The medieval office of Corpus Christi

    The feast of Corpus Christi was officially instituted for the whole Church by Urban IV on  8th September 1264. Urban IV had previously been archdeacon of Liège and confessor of Julienne de Cornillon who was, with Eve of Liège, the promoter of this festival. The composition of the texts for the office of Corpus Christi is attributed to Saint Thomas  Aquinas, who was then in Paris. It was at this time that he also wrote his ‘Summa Theologica’, contemporary with the musical writings of another Dominican, Jerome of Moravia, who was also in Paris at the time. It can be legitimately assumed that, the music for this office was composed by Jerome of Moravia.

    In any case, the treatise of Jerome is the only text from the Middle Ages that describes the different ways of interpreting square notation. Thus, with this office, we have a precious testimony of music composed at the same time as the treatise that explains how to compose and perform this repertoire. We will use a manuscript written in 1265, one year after the official promulgation of Corpus Christi. Moreover, in addition to its musical value, this office whose text expresses the profound scriptural science of St Thomas Aquinas, introduces us to a deep and essential liturgical contemplation.

Source :  Freiburg, Franziskanerkloster, Ms. 2 vers 1265

Marcel Pérès has always sought to grasp the true nature of music in order to understand why and how men invented it and use it. Composer, historian, singer and keyboardist, Marcel Pérès created the ensemble Organum in 1982, then, in 1984, at the Royaumont Foundation, he founded the CERIMM (European Centre for Research on the Interpretation of Medieval Music), and in 2001, at Moissac, the CIRMA (Centre Itinérant de Recherche sur les Musiques Anciennes). He has composed about thirty works, recorded some fifty records that explore different aspects of the liturgical music in the Latin Church over the centuries; as well as publishing several books and articles on the relationship between music and the memory of society. In addition, he has also published writings on the role of music in the process of constructing the liturgical ritual.