Dominican Chant Antiphonal Completed

Readers may now find at the top of the left sidebar of my blog, Dominican Liturgy, a new section entitled:

Antiphonarium pro Liturgia Horarum iuxta Usum Ordinis Praedicatorum.

That is, the "Antiphonal for the Liturgy of the Hours According to the Usage of the Order of Preachers."

The six PDF volumes linked there contain all the Dominican Gregorian music and Latin psalm, hymn, intercessory, and collect texts necessary to sing Office of Readings, Lauds, Vespers, and Compline for the entire liturgical year. They also include the music needed for Midday Prayer, except during Ordinary time. Included is all the music of the Ordinary, the Temporal Cycle, the Sanctoral Cycle, the Commons, and Office of the Dead. These books use Dominican notation for Gregorian chant, it is the same as the Roman but lacks the “Solesmes marks.” An explanation of how to sing chant in Dominican notation is found here.

Music for the Prolix Responsories at Office of Readings are not included, but reference is given to where they may be found in the Dominican books (downloadable also on the sidebar), and a good number of these Responsories are included to use at Vespers (a Dominican tradition), as well as all those needed for the Easter Triduum. The music cycle of antiphons, all of which are ancient and authentic, follows the order of the Ordo Cantus Officii (1983) and the Proprium Ordinis Praedicatorum (1983). Where the only printed edition for the Dominican chants was the 1863 Antiphonarium, the music has been checked and corrected against the fourteenth-century Poissy Antiphonale.

Readers already know that this project was began three years ago at the request of, and with the help of, the Dominican cloistered nuns of Marbury AL, who are using this music already. These PDF volumes are entirely free and I claim no copyright on anything in them. All I ask is that, if you distribute it or use it in your priory or convent or local church, you give credit and include the link to Dominican Liturgy web page.

A note about editorial status of these volumes: the Compline book is clean and, in as far as is humanly possible, free of errors. Vol. I for Advent and Christmas has been sung by the nuns and corrected. I expect the corrections for Lent to arrive soon and will replace the PDF when I get them. The other volumes should be considered "Beta" editions. There are certainly some typos in the text and music. But I am making these available to everyone in their imperfect state so I can hear about mistakes from users. I do ask than anyone using this music consider giving feedback.

Finally, I would like very much to thank the Domincan Nuns of Marbury for their support and help with this project. I am sure that there is much here that friars, nuns, sisters, and Dominican Tertiaries and lovers of chant generally will find useful.