Singing the Antiphonary

Curated by Pablo Alvarez, Outreach Librarian & Curator, Special Collections Library, University of Michigan Library

Introduction

On August 26, 2014, led by Dr. Stefano Mengozzi, a group of six singers recorded a selection of Gregorian chant music at the St. Thomas Apostle Catholic Church in Ann Arbor, Michigan. To be precise, they sang from a fifteenth-century Antiphonary from the University of Michigan Special Collections Research Center, an extraordinary manuscript copied in Venice and richly illuminated by the famous Italian miniaturist, Benedetto Bordon.

The video recording of that performance is at the heart of this online exhibit, which in turn describes our Antiphonary manuscript in detail, exploring the career of Benedetto Bordon as an illuminator and woodcut designer in Venice between 1494 and 1528.

What is an Antiphonary?

The Background. While the Mass is a single occurrence originally instituted by Christ, the Divine Office consists of a series..

Benedetto Bordon, The Artist

Fortunately, the career of Benedetto Bordon is fairly well documented. There is firm evidence that the family of Benedetto lived..

The Choir

The choral performance of plainchant requires perfect synchronicity from the singers. Because the duration of each note is undetermined, and..

Singing the Antiphonary

Printing in Venice & Benedetto Bordon

Printing with movable type was originally introduced in Italy by the German printers Konrad Sweynheym and Arnold Pannartz, who issued..