Sequence Chant: "Ave virgo virginum"
The Sequence Genre
The sequence is a part of the Catholic mass, specifically the mass proper, which changes based on the liturgical calendar. Sequences were sung on major feast days directly following the Alleluia in the mass. The sequence as a liturgical genre has changed significantly over time and, as such, is difficult to define. The majority of sequences were composed after the 9th century, are set syllabically to Latin text, and are through-composed, meaning that they are not tropic. Beginning after 1000, sequences rhymed increasingly until finally becoming poetic verse. These later rhymed sequences are composed of phrases divided into sub-phrases (versicles) of seven or eight syllables, generally alternating between being stressed and unstressed. Each seven syllable versicle ends on a proparoxytone, a word with stress placed on the antepenultimate (third to last) syllable (ex. operational). Instead, eight-syllable versicles tended to end on a paroxytone, a word with stress placed on the penultimate syllable (ex. potato). Dominican poets most often wrote sequences in the common style of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries which involved accented and rhyming strophic texts. Ave virgo virginum fits squarely within this definition of the later rhymed sequence with ten verses, each of which is split into three versicles of seven syllables that generally alternate between stressed and unstressed syllables, and end with a proparoxytone.
Chant Text and Melody
The text is written in Latin. While this text was originally written for a musical context; there is such consistent rhyme and meter that the text was included in the Parnassus Marianus, a book of Marian poetry published in 1624. The poetic elements within the text strictly follow the model of rhyming, with seven-syllable versicles with alternating stressed and unstressed syllables which end with a proparoxytone. However, there is one clear exception: “Libera nos, Maria.” The word “Maria” is the only paroxytone that ends a versicle in this text, bringing emphasis to Mary with this sudden change in meter.
The melody of the sequence "Ave virgo virginum" as seen in MS 24 is standard throughout the Dominican liturgy. The melody is considered to be a “sequence in a transitional style.” Sequences faced significant limitations and reforms from religious councils, specifically the Council of Meaux (848) and the Council of Trent (1543-1563). The Council of Meaux intended to limit what it saw as corruption in liturgical music, especially surrounding the use of sequences and troping. The Council of Trent legislated specific reactions and reforms of the Catholic Counter Reformation and placed significant limitations on sequences, outlawing all but four. The sequences in this “transitional style” originated during the late eleventh or early twelfth centuries, thus were not affected by boundaries and regulations placed on sequences before and after this period in France and Germany.