Asequence (Latin:sequentia, plural:sequentiae) is achant orhymn sung or recited during theliturgical celebration of theEucharist for manyChristian denominations, before the proclamation of theGospel. By the time of theCouncil of Trent (1543–1563) there were sequences for many feasts in the Church's year.
The sequence had always been sung directly before the Gospel, after the Alleluia.[1] The 2002 edition of theGeneral Instruction of the Roman Missal, however, reversed the order and places the sequence before theAlleluia.[2]
The form of this chant inspired a genre ofLatin poetry written in a non-classicalmetre, often on a sacredChristian subject, which is also called a sequence.
The Latin sequence has its beginnings, as an artistic form, in early Christianhymns such as theVexilla Regis ofVenantius Fortunatus. Venantius modified the classical metres based on syllable quantity to an accentual metre more easily suitable to be chanted to music in Christian worship. In the ninth century,Hrabanus Maurus also moved away from classical metres to produce Christian hymns such asVeni Creator Spiritus.
The namesequentia, on the other hand, came to be bestowed upon these hymns as a result of the works ofNotker Balbulus, who popularized the genre in the ninth century by publishing a collection ofsequentiae in hisLiber Hymnorum. Since early sequences were written in rhythmical prose, they were also calledproses (Latin:prosae).
Notker's texts were meant to be sung. In the LatinMass of theMiddle Ages, it became customary to prolong the last syllable of theAlleluia, while thedeacon was ascending from the altar to theambo, to sing or chant the Gospel. This prolongedmelisma was called thejubilus,jubilatio, orlaudes, because of its jubilant tone. It was also calledsequentia, "sequence," because it followed (Latin:sequi) the Alleluia. Notker set words to this melisma in rhythmic prose for chanting as atrope. The namesequence thus came to be applied to these texts; and by extension, to hymns containingrhyme and accentual metre. A collection of sequences was called theSequentiale.
One well-known sequence, falsely attributed to Notker during the Middle Ages, is the prose textMedia vita in morte sumus ("In the midst of life we are in death"), which was translated byCranmer and became a part of theburial service in thefuneral rites of theAnglicanBook of Common Prayer. Other well-known sequences include the ninth-centurySwan Sequence,Tommaso da Celano'sDies Irae, St.Thomas Aquinas'Pange lingua in praise of theEucharist, the anonymous medieval hymnAve maris stella ("Hail, star of the sea!"), and theMarian sequenceStabat Mater byJacopone da Todi. During the Middle Ages, secular or semi-secular sequences, such asPeter of Blois'Olim sudor Herculis[3][4] ("The labours of Hercules") were written; theGoliards, a group of Latin poets who wrote mostlysatirical verse, used the form extensively. TheCarmina Burana is a collection of these sequences.
In theMissal of Pius V (1570) the number of sequences for the entireRoman Rite was reduced to four:Victimae paschali laudes (11th century) forEaster,Veni Sancte Spiritus forPentecost (12th century),Lauda Sion Salvatorem (c.1264) forCorpus Christi, andDies Irae (13th century) forAll Souls and inMasses for the Dead. In 1727, the 13th centuryStabat Mater forOur Lady of Sorrows was added to this list.[5] In 1970 theDies Irae was removed from the Requiem Mass of therevised, new Roman Missal and was transferred to theLiturgy of the Hours to be sungad libitum in the 34th week of theOrdinary Time before the beginning ofAdvent, dividing into three parts:Office of Readings,Lauds andVespers. Currently, the Dies Irae is sung in churches where theTridentine Mass is celebrated.[6] The Christmas sequenceLaetabundus, not present in the Roman Missal, is found in the Dominican Missal. This sequence is permitted for the Third Mass of Christmas, the Epiphany, and Candlemas. The Third Edition of the Roman Missal, which was implemented in the United States in 2010, states that the Sequence is optional except on Easter Sunday and Pentecost Day, and it sung before the Alleluia.
Sequences are distinguished by a structure dominated bycouplets, in forms of AA'BB'CC'... and ABB'CC'DD'...Z. Although it is commonly understood that sequences fall into early, middle, and late periods, the history of developments in the genre is better thought of as unfolding in layers that overlap. In the early period, sequences such as Notker's often included single lines that were not part of a couplet. These single lines most often appeared at the beginning or end of the sequence, but could also appear in the middle. Sequences from the middle period, starting around the 11th century, such as the sequence for the Mass ofEaster Day,Victimae paschali laudes, are less likely to have single lines outside of couplets, and their couplets are more likely to rhyme. By the 12th century, later sequences, such as the sequence forPentecost,Veni Sancte Spiritus, showed increasing regularity of structure, with rhyming couplets throughout.
Medieval sequences are usuallymodal melodies. While primarily syllabic, sequences can occasionally have short neumatic moments, but they almost never containmelismas. The two verses of each couplet are sung to the same musical line, usually ending on a tonally stabilizing pitch, with variety being created by couplets of different lengths and with different musical arches. Although sequences are vocal andmonophonic, certain sequence texts suggest possible vocal harmonization inorganum or instrumental accompaniment.
The composition of sequences became less frequent whenHumanist Latin replacedmedieval Latin as the preferredliterary style in Latin. New sequences continued to be written in Latin; one of the best known later sequences is theChristmas carolAdeste Fideles, known in English as "O Come, All Ye Faithful".
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