Missa in festo Assumptionis: Introit, Signum magnum
Gregorian chant
Recording
Chor der Benediktinerinnen, Abtei Unserer Lieben Frau, Varensell
- Album
- Gregorian Chant: The Office · The Mass · Varia
- Year
- 1960
- Length
- Period
- Gregorian chant
- Listen
Painting
Botticelli (Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi)
The Annunciation, ca. 1490
The piece
The introit of the Mass of the Assumption sets Revelation 12:1: "A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars." It opens the Mass proper issued in 1950, when Pius XII defined the dogma of the Assumption, replacing the older introit Gaudeamus omnes.
The recording
The Benedictine nuns of the Abbey of Our Lady at Varensell recorded the complete Assumption Mass in their abbey church from 10 to 16 March 1960 for Archiv Produktion's History of European Music series. It first appeared on LP that year (APM 14 164, stereo 198 046) and was reissued in Archiv's 2014 chant set.
Other recordings
The Schola of the Vienna Hofburgkapelle under Hubert Dopf recorded the same introit for Philips.