The Advent Project: The Later-seventh-century Creation of the Roman Mass Proper (review)

Abstract

The Advent Project: The Later-seventh-century Creation of Roman Mass Proper. By James VP McKinnon. (Berkeley: University of California Press. 2000. Pp. xiv, 466. $ 50.00.) In his final book, James McKinnon (deceased 1999) has crowned a prestigious career with a work of impressive erudition that is bound to shape future studies of Gregorian chant, Roman liturgy, and history of early western worship. An authority on early and medieval church music, McKinnon traces evolution of Christian chant from 200 to 800. The book challenges two long-held theories: that this chant developed organically over from Jewish psalm performance and that Mass or texts assigned to each day of liturgical calendar, only gradually resulted from labor of many generations. McKinnon argues convincingly that, near end of seventh century, Mass Proper texts and their music derived from a short-term, concerted effort which he has coined the Advent Project. According to McKinnon, a schola cantorum formed in Rome during course of seventh century. This group of musical experts, rough equivalent of one of today's liturgical faculties, sought to establish a standardized repertoire for entire liturgical year. Beginning with Advent-Christmas season, schola produced pertinent texts and music, then proceeded to arrange Lenten sequence. The project of providing Proper chants for entire calendar proved too ambitious and therefore ended without complete success. It managed, nevertheless, to provide Proper chants for Sundays and feasts from first Sunday of Advent to week after Pentecost. The final product was transmitted north of Alps in eighth century and eventually became what is now known as Gregorian chant. The book, divided into three parts, first traces prehistory of Roman Mass Propers, then examines liturgical background of seventh-century Rome, and finally treats Advent project itself. In first part, McKinnon takes reader through first four of Christian liturgy. Arranging in chronological and regional order patristic references to early Christian chant, McKinnon reconstructs origins of chant, its liturgical placement, and singers who performed it. The ecclesiastical prosperity which followed upon imperial accession of Constantine gave rise, in later fourth century, to golden age of liturgical achievement. Patristic writings amply testify to developments in liturgy and church song. The two or nearly three centuries of silence that followed death of Augustine of Hippo (430) and collapse of Roman Empire are marked by a paucity of extant sources. The scarce material from these is better represented in Gallican and English sources rather than in Roman ones. The three chapters of second part set stage of seventh-century Rome for Advent project. The first outlines gradual development of sacramentary and lectionary with a view to showing how different was composition of antiphoner. The second and third try to date Advent project which produced this antiphoner. …