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Article Excerpt
The earliest surviving dramatic work in the French vernacular is a semiliturgical play now known as the Jeu d'Adam. This singular work is preserved in only one manuscript copy, Tours, Bibliotheque municipale, 927--a book copied in southern France between 1225 and 1250. (1) Scholars have hypothesized that the play was originally created in the second half of the twelfth century, in an Anglo-Norman dialect, (2) and that it is either the conglomeration of multiple fragments or the work of a single author. (3) Most specialists agree that the play originated either in northern France, under the domination of England, (4) or in England itself, (5) despite the southern French origin of the only surviving manuscript copy.
The first section of the play is semiliturgical because it indicates by textual incipit seven prolix responsories--Gregorian chants usually sung as part of Matins, the most substantial service in the cycle of prayers known as the Divine Office--to be performed by a chorus at certain points in the action. (6) Some editors of the play have attempted to supply complete texts--and, in certain cases, music--for these responsories. The earliest was Jacques Chailley, who collaborated with Gustave Cohen on an edition of the play for a performance at Chartres Cathedral. Their edition is the only one to provide notated music along with the responsory texts. (7) In his excellent edition of the play, Willem Noomen included what he believed were the full texts of the responsories, which he took from an edition of Gregorian chant texts known as the Liber responsalis. (8) Most recently, Lynette Muir has provided texts for the responsories as found in English manuscript breviaries from Hyde Abbey and York. Understanding that the choice of a manuscript source for the responsories was important, Muir selected English manuscripts because she believed that the play was English in origin. (9) Although Chailley chose a northern French source, the textual readings of Muir and Chailley are identical, for the most part, while Noomen's texts appear to reflect a rather different version of the liturgy found principally in German-speaking countries. Only the earliest of these authors, Chailley, acknowledged regret at not being able to establish, as he put it, "a comparative version based on all the manuscripts." (10) This study was undertaken in response to this problem--what might a comparative examination of a broad range of Gregorian chant manuscripts reveal about the Jeu d'Adam?
The singing of Gregorian chant, especially in the Divine Office, varied significantly from region to region in the Middle Ages: which feasts were celebrated and to what degree of solemnity, which texts were set to music, the form of the melodies sung to those texts, and the selection and ordering of even the most familiar pieces. (11) The responsory, in particular, offers a range of details that may differ regionally--most importantly, the selection of its verse. (12) In manuscripts across Europe, many common responsories are found matched to two or more different verses, altering slightly or significantly the textual and musical content. (13) On the feasts of Septuagesima and Sexagesima, when the responsories included in the Jeu d'Adam were usually performed, the ordering of the responsories and the verses assigned to the responsories differ from manuscript to manuscript.
Most important of all, some manuscripts do not record all seven responsories used in the play. What the manuscript evidence makes clear is that the Gregorian chants used in the Jeu d'Adam would not necessarily have been known to all European churchmen in the twelfth century. If the responsories are truly integral to the play's action, (14) these differences, as revealed by the manuscript survey conducted for this study, indicate the geographical and liturgical background of one of the play's creators to be different from what has been supposed previously.
Two important research tools now available to scholars interested in Gregorian chant have provided easy access to a broad range of manuscript sources for comparison of the Adam responsories. The first is Rene-Jean Hesbert's Corpus antiphonalium officii (hereafter referred to as CAO), a parallel transcription and index of the textual contents of twelve liturgical manuscripts of the Divine Office; although several of them do not include musical notation, the CAO sources are considered to be among the oldest and most complete witnesses to the liturgical traditions of a range of European monasteries and churches. (15) The second is a database of computerized indices of Divine Office manuscripts--sixty-nine manuscripts at the time of this writing--known as CANTUS, now directed by Terence Bailey at the University of Western Ontario. (16) This foundation of eighty-one manuscript sources has been supplemented by relevant sections of other liturgical manuscripts from southern and eastern France and England which were searched individually. (17)
On the basis of this manuscript survey, it is almost certain that the creator--or one of the creators--of the Jeu d'Adam was a monk or was familiar with the Adam responsories as they were sung in a monastery rather than in a cathedral or other nonmonastic church. (18) There are thirteen widely distributed responsories for the Septuagesima or Sexagesima Matins service, of which each church or monastery usually has only a selection. (19) A monastic Matins service requires twelve responsories, four chants in each of three sections (or nocturns), while a cathedral or nonmonastic church requires only nine responsories, three chants in each of three nocturns. Five of the seven responsories sung in the Jeu d'Adam are usually included in most Matins services across Europe, whether for monasteries or nonmonastic churches. However, In sudore vultus tui and especially Dixit dominus ad Adam are among those responsories commonly left out of shorter Matins services for nonmonastic churches. (20) Furthermore, the order of responsories in the play matches almost exactly the order of chants usually found in a French monastic Matins service: Formavit igitur, the ultimate or penultimate responsory of the first nocturn; Tulit ergo and Dixit dominus ad Adam, the first and last responsories of the second nocturn; and Dura deambularet, In sudore vultus tui, Ecce Adam quasi unus, and Ubi est Abel, all four responsories of the third nocturn, in precisely that order. (21)
The placement and function of the responsories in the Jeu d'Adam thus provide some clues as to the author's knowledge of the Gregorian chant repertoire. The manuscript corresponding best to what we know of the author's background would most likely be from a French monastery and would certainly contain all seven responsories used in the play. (22) These restrictions alone greatly reduce the vast number of chant manuscripts to be considered. (23) However, if we consider another distinguishing detail of the responsory repertoire--namely, the selection of verses--the geographic range is narrowed further to a specific region of France.
The final responsory indicated in the stage directions of the Jeu d'Adam, Ubi est Abel frater tuus, is the most stable of the seven. It is found in almost every manuscript examined and with the same verse in every manuscript examined, sometimes with slight variations. (24) Therefore, the full text of respond and verse is easy to determine, and it has been provided correctly in the editions of Chailley, Muir, and Noomen. One of the purposes of the French text of the Jeu d'Adam is to provide a translation of each responsory at a point in the action close to its performance. (25) Since Ubi est Abel is recorded in manuscripts with only one possible verse, we can observe that the Jeu d'Adam's French translation of this Latin text, which occurs immediately after the chant is performed (Tours 927, fol. [34.sup.v]; ll. 723-44), covers portions of both the respond and the verse. Table 1 compares each responsory performed in the Jeu d'Adam with the lines of the play that appear to translate it (shown in boldface type) and with the relevant sections of the source text, the biblical book of Genesis. This comparison demonstrates that the Latin dialogue of Ubi est Abel--in both respond and verse--was translated more or less directly into French verse dialogue. (26)
Three of the Jeu d'Adam responsories are found in medieval sources mostly with one standard verse and, in occasional manuscripts, other unusual verses. The author of the Jeu d'Adam has translated elements of the standard verse in these cases, so the hypothesis that he was familiar with the chant tradition of a French monastery continues to hold true. The responds and verses for Dixit dominus ad Adam, (27) In sudore vultus tui, (28) and Ecce Adam quasi unus ex nobis (29) are compared to their respective translations in the play in table 1.
For the other three responsories in the play, however, manuscript sources present us with a choice of more than one well-established verse. The play's French text appears to provide indications that the author intended to translate not only the respond but also the specific verse with which he was familiar (table 1). For most of the responsories, one verse may be described as the most common, a standard verse found widely in manuscripts from England, France, Spain, and Italy. A second verse is usually found in manuscripts from Germany, Austria, and German-speaking regions of Switzerland. If there are more than two verses, additional verses are typically limited to a smaller range of manuscripts. Not surprisingly, the author of the Jeu d'Adam was familiar with the French verse for all but one of the remaining responsories.
The second responsory in the play, Tulit ergo Dominus hominem, is sung after Figura places Adam and Eve in Paradise. In the manuscripts surveyed it was found with only two different verses (table 1). Verse A is found in almost all French (northern and southern) and English manuscripts, including those used by both Chailley and Muir. (30) This standard verse is also found in Italian, Spanish, and Dutch sources. Verse B, which appears to be less common, is found mainly in Swiss, German, and Austrian manuscripts. (31) Unfortunately, Noomen's source for the responsory texts, the Liber responsalis, includes this "Germanic" verse rather than the "French" one with which the author of the Jeu d'Adam was evidently familiar. A third verse, beginning "Precepitque dominus dicens" (verse C), is found only in two manuscripts and not in any of the CAO manuscripts. (32)
Tulit ergo is a narrative rather than a dialogue, but the actions of the responsory are played out by Figura and absorbed into the dialogue of Figura and Adam. (33) With the action of showing Paradise to Adam, the dialogue refers to the Latin term for Eden ("paradisum voluptatis") by naming it "Paradis" and by Adam's reaction to seeing it ("Mult par est bel"). Next, God's action of taking Adam and placing him in the garden is played out by Figura ("Dedanz uus met"). Finally, the beginning of the French verse A ("Plantaverat autem dominus deus paradisum voluptatis") and Adam's role in the garden mentioned at the end of the respond ("ut operaretur et custodiret illum") are translated in God's command to Adam ("Jel plantai e asis/ ... Jol toi command por maindre e por garder"). By contrast, no part of the Germanic verse B has been translated in this section of the play.
The situation is similar with the play's fourth responsory, Dum deambularet dominus. (34) Verses A and B differ only by the addition of the words "quod nudus essem" in verse A, by which Adam explains why he was frightened when he heard God's voice in the garden. This part of verse A is translated ("e por co que sui tut nuz" [1.388]), along with portions of the respond, after the responsory is chanted. Verse A is found in the overwhelming majority of manuscripts in England, France, and Italy (including the sources used by Chailley and Muir), while verse B (again that selected by Noomen) appears primarily in manuscripts from German-speaking regions. (35)
However, verse selection is most significant with the responsory that commences the action of the play: Formavit igitur dominus. (36) The text of the respond, taken almost exactly from Genesis 2:7, proceeds from the point at which the introductory reading stopped--namely, God's creation of the first man. Among the twelve CAO sources, it was found with four different verses. The most common is verse A, a composite text based loosely on Genesis 1:1, found in manuscripts from France and England (and therefore selected by both Chailley and Muir), the Netherlands, and Italy. (37) Verse B is drawn from Genesis 2:1, the completion of creation, and represents a less common eastern verse found in manuscripts from Switzerland, Germany, northern Italy, and Austria. Verse C paraphrases Genesis 1:27 in order to underline the fact that Adam was created in the image of God. It was found in manuscripts from Liege and Verona (in CAO) and in manuscripts from the central-eastern or Midi regions of France. (38) Verse D, which describes...
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