Oxyrhynchus hymn
Encyclopedia
The Oxyrhynchus hymn 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. The hymn was written down around the end of the 3rd century AD.
The music is written in Greek vocal notation. 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. The text is largely set syllabically, with a few short melisma
s. The hymn's meter is essentially anapaest
ic, though there are some irregularities.
It is often considered the only fragment of Christian music from ancient Greece, although Kenneth Levy has persuasively argued that the Sanctus
melody best preserved in the Western medieval Requiem mass dates from the 4th century. 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.
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
hymn
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
to contain both lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
and musical notation
Musical notation
Music notation or musical notation is any system that represents aurally perceived music, through the use of written symbols.-History:...
. It is found on Papyrus 1786 of the Oxyrhynchus papyri
Oxyrhynchus
Oxyrhynchus is a city in Upper Egypt, located about 160 km south-southwest of Cairo, in the governorate of Al Minya. It is also an archaeological site, considered one of the most important ever discovered...
, now kept at the Papyrology Rooms of the Sackler Library
Sackler Library
The Sackler Library holds a large portion of the classical, art historical, and archaeological works belonging to the University of Oxford, England.- History :...
, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
. This papyrus
Papyrus
Papyrus is a thick paper-like material produced from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge that was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt....
fragment was unearthed in 1918 and the discovery was first published in 1922. The hymn was written down around the end of the 3rd century AD.
Description
The text, in Greek, poetically invokes silence so that the Holy Trinity may be praised.The music is written in Greek vocal notation. It is entirely diatonic, with an ambitus
Ambitus (music)
Ambitus is a Latin term literally meaning "the going round", and in Medieval Latin means the "course" of a melodic line, most usually referring to the range of scale degrees attributed to a given mode, particularly in Gregorian chant. It may also refer to the range of a voice, instrument, or piece...
of exactly an octave
Octave
In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...
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
Hypolydian mode
The Hypolydian mode, literally meaning "below Lydian", is the common name for the sixth of the eight medieval church modes . The name is taken from Ptolemy of Alexandria's term for one of his seven tonoi, or transposition keys...
, and employs the rhythmic symbols macron
Macron
A macron, from the Greek , meaning "long", is a diacritic placed above a vowel . It was originally used to mark a long or heavy syllable in Greco-Roman metrics, but now marks a long vowel...
(diseme), leimma + macron, stigme, hyphen, and colon. The text is largely set syllabically, with a few short melisma
Melisma
Melisma, in music, is the singing of a single syllable of text while moving between several different notes in succession. Music sung in this style is referred to as melismatic, as opposed to syllabic, where each syllable of text is matched to a single note.-History:Music of ancient cultures used...
s. The hymn's meter is essentially anapaest
Anapaest
An anapaest is a metrical foot used in formal poetry. In classical quantitative meters it consists of two short syllables followed by a long one; in accentual stress meters it consists of two unstressed syllables followed by one stressed syllable. It may be seen as a reversed dactyl...
ic, though there are some irregularities.
It is often considered the only fragment of Christian music from ancient Greece, although Kenneth Levy has persuasively argued that the Sanctus
Sanctus
The Sanctus is a hymn from Christian liturgy, forming part of the Order of Mass. In Western Christianity, the Sanctus is sung as the final words of the Preface of the Eucharistic Prayer, the prayer of consecration of the bread and wine...
melody best preserved in the Western medieval Requiem mass dates from the 4th century. 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.
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.
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
- West, M. L. 1992. Ancient Greek Music. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-814975-1
Discography
- Atrium Musicæ de Madrid, Gregorio Paniagua. 1979. "Christian Hymn of Oxyrhynchus." Musique de la Grèce Antique. Harmonia Mundi (France) HMA 1901015. Arles: Harmonia Mundi.
- Christodoulos Halaris. 1992. "Hymn to the Holy Trinity". Music of Ancient Greece. Orata ORANGM 2013. [Greece]: Orata Ltd.
- Ensemble De Organographia. 1995. "Christian hymn, Anonymous (3rd c. AD) Oxyrhynchus papyrus 1786." Music of the Ancient Greeks. Pandourion PRCD1001. Oregon City: Pandourion Records.
External links
- Oxyrhynchus 1786 at Oxyrhynchus Online, with low- & high- resolution images of the papyrus itself.