Oxyrhynchus hymn

The Oxyrhynchus hymn (or P. Oxy. XV 1786) is the earliest known manuscript of a Christian hymn to contain both lyrics and musical notation. It is found on Papyrus 1786 of the Oxyrhynchus papyri, now kept at the Papyrology Rooms of the Sackler Library, Oxford. This papyrus fragment was unearthed in 1918 and the discovery was first published in 1922.[1] The hymn was written down around the end of the 3rd century AD.[2] The musical notation may imply the use of instruments[citation needed] at a much earlier time than some groups have believed, but it should still be noted that numerous pre-Nicene fathers were apparently opposed to the use of instrumental music in the Church.[3][4]

The text, in Greek, poetically invokes silence so that the Holy Trinity may be praised.

The music is written in Greek vocal notation.[5] It is entirely diatonic, with an ambitus of exactly an octave from F to F an octave above, and a final nominally on G (assuming a key signature without sharps or flats). The notation is Hypolydian, and employs the rhythmic symbols macron (diseme), leimma + macron, stigme, hyphen, and colon.[6] The text is largely set syllabically, with a few short melismas. The hymn's meter is essentially anapaestic, though there are some irregularities.[7]

It is often considered the only fragment of Christian music from ancient Greece, although Kenneth Levy[8] has persuasively argued that the Sanctus melody best preserved in the Western medieval Requiem mass dates from the 4th century.[5] It is similar to the hymn in its largely syllabic texture and diatonic melody, with slight differences.

Modern recordings of the hymn have been included on a number of releases of Ancient Greek music.[citation needed]

Contents

Text

.. Let it be silent
Let the Luminous stars not shine,
Let the winds (?) and all the noisy rivers die down;
And as we hymn the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
Let all the powers add "Amen Amen"
Empire, praise always, and glory to God,
The sole giver of good things, Amen Amen.

(translation from West, M. L. 1992. Ancient Greek Music. Oxford University Press,. ISBN 0-19-814975-1 [Amazon-US | Amazon-UK])

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Hunt and Jones 1922.
  2. ^ Pöhlmann and West 2001, 192.
  3. ^ The Churches of Christ in particular maintain that instrumental music was not found in the Church prior to the 6th century.[citation needed] The Church of Christ#Basis of a cappella worship practice
  4. ^ The Paedagogus (St. Clement of Alexandria) Book II Chapter IV
  5. ^ a b McKinnon 2001.
  6. ^ Pöhlmann and West 2001, 190–91 and 192.
  7. ^ Pöhlmann and West 2001, 192–93).
  8. ^ Levy 1958–62.

External links

Sources

  • Hunt, Arthur S., and H. S. Jones. 1922. "Christian Hymn with Musical Notation", The Oxyrhynchus Papyri, edited by Bernard P. Grenfell, Arthur S. Hunt, E. Lobel et al., 15:21–25. London: Egypt Exploration Fund.
  • Levy, Kenneth. 1958–62. "The Byzantine Sanctus and its Modal Tradition in East and West". Annales Musicologiques 6: 7–67.
  • McKinnon, James W. 2001. "Christian Church, Music of the Early. §II: Special Issues, 8. The Musical Character of Early Christian Song". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. New York: Grove’s Dictionaries.
  • Pöhlmann, Egert, and Martin L. West. 2001. Documents of Ancient Greek Music: The Extant Melodies and Fragments. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-815223-X [Amazon-US | Amazon-UK]

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