The Office of the Translation of the Apostle James in the late Middle Ages: on the subject of a fragment of antiphonary found in the Cathedral of Segovia

Abstract

The research made with regard to the music composed for the cult of the Apostle James is generally based on the Codex Calixtinus. Although the Codex is an outstanding source, it has little connection with the varied and widespread Jacobean lyrical expressions in the Iberian Peninsula throughout in the late Middle Ages. The discovery of this thirteenth-century antiphonary fragment from the Office of the Translation of St James in the cathedral of Segovia, will provide a glimpse, for the first time, of a part of the musical corpus compiled for the feast of St. James in the Middle Ages. The analysis presented here explores the applicability of modal, melodic and textual structures and their relationships with other repertoires, such as Gregorian chant or the works from the Calixtinus codex. At the same time, this study will examine the motives that promoted the creation of this celebration and its diffusion in the Iberian world. Moreover, it is hoped that this multi-faceted approach will attempt to date the origin of this religious service in the form that appears in the Segovia fragment, and also will detail the reasons of its reform after the Council of Trent. In conclusion, it will be compared to both the antiphonal and the responsorial series of this office, from different Spanish liturgical sources, with the aim of understanding the degree of uniformity in the transmission of its texts.