Two pastedowns, possibly from a bifolio.

In 2009 Prof. Peter Wright published an interim report on this mid-15th-century polyphonic fragment, ‘VienD’, which comprises two leaves that at that stage served as pastedowns to the front and rear boards of the host manuscript’s (presumably) original binding (Hs. 4). He designated the leaves ‘fo. A’ and ‘fo. B’ to reflect both their order of appearance in the host manuscript and their probable order of appearance in the original source, and provided a description of the side of each leaf that was then visible. Noting the likelihood that each concealed side contained music, Wright expressed the hope that in due course it would be possible for the pastedowns to be lifted.

The delicate task of lifting the pastedowns and the restoration of the damaged rear cover were undertaken in May 2012 at the request of Prof. Susana Zapke. Expertly carried out by Peter Zehetmayer of the Institut für Papierrestaurierung in Schönbrunn, this work was funded by Prof. Zapke and Prof. Wright and made possible by kind permission of Dr Annemarie Fenzl, Director of the Erzbischöfliches Diözesanarchiv in Vienna.

The following is a report of the preliminary findings on the newly revealed pages. A detailed study, together with facsimile reproductions, of the polyphonic fragment, the Ordo processionis (see below) and related sources is in preparation for publication.

The newly revealed side of fo. A is ruled with nine five-line staves. Staves 1–5 contain the remainder of the discantus part of the anonymous setting of the Corpus Christi sequence Lauda Syon begun on the other side of the leaf. From this it is clear that Wright’s provisional and necessarily hypothetical recto/verso designations need to be reversed; thus ‘fo. Av’ becomes ‘fo. Ar’ and the newly revealed page ‘fo. Av’.

Staves 6–9 of fo. Av contain most of the discantus part of an anonymous three-voice setting of the Corpus Christi responsory Discubuit Jhesus et discipuli eius, which survives complete in Trent 88 (fos. 335v–336r). The hitherto unidentified fragment of music and accompanying text (‘regni su’) at the top of fo. Br turns out to be a continuation of Discubuit Jhesus.

The newly revealed fo. Bv is ruled with eight staves. Fragments of two further works can be identified: a setting of the Marian antiphon Speciosa facta es and a second setting of the responsory Homo quidam fecit. The music of both these works, as with the other works in the source, apparently belongs to a discantus part.

The discovery that the music of fo. Br stave 1 directly continues the music of fo. Av stave 9 confirms the hypothetical order of the leaves (A, B) and indicates that the two were originally contiguous. These leaves may once have formed a self-contained bifolio.

Summary of the contents of VienD

1 fo. Ar–v Lauda Syon (sequence, Corpus Christi)

2 fos. Av–Br Discubuit Jhesus et discipuli eius (responsory, Corpus Christi)

3 fo. Br Pange lingua (vespers hymn, Corpus Christi)

4 fo. Br Homo quidam fecit (vespers/matins responsory, Corpus Christi)

5 fo. Bv Speciosa facta est (Marian antiphon)

6 fo. Bv Homo quidam fecit (vespers/matins responsory, Corpus Christi)

The contents of VienD are related to the celebration of the procession of Corpus Christi, which took place not only within St Stephen’s but also outside, in the city, a new practice instigated by Rudolf IV on 28 March 1363. In 2012 Zapke had the good fortune to discover the only currently known Corpus Christi Processional Order of St Stephen’s. The end of the Ordo sive breviarium de ecclesiasticis observantibus quid legendum et cantandum sit per circuli anni secundum pataviensem ecclesiam from St Stephen’s (A-Wn Cod. 4712, fo. 109r: Ordo processionis in die Corporis Christi) gives a precise list of the institutions and people involved in the Vienna procession, as prescribed in Rudolf IV’s 1363 document. The participation of the university (founded in 1365) and the mention of the Tirna Chapel (named after Hans I von Tirna who was buried there following his death in 1388) suggest that the Processional Order dates from the last decade of the 14th century.

The Processional Order and the polyphonic fragment VienD together allow us to reconstruct with a fair degree of precision both the musical and liturgical, as well as the theatrical, practices of the Corpus Christi procession in late medieval Vienna. Not only did the clergy of St Stephen’s participate in the procession, but also the members of all the other religious institutions of the city (except for the enclosed monastic orders), as well as the fraternities and representatives of the university and the city. The festival represents a highlight of the liturgical calendar of St Stephen’s and serves as the symbol of an urban community which made use of public spaces for the purposes of this joint celebration.

Alongside firmly established musical items of the Corpus Christi liturgy, such as the sequence Lauda Syon salvatorem, the hymn Pange lingua and the responsory Homo quidam fecit, are found a rare setting of the responsory Discubuit Jhesus and a setting of the Marian antiphon Speciosa facta est, both of which occupy a special place in the repertory of VienD. Since the liturgy of the Corpus Christi procession does not have a rite that is transregionally binding, the presence of these items is a reflection of local practices; pieces dedicated to the Virgin Mary and to local saints were usual in the context of the stations of the procession. The presence of the antiphon Speciosa facta est can also be explained in relation to a distinctive Viennese tradition that dates back to before the time of Rudolph IV. On 15 June 1334 Henry of Lucerne, a priest of St Stephen’s, founded a Corpus Christi altar and a picture of the Virgin that was carried around the church during the procession. From 1363 onwards, at the instigation of Rudolf IV, this picture, along with other sacred objects, was carried outside as well as within the church.

The stations of the Corpus Christi procession throughout the city involved various songs and theatrical practices, referred to as ‘performances’. The Corpus Christi plays terminated at the cemetery of St Stephen’s with the crucifixion, the deposition of the cross and the entombment of Christ in the Tirna Chapel of St Stephen’s.

A provisional reconstruction of the Viennese Corpus Christi procession is possible on the basis of the fragment VienD and the Processional Order on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the books of the Corpus Christi confraternities of St Stephen’s and St Michael’s; these confraternities play a central role in the celebration of the procession and the books describe the course of the procession in detail. The lively practice of this event, which involved the entire citizenry of Vienna, regardless of age or social status, is also documented by other confraternity books as well as account books and endowment deeds.

black void mensural

paper

Fragment, 2 folios (bifolio?); paper

Dimensions: 292 x 172 mm (front pastedown), 292 x 55 mm (rear pastedown)

Mensural Notation

In 2009 Prof. Peter Wright published an interim report on this mid-15th-century polyphonic fragment, ‘VienD’, which comprises two leaves that at that stage served as pastedowns to the front and rear boards of the host manuscript’s (presumably) original binding (Hs. 4). He designated the leaves ‘fo. A’ and ‘fo. B’ to reflect both their order of appearance in the host manuscript and their probable order of appearance in the original source, and provided a description of the side of each leaf that was then visible. Noting the likelihood that each concealed side contained music, Wright expressed the hope that in due course it would be possible for the pastedowns to be lifted.

The delicate task of lifting the pastedowns and the restoration of the damaged rear cover were undertaken in May 2012 at the request of Prof. Susana Zapke. Expertly carried out by Peter Zehetmayer of the Institut für Papierrestaurierung in Schönbrunn, this work was funded by Prof. Zapke and Prof. Wright and made possible by kind permission of Dr Annemarie Fenzl, Director of the Erzbischöfliches Diözesanarchiv in Vienna.

The following is a report of the preliminary findings on the newly revealed pages. A detailed study, together with facsimile reproductions, of the polyphonic fragment, the Ordo processionis (see below) and related sources is in preparation for publication.

The newly revealed side of fo. A is ruled with nine five-line staves. Staves 1–5 contain the remainder of the discantus part of the anonymous setting of the Corpus Christi sequence Lauda Syon begun on the other side of the leaf. From this it is clear that Wright’s provisional and necessarily hypothetical recto/verso designations need to be reversed; thus ‘fo. Av’ becomes ‘fo. Ar’ and the newly revealed page ‘fo. Av’.

Staves 6–9 of fo. Av contain most of the discantus part of an anonymous three-voice setting of the Corpus Christi responsory Discubuit Jhesus et discipuli eius, which survives complete in Trent 88 (fos. 335v–336r). The hitherto unidentified fragment of music and accompanying text (‘regni su’) at the top of fo. Br turns out to be a continuation of Discubuit Jhesus.

The newly revealed fo. Bv is ruled with eight staves. Fragments of two further works can be identified: a setting of the Marian antiphon Speciosa facta es and a second setting of the responsory Homo quidam fecit. The music of both these works, as with the other works in the source, apparently belongs to a discantus part.

The discovery that the music of fo. Br stave 1 directly continues the music of fo. Av stave 9 confirms the hypothetical order of the leaves (A, B) and indicates that the two were originally contiguous. These leaves may once have formed a self-contained bifolio.

Summary of the contents of VienD

1 fo. Ar–v Lauda Syon (sequence, Corpus Christi)

2 fos. Av–Br Discubuit Jhesus et discipuli eius (responsory, Corpus Christi)

3 fo. Br Pange lingua (vespers hymn, Corpus Christi)

4 fo. Br Homo quidam fecit (vespers/matins responsory, Corpus Christi)

5 fo. Bv Speciosa facta est (Marian antiphon)

6 fo. Bv Homo quidam fecit (vespers/matins responsory, Corpus Christi)

The contents of VienD are related to the celebration of the procession of Corpus Christi, which took place not only within St Stephen’s but also outside, in the city, a new practice instigated by Rudolf IV on 28 March 1363. In 2012 Zapke had the good fortune to discover the only currently known Corpus Christi Processional Order of St Stephen’s. The end of the Ordo sive breviarium de ecclesiasticis observantibus quid legendum et cantandum sit per circuli anni secundum pataviensem ecclesiam from St Stephen’s (A-Wn Cod. 4712, fo. 109r: Ordo processionis in die Corporis Christi) gives a precise list of the institutions and people involved in the Vienna procession, as prescribed in Rudolf IV’s 1363 document. The participation of the university (founded in 1365) and the mention of the Tirna Chapel (named after Hans I von Tirna who was buried there following his death in 1388) suggest that the Processional Order dates from the last decade of the 14th century.

The Processional Order and the polyphonic fragment VienD together allow us to reconstruct with a fair degree of precision both the musical and liturgical, as well as the theatrical, practices of the Corpus Christi procession in late medieval Vienna. Not only did the clergy of St Stephen’s participate in the procession, but also the members of all the other religious institutions of the city (except for the enclosed monastic orders), as well as the fraternities and representatives of the university and the city. The festival represents a highlight of the liturgical calendar of St Stephen’s and serves as the symbol of an urban community which made use of public spaces for the purposes of this joint celebration.

Alongside firmly established musical items of the Corpus Christi liturgy, such as the sequence Lauda Syon salvatorem, the hymn Pange lingua and the responsory Homo quidam fecit, are found a rare setting of the responsory Discubuit Jhesus and a setting of the Marian antiphon Speciosa facta est, both of which occupy a special place in the repertory of VienD. Since the liturgy of the Corpus Christi procession does not have a rite that is transregionally binding, the presence of these items is a reflection of local practices; pieces dedicated to the Virgin Mary and to local saints were usual in the context of the stations of the procession. The presence of the antiphon Speciosa facta est can also be explained in relation to a distinctive Viennese tradition that dates back to before the time of Rudolph IV. On 15 June 1334 Henry of Lucerne, a priest of St Stephen’s, founded a Corpus Christi altar and a picture of the Virgin that was carried around the church during the procession. From 1363 onwards, at the instigation of Rudolf IV, this picture, along with other sacred objects, was carried outside as well as within the church.

The stations of the Corpus Christi procession throughout the city involved various songs and theatrical practices, referred to as ‘performances’. The Corpus Christi plays terminated at the cemetery of St Stephen’s with the crucifixion, the deposition of the cross and the entombment of Christ in the Tirna Chapel of St Stephen’s.

A provisional reconstruction of the Viennese Corpus Christi procession is possible on the basis of the fragment VienD and the Processional Order on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the books of the Corpus Christi confraternities of St Stephen’s and St Michael’s; these confraternities play a central role in the celebration of the procession and the books describe the course of the procession in detail. The lively practice of this event, which involved the entire citizenry of Vienna, regardless of age or social status, is also documented by other confraternity books as well as account books and endowment deeds.