ninth-century Swan Sequence
Swan Sequence
The Swan Sequence is an anonymous Carolingian–Aquitainian Latin sequence first recorded around 850. Its melody was popular for some two centuries after its composition....
, Tommaso da Celano's Dies Irae
Dies Irae
Dies Irae is a thirteenth century Latin hymn thought to be written by Thomas of Celano . It is a medieval Latin poem characterized by its accentual stress and its rhymed lines. The metre is trochaic...
, St. Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, O.P. , also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis...
' Pange lingua in praise of the Eucharist
Eucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
, the anonymous medieval hymn Ave maris stella
Ave Maris Stella
Ave Maris Stella is a plainsong Vespers hymn to Mary. It is of uncertain origin and can be dated back at least as far as the eighth century. It was especially popular in the Middle Ages and has been used by many composers as the basis of other compositions...
("Hail, star of the sea!"), and the Marian sequence Stabat Mater
Stabat Mater
Stabat Mater is a 13th-century Roman Catholic hymn to Mary. It has been variously attributed to the Franciscan Jacopone da Todi and to Innocent III...
by Jacopone da Todi
Jacopone da Todi
Jacopone da Todi was a Franciscan friar from Umbria, Italy in the 13th century. He wrote several laudi in Italian. He was an early pioneer in Italian theatre, being one of the earliest scholars who dramatised gospel subjects.-Life:Jacopone studied law in Bologna and became a successful lawyer...
. During the Middle Ages, secular or semi-secular sequences, such as Peter of Blois
Peter of Blois
Peter of Blois or Petrus Blesensis was a French poet and diplomat who wrote in Latin. Peter studied law in Bologna and theology in Paris...
' Olim sudor Herculis ("The labours of Hercules") were written; the Goliard
Goliard
The Goliards were a group of clergy who wrote bibulous, satirical Latin poetry in the 12th and 13th centuries. They were mainly clerical students at the universities of France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and England who protested the growing contradictions within the Church, such as the failure of the...
s, a group of Latin poets who wrote mostly satirical
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
verse, used the form extensively. The Carmina Burana
Carmina Burana
Carmina Burana , Latin for "Songs from Beuern" , is the name given to a manuscript of 254 poems and dramatic texts mostly from the 11th or 12th century, although some are from the 13th century. The pieces were written principally in Medieval Latin; a few in Middle High German, and some with traces...
is a collection of these sequences.
Many sequences abolished
In the Missal of Pius VTridentine Mass
The Tridentine Mass is the form of the Roman Rite Mass contained in the typical editions of the Roman Missal that were published from 1570 to 1962. It was the most widely celebrated Mass liturgy in the world until the introduction of the Mass of Paul VI in December 1969...
(1570) the number of sequences for the entire Roman Rite
Roman Rite
The Roman Rite is the liturgical rite used in the Diocese of Rome in the Catholic Church. It is by far the most widespread of the Latin liturgical rites used within the Western or Latin autonomous particular Church, the particular Church that itself is also called the Latin Rite, and that is one of...
was reduced to four: Victimae paschali laudes
Victimae Paschali Laudes
Victimae paschali laudes is a sequence prescribed for the Roman Catholic Mass and liturgical Protestant Eucharists of Easter Sunday. It is usually attributed to the 11th century Wipo of Burgundy, chaplain to the German Emperor Conrad II, but has also been attributed to Notker Balbulus, Robert II of...
(11th century) for Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
, Veni Sancte Spiritus
Veni Sancte Spiritus
Veni Sancte Spiritus, sometimes called the "Golden Sequence," is a sequence prescribed in the Roman Liturgy for the Masses of Pentecost and its octave, exclusive of the following Sunday...
for Pentecost
Pentecost
Pentecost is a prominent feast in the calendar of Ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law on Sinai, and also later in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection of Jesus...
(12th century), Lauda Sion Salvatorem (c.1264) for Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi (feast)
Corpus Christi is a Latin Rite solemnity, now designated the solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ . It is also celebrated in some Anglican, Lutheran and Old Catholic Churches. Like Trinity Sunday and the Solemnity of Christ the King, it does not commemorate a particular event in...
, and Dies Irae
Dies Irae
Dies Irae is a thirteenth century Latin hymn thought to be written by Thomas of Celano . It is a medieval Latin poem characterized by its accentual stress and its rhymed lines. The metre is trochaic...
(13th century) for All Souls and in Masses for the Dead. In 1727, the 13th century Stabat Mater
Stabat Mater
Stabat Mater is a 13th-century Roman Catholic hymn to Mary. It has been variously attributed to the Franciscan Jacopone da Todi and to Innocent III...
for Our Lady of Sorrows
Our Lady of Sorrows
Our Lady of Sorrows , the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows , and Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dolours are names by which the Blessed Virgin Mary is referred to in relation to sorrows in her life...
was added to this list. In 1970 the Dies Irae
Dies Irae
Dies Irae is a thirteenth century Latin hymn thought to be written by Thomas of Celano . It is a medieval Latin poem characterized by its accentual stress and its rhymed lines. The metre is trochaic...
was removed from the Requiem Mass of the revised, new Roman Missal
Mass of Paul VI
The Mass of Pope Paul VI is the liturgy of the Catholic Mass of the Roman Rite promulgated by Paul VI in 1969, after the Second Vatican Council...
and was transferred to the Liturgy of the Hours
Liturgy of the hours
The Liturgy of the Hours or Divine Office is the official set of daily prayers prescribed by the Catholic Church to be recited at the canonical hours by the clergy, religious orders, and laity. The Liturgy of the Hours consists primarily of psalms supplemented by hymns and readings...
to be sung ad libitum in the week before the beginning of Advent
Advent
Advent is a season observed in many Western Christian churches, a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. It is the beginning of the Western liturgical year and commences on Advent Sunday, called Levavi...
. The Christmas sequence "Laetabundus," not present in the Roman Missal, is found in the Dominican Missal. This sequence is permitted for the Third Mass of Christmas, the Epiphany, and Candlemas.
The sequence as a musical genre
Sequences are distinguished by a structure dominated by coupletCouplet
A couplet is a pair of lines of meter in poetry. It usually consists of two lines that rhyme and have the same meter.While traditionally couplets rhyme, not all do. A poem may use white space to mark out couplets if they do not rhyme. Couplets with a meter of iambic pentameter are called heroic...
s. Musically, sequences fall into early, middle, and late periods. In the early period, sequences such as Notker's often included single lines that were not part of a couplet. These single lines most often appeared at the beginning or end of the sequence, but could also appear in the middle. Sequences from the middle period, starting around the 11th century, such as the sequence for the Mass of Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
Day, Victimae paschali laudes
Victimae Paschali Laudes
Victimae paschali laudes is a sequence prescribed for the Roman Catholic Mass and liturgical Protestant Eucharists of Easter Sunday. It is usually attributed to the 11th century Wipo of Burgundy, chaplain to the German Emperor Conrad II, but has also been attributed to Notker Balbulus, Robert II of...
, are less likely to have single lines outside of couplets, and their couplets are more likely to rhyme. By the 12th century, later sequences, such as the sequence for Pentecost
Pentecost
Pentecost is a prominent feast in the calendar of Ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law on Sinai, and also later in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection of Jesus...
, Veni Sancte Spiritus
Veni Sancte Spiritus
Veni Sancte Spiritus, sometimes called the "Golden Sequence," is a sequence prescribed in the Roman Liturgy for the Masses of Pentecost and its octave, exclusive of the following Sunday...
, showed increasing regularity of structure, with rhyming couplets throughout.
Medieval sequences are usually modal
Musical mode
In the theory of Western music since the ninth century, mode generally refers to a type of scale. This usage, still the most common in recent years, reflects a tradition dating to the middle ages, itself inspired by the theory of ancient Greek music.The word encompasses several additional...
melodies. While primarily syllabic, sequences can occasionally have short neumatic moments, but they almost never contain melisma
Melisma
Melisma, in music, is the singing of a single syllable of text while moving between several different notes in succession. Music sung in this style is referred to as melismatic, as opposed to syllabic, where each syllable of text is matched to a single note.-History:Music of ancient cultures used...
s. The two verses of each couplet are sung to the same musical line, usually ending on a tonally stabilizing pitch, with variety being created by couplets of different lengths and with different musical arches. Although sequences are vocal and monophonic
Monophony
In music, monophony is the simplest of textures, consisting of melody without accompanying harmony. This may be realized as just one note at a time, or with the same note duplicated at the octave . If the entire melody is sung by two voices or a choir with an interval between the notes or in...
, certain sequence texts suggest possible vocal harmonization in organum
Organum
Organum is, in general, a plainchant melody with at least one added voice to enhance the harmony, developed in the Middle Ages. Depending on the mode and form of the chant, a supporting bass line may be sung on the same text, the melody may be followed in parallel motion , or a combination of...
or instrumental accompaniment.
The composition of sequences became less frequent when Humanist Latin
Humanist Latin
Renaissance Latin is a name given to the distinctive form of Latin style developed during the European Renaissance of the fourteenth to fifteenth centuries, particularly by the Renaissance humanism movement.- Ad fontes :...
replaced medieval Latin
Medieval Latin
Medieval Latin was the form of Latin used in the Middle Ages, primarily as a medium of scholarly exchange and as the liturgical language of the medieval Roman Catholic Church, but also as a language of science, literature, law, and administration. Despite the clerical origin of many of its authors,...
as the preferred literary style
Literary language
A literary language is a register of a language that is used in literary writing. This may also include liturgical writing. The difference between literary and non-literary forms is more marked in some languages than in others...
in Latin. New sequences continued to be written in Latin; one of the best known later sequences is the Christmas carol
Christmas carol
A Christmas carol is a carol whose lyrics are on the theme of Christmas or the winter season in general and which are traditionally sung in the period before Christmas.-History:...
Adeste Fideles
Adeste Fideles
"Adeste Fideles" is a hymn tune attributed to English hymnist John Francis Wade . The text itself has unclear beginnings, and may have been written in the 13th century by John of Reading, though it has been concluded that Wade was probably the author.The original four verses of the hymn were...
, known in English as "O Come, All Ye Faithful".
External links
- Schaff, Philip, History of the Christian Church (1910)
- Catholic Encyclopedia, Blessed Notker Balbulus (Stammerer)