The hymns for Lent

Today being the first Sunday of Lent, the hymns of the Office all change.

At Matins, Lauds and Vespers there are hymns for the season. And at the other hours, a Lenten psalm tone is used, the same one for Prime to None, with a separate one for Te Lucis at Compline.

Accordingly, I thought I'd try and point you to sources (written and audio) for these various chants in case you want to try learning them.

Matins: Ex more docti mystico (the fast as taught by holy lore)

The modern Liber Hymnarius (Solesmes) provides a version of this hymn which you can hear sung at the online Liber Hymnarius.  The Nocturnale Romanum provides a slightly different version of this chant that I suspect is the older version, but I'm not absolutely certain of that.  And there are recordings of a quite different chant tone around, but I haven't been able to locate a hard copy version of it.

Lauds: Iam Christe sol iustitiae

You can hear the hymn sung here.

Prime to None

I haven't been able to locate a recording of the hymn alone (if you know of one please let me know), but go to one of the Le Barroux Office websites and you should be able to find the current tone (or an archived recording).

Vespers: Audi Benigne Conditor



Compline: Lenten tone for Te Lucis

You can hear it here (last in the list).

Change of hymn....

Just a reminder that from this Sunday, the Office hymns for Matins and Lauds on Sunday change to Primo Dierum and Aeterne Rerum Conditor respectively.

And don't forget that you can listen to Lauds (as well as Vespers and occasionally Compline) sung by the monks of Norcia by downloading and playing or saving the recordings from their website (if time zone considerations mean it is going to appear too late on the site, save the week before's ready for use, and it will be fine except for the canticle antiphons on Sunday and the collect, provided no feasts intervene!).  Note that they also provide a weekly Ordo with page references to the Graduale (for Mass) and Antiphonale Monasticum...

In the meantime, here is the Carthusian chant version of Aeterne Rerum for your enjoyment.