#antiphons

O very amiable Jesus, known as the Great Little One, grant me the grace to understand all the great truths expressed by this title and to realize its lessons. You are little by Your human nature, little by the state of childhood into which Your love has reduced You and by the rank You wanted to take among mankind, in order to enlighten and save us. You are a holy Child.

But at the same time You are great, beyond any greatness. You are great by Your divine nature, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, absolutely infinite. You are great by Your Person, the Person of the Word, in all equal to the Divine Persons of the blessed Trinity. You are great by the splendor of mercy and the source of all our grace and holiness. This is why, Holy Child, You inspire us so much. To secure my salvation and to become worthy of it, I, too, must be little and great.

I am little by the imperfection of my nature, by the lamentable state in which original sin has left us, by the consequences of my own sins. But, in order to imitate Your littleness and humility, I must become aware of this state of mine; I must have a permanent conviction thereof, which will inspire my prayers and all my hopes in heaven, my attitude towards all my neighbors. I have to be little in order to resemble You.

I must also be great. This I am by the eternal destiny You provided for me and all the possibilities of potential perfection You have created in me. I must become great by the reality of the virtues and of the grace, by the richness of supernatural gifts, the aim of which is to make me similar to You, to take part in Your eternal inheritance, the heavenly beatitude.

Grant me, O Jesus, the grace to reproduce in myself the resemblance of Your littleness and greatness. Be, O Divine Great Little One, the Model and the Source of my salvation and my holiness. Amen.

from a compilation of prayers and devotions to the Divine Infant of Prague, by Mgsr. Ludvik Nemec. Bolded lines are my favorites.

A little Child is born for us today; little and yet called the Mighty God, alleluia! Párvulus fílius hódie natus est nobis, et vocábitur Deus fortis, allelúia.

third antiphon for Morning Prayer during the Octave of Christmas, according to the Roman Rite

Pärt - Seven Magnificat Antiphons (1988/1991)

The “Great O Antiphons” are short lines that are sung alongside the Magnificat during evening prayers each night on the week leading up to Christmas. Starting on the 17th, and going until the 23rd. Here, Pärt takes the antiphons and puts them together in a short collection of poignant choral works full of his gorgeous spaciousness, subtle dissonances, and calling back to medieval orthodox music while also writing something that sounds fresh and new. During this night, the observation of Christ’s birth, there are people who are comfortably sleeping in their beds, excited for tomorrows fun, and there are people who have nowhere to sleep but the streets. We don’t like to think about the suffering in the world on this holiday, because the department stores want us to feel happy through buying their stuff. But most of us know that’s an illusion, and a distraction. It is shameful to me that Christmas is treated so shallow in our culture, that becomes another faux antidepressant “everything is awesome!” insistence when we know that isn’t true. No matter what your situation is, I hope you are healthy, and that you are at peace, and that someone will extend love to you. If it helps, I love you.

Movements:

1. O Wisdom

2. O Adonai

3. O Root of Jesse

4. O Key of David

5. O Dayspring

6. O King of the Nations

ALBUM REVIEW: Antiphons - Fine

Brian Dove first started playing solo under the name of Antiphons around 2012, but it wasn’t until January 2017 that the now full band released their debut album, Groan. Now, not even a full year later, comes an EP that shows a huge improvement of sound and control. Fine, which is being released on Richmond tape label Citrus City, is bound to introduce the 4-piece band to a larger audience through the expression of refined ‘80s synth meeting their signature high vocals and dark, layered tones. With a run time just shy of 15 minutes, there’s no reason to not check it out.

The 5-song EP has a circular feel to it, beginning and ending with two explosive songs that have been stuck in my head for weeks. Released as a single, “Benadryl” relates love to the well-known cold medicine. Its twangy lead guitar sticks out perfectly to the 12-string acoustic that can be heard behind it. The whole album captures the sound of a dreamlike state. Especially in this song, it does so even while talking about bodies failing those who possess it. This is followed by “Fine” and “Flesh,” which are hardly over a minute in length, but both pack fiery punches. Dove originally planned on using harsh shouting vocals, but opted to use a trance-like falsetto instead. “Flesh” captures the same fast-paced punk feeling while using a droning synth and spiritual humming. It winds up being an amazing transition to the slow building dream that is “Rattlesnake.” This manages to build in a way that will captivate its listeners and then explodes right before dialing it back again. Utilizing such control over their sound is one of the prime reasons Fine shows a very healthy growth for Antiphons. Ending on “Burnt” is also one of the best decisions they made. To say the least, this song is really catchy. Each instrument works together like finely-tuned gears to create the sound of being in a daze. Just when you think you’re lost in their cloud, they slam into the chorus, which will be stuck in your head long after the first time you hear it. In fact, I’d go as far saying that while you hear Dove singing “I always burn my tongue” on repeat in your mind, you’ll find yourself in a dream again. You’ll find yourself starting the EP over from the beginning and listening again. And again. And again. I know I did.

Fine is the perfect EP to follow up a debut album. While they plan on releasing another full-length album in the future, this is more than enough to attract a larger fan-base all the while making those who are already fans sick with excitement.

Antiphons consists of Brian Dove on guitar and vocals, Tommy Terrell on lead guitar, Chris Matz slapping the bass, and Matthew Stinnett hammering the drums. Check out their releases on Bandcamp or through Citrus City, and make sure to pick up a limited copy of their tape while you’re at it, too. You’ll thank me later.

BEST TRACKS OF 2017-ARTISTS LIST #8

WESTON SMITH

Wizard of synth and swagger Weston Smith released a fantastic long player of emotional complexity that was made for an amble in the local woods. Here is his list of fantastic pop and synth jams that he loved this year (and one he snuck in from 2016--magical!

The following is a post from a GW undergraduate student who transcribed the music from the above antiphonal leaf that we have in special collections. We have very little identifying and provenance information about this leaf. We are fairly certain that it is Spanish and from the 16th century. 

Shiyi Lin is a freshman majoring in International Affairs. She visited Special Collections with her UW1020: Shakespeare and Art class. 

Few weeks ago our Shakespeare class visited Gelman Library Special Collection, where I found an interesting leaf of medieval music, known as an antiphonal leaf.  An antiphon in Christian music and ritual is a responsory by a choir or congregation, usually in the form of a Gregorian chant, to a psalm or other text in a religious service or musical work. This leaf was probably part of a larger bound work known as an antiphonary. 

It is hard to read the music at first glance, because there are no key signatures, time signatures, and bar lines; it is also scripted in square notation. I did some research and found that this music notation looks very similar to the same as other music written in Spain during the medieval period. It is in square notation and five line staff, a typical feature of Spanish medieval music.

When I transcribed the music, I wrote it in a C major key and the time signature in 4/4. I assumed the two blue lines in the sheet to be a repeat sign and that the square notes that are close together should be played faster than notes that are further away from each other. I also added chords on the lower stave. Since this music sheet might not be the complete version of the song, I composed the last part so that it ends with the tonic chord. See the transcribed sheet music below. 

Love must be as much a light as a flame. 

                                   ~ Henry David Thoreau  

 Today your Savior, the Lord Messiah,[a] was born in the City of David. 12 And this will be a sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a feeding trough.”

13 Suddenly, a multitude of the Heavenly Army appeared with the angel, praising God by saying, 14 “Glory to…