Thursday 19 February 2009

Resumed Magnificat antiphon

Today's Office offers an example of a resumed Magnificat antiphon in Septuagesima, which only occurs in some years.

Considering the Office in general for today first, it is a feria in Sexagesima week and of simple rite. At Lauds the ferial (second) schema of psalms is sung, after the collect of the preceding Sunday the Suffrage of the Saints is sung. At Prime ps 97 is added to the usual three psalms, the chapter is the ferial Pacem and the Dominical preces are sung. At Mass, as on the preceding Sunday but without the Tract and Credo the second collect is A cunctis, the third collect chosen by the celebrant or Dean and Benedicamus Domino sung as the dismissal.

At ferial Vespers the psalms appointed for Thurday are sung. A rubric in the Breviary after Vespers on Wednesday gives special instructions for today and tomorrow:

"If the aforesaid Antiphons at the Magnificat cannot be said on the preceding Ferias, and Vespers on the following Thursday and Friday are of the Feria, the last one of those which have been passed over is said; otherwise, if all have been said, it is taken from the Psalter."

On Monday Vespers were ferial and the prescribed antiphon at the Magnificat sung, on Tuesday Vespers were first Vespers of St. Simeon and on Wednesday they were, again, ferial. This means that the antiphon prescribed for Tuesday Semen est is sung this evening in place of Fecit Deus from the Psalter. Of course the antiphon gives the tone for the canticle and so the Magnificat this evening is sung to tone 3a rather than tone 7c as would have been the case if Fecit Deus had been used. The Suffrage of the Saints is sung and at Compline the Dominical preces are sung.

There is, unfortunately, a 'typo' in the Ordo as Semen est is the antiphon from Tuesday not Wednesday as printed. Profound apologies to readers for that. The entry should read "(ant ad Magn: Semen est de fer III...)"

A resumed Magnificat antiphon can now only occur in the Universal Kalendar today as Friday's Vespers in both Septuagesima or Sexagesima weeks cannot be ferial as, in the absence of a feast of semi-double or greater on Saturday, Friday's Vespers will be of the BMV Office on Saturdays.

The rubric affecting the resumed antiphon was excised in the 1955 changes. In the 'liturgical books of 1962' the Suffrage of the Saints is omitted at Lauds and Vespers, at Prime the displaced psalm is not added and the festal Regi is sung as the chapter and the Domincal preces are omitted. At sung Mass there is only one collect and Ite, missa est replaces Benedicamus Domino. At Vespers the antiphon Fecit Deus is sung. There are no preces at Compline.

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