Tenebrae responsories are the responsories sung following the lessons of

Tenebrae Tenebrae (—Latin for 'darkness') is a religious service of Western Christianity held during the three days preceding Easter Day, and characterized by a gradual extinguishing of candles, and the ''strepitus'' or "loud noise" in the total darkn ...

, the

Matins Matins (also Mattins) is a canonical hour in Christian liturgy, originally sung during the darkness of early morning (between midnight and dawn). The earliest use of the term was in reference to the canonical hour, also called the vigil, which w ...

services of the last three days of

Holy Week Holy Week () commemorates the seven days leading up to Easter. It begins with the commemoration of Triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, marks the betrayal of Jesus on Spy Wednesday (Holy Wednes ...

Maundy Thursday Maundy Thursday, also referred to as Holy Thursday, or Thursday of the Lord's Supper, among other names,The day is also known as Great and Holy Thursday, Holy and Great Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Sheer Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries. is ...

Good Friday Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday, or Friday of the Passion of the Lord, is a solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary (Golgotha). It is observed during ...

and

Holy Saturday Holy Saturday (), also known as Great and Holy Saturday, Low Saturday, the Great Sabbath, Hallelujah Saturday, Saturday of the Glory, Easter Eve, Joyous Saturday, the Saturday of Light, Good Saturday, or Black Saturday, among other names, is t ...

Polyphonic Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice ( monophony) or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ...

settings to replace

plainchant Plainsong or plainchant (calque from the French ; ) is a body of chants used in the liturgies of the Western Church. When referring to the term plainsong, it is those sacred pieces that are composed in Latin text. Plainsong was the exclusive for ...

have been published under a various titles, including ''Responsoria pro hebdomada sancta'' (Responsories for Holy Week). In most places, Matins as well as

Lauds Lauds is a canonical hour of the Divine office. In the Roman Rite Liturgy of the Hours it is one of the major hours, usually held after Matins, in the early morning hours (between 3:00:00 and 5:59:59). Name The name is derived from the three la ...

of these days were normally anticipated on the evening of the preceding day and were celebrated on Wednesday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, respectively. The 1955 reform of the Holy Week ceremonies by

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

, redefining '' Triduum Sacrum'' to include Easter Sunday and take in only the close of Maundy Thursday, moved them to Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. Tenebrae as such was not included in the 1970

Liturgy of the Hours The Liturgy of the Hours (), Divine Office (), or ''Opus Dei'' ("Work of God") are a set of Catholic prayers comprising the canonical hours, often also referred to as the breviary, of the Latin Church. The Liturgy of the Hours forms the official ...

, vanishing altogether around 1977. ''

Summorum Pontificum (English: 'Of the Supreme Pontiffs') is an Ecclesiastical letter#Letters of the popes in modern times, apostolic letter of Pope Benedict XVI, issued on 7 July 2007. This letter specifies the circumstances in which Priesthood in the Catholic Chur ...

'' (2007) now permits clerics bound to recitation of the Divine Office to use the 1961 Roman Breviary. Composers who produced polyphonic settings include

Carlo Gesualdo Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa (between 8 March 1566 and 30 March 1566 – 8 September 1613) was an Italian nobleman and composer. Though both the Prince of Venosa and Count of Conza, he is better known for writing madrigals and pieces of sacred ...

(''

Responsoria et alia ad Officium Hebdomadae Sanctae spectantia ''Responsoria et alia ad Officium Hebdomadae Sanctae spectantia'' is a collection of music for Holy Week by Italian composer Carlo Gesualdo, published in 1611. It consists of three sets of nine short pieces, one set for each of Maundy Thursday, G ...

'', 1611, Jean L'Héritier,

Marc-Antoine Charpentier Marc-Antoine Charpentier (; 1643 – 24 February 1704) was a French Baroque composer during the reign of Louis XIV. One of his most famous works is the main theme from the prelude of his ''Te Deum'' ''H.146, Marche en rondeau''. This theme is st ...

, 19 settings (H.111 -119, H.126 - 134 and H.144),

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

(Hob XXIIb),

Jan Dismas Zelenka Jan Dismas Zelenka (16 October 1679 – 23 December 1745), baptised Jan Lukáš Zelenka was a Bohemian composer and musician of the Baroque period. His music is admired for its harmonic inventiveness and mastery of counterpoint. Zelenka was ...

( ZWV 55),

Max Reger Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (19 March 187311 May 1916) was a German composer, pianist, organist, conductor, and academic teacher. He worked as a concert pianist, a musical director at the Paulinerkirche, Leipzig, Leipzig University Chu ...

Francis Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include mélodie, songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among th ...

, and

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 19255 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war contemporary classical music. Born in Montb ...

The responsories

Within the liturgy, each responsory followed a reading. Each day's

matins Matins (also Mattins) is a canonical hour in Christian liturgy, originally sung during the darkness of early morning (between midnight and dawn). The earliest use of the term was in reference to the canonical hour, also called the vigil, which w ...

was divided into three

nocturn Nocturns (Latin: ''nocturni'' or ''nocturna'') is a Christian canonical hour said in the nighttime. In the liturgy of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, nocturns refer to the sections into which the canonical hour of matins was divided from ...

s. The first nocturn had three readings from

Jeremiah Jeremiah ( – ), also called Jeremias, was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition, Jeremiah authored the Book of Jeremiah, book that bears his name, the Books of Kings, and the Book of Lamentations, with t ...

Book of Lamentations The Book of Lamentations (, , from its incipit meaning "how") is a collection of poetic laments for the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE. In the Hebrew Bible, it appears in the Ketuvim ("Writings") as one of the Five Megillot ("Five Scroll ...

, and the second nocturn three readings from one or other of

Saint Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berbers, Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia (Roman province), Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced th ...

's commentaries on the Psalms. The three readings of the third nocturn were from the

First Epistle to the Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians () is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-author, Sosthenes, and is addressed to the Christian church i ...

on Maundy Thursday, from the

Epistle to the Hebrews The Epistle to the Hebrews () is one of the books of the New Testament. The text does not mention the name of its author, but was traditionally attributed to Paul the Apostle; most of the Ancient Greek manuscripts, the Old Syriac Peshitto and ...

on the other two days. Over the three days, therefore, the responsories, like the readings, came to a total of 27. Since the polyphonic Lamentations were an important musical genre in their own right, many collections (such as Victoria's ''Officium Hebdomadae sanctae'' 1585) include only the 18 Responsories of the second and third nocturns. Gesualdo, who set all 27, also includes a ''Miserere'' and ''Benedictus'' for Lauds, and a few composers ( Fabrizio Dentice and

Tiburtio Massaino Tiburzio Massaino (also Massaini and Tiburtio) (Cremona, before 1550 – Piacenza or Lodi, after 1608) was an Italian composer. Life He was an Augustinian friar in Piacenza. He became ''maestro di cappella'' at S Maria del Popolo in Rome in ...

) set these last three times each, one setting for each day.

Maundy Thursday responsories

is called in Latin ''Feria V/Quinta in Cena Domini'' (an older spelling has ''Coena'' instead of ''Cena''), meaning Thursday (fifth day of the week) of the

Lord's Supper The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an ordinance in others. Christians believe that the rite was instituted by J ...

. Compositions for its nine responsories can therefore appear under such titles as ''Feria V – In Coena Domini''. They can also be named by the day on which they were actually sung, as Charpentier's ''Les neuf répons du mercredi saint'' ("The nine responsories of Holy Wednesday").

Responsories of the first nocturn of Maundy Thursday

The three readings of the first nocturn of Maundy Thursday are Lamentations 1:1–5, 1:6–9 and 1:10–14.

''In monte Oliveti''

The first Maundy Thursday responsory refers to the Agony of Christ in

Gethsemane Gethsemane ( ) is a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem, where, according to the four Gospels of the New Testament, Jesus Christ underwent the Agony in the Garden and was arrested before his crucifixion. The garden is ...

at the foot of the

Mount of Olives The Mount of Olives or Mount Olivet (; ; both lit. 'Mount of Olives'; in Arabic also , , 'the Mountain') is a mountain ridge in East Jerusalem, east of and adjacent to Old City of Jerusalem, Jerusalem's Old City. It is named for the olive, olive ...

, Premier répons après la première leçon du premier nocturne, H.111, for 3 voices and continuo (1680). *

''Tristis est anima mea''

The second responsory represents

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

speaking to his disciples in the garden of

. The first two lines of the responsory are . The last two lines of are more freely based on different Gospel passages, including Mark 14:50 and Luke 24:7. Settings of this responsory include a motet by

Orlande de Lassus Orlando di Lasso ( various other names; probably – 14 June 1594) was a composer of the late Renaissance. The chief representative of the mature polyphonic style in the Franco-Flemish school, Lassus stands with William Byrd, Giovanni Pierlui ...

, appearing as No. 1 in the

Drexel 4302 Drexel 4302, also known as the Sambrook Book, based on an inscription from a former owner, Francis Sambrook, is a music manuscript containing vocal and keyboard music from Italian and British composers, documenting the transition from Renaissance ...

manuscript, a SSATB motet attributed to

Johann Kuhnau Johann Kuhnau (; 6 April 16605 June 1722) was a German polymath, known primarily as a composer today. He was also active as a novelist, translator, lawyer, and music theorist, and was able to combine these activities with his duties in his offici ...

, Marc-Antoine Charpentier, 2 settings: ''Second répons après la seconde leçon du premier nocturne,'' H.112 (1680), for 2 voices and continuo and ''Second répons après la seconde leçon du premier nocturne du Mercredi Saint,'' H.126 (1690), for 2 voices and continuo and a setting as part of

's ''

Quatre motets pour un temps de pénitence Quatre is one of the Grenadines islands which lie between the Caribbean islands of Saint Vincent and Grenada. It is part of the nation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. On March 30, 2024, American YouTuber MrBeast released a video on his ...

''. *

''Ecce, vidimus eum''

Responsories of the second nocturn of Maundy Thursday

The readings of the second nocturn of Maundy Thursday are from Saint Augustine's commentary on Psalm 54/55

''Amicus meus''

''Troisième répons après la troisième leçon du premier nocturne,'' H.113 (1680), for 1 voice and continuo

, ''Premier répons après la première leçon du second nocturne du Mercredi Saint'', H.127 (1690), for 1 voice , 2 flutes and continuo * Audio: *

''Judas mercator pessimus''

Second of Poulenc's ''

Sept répons des ténèbres A sept () is a division of a family, especially of a Scottish clan, Scottish or List of Irish clans, Irish family. The term is used both in Scotland and in Ireland, where it may be translated as Irish language , Irish , meaning "progeny" or "s ...

''. *

''Unus ex discipulis meis''

Marc-Antoine Charpentier, ''Quatrième répons après la première leçon du second nocturne,'' H.114 (1680), for 2 voices and continuo Marc-Antoine Charpentier, ''Troisième répons après la troisième leçon du second nocturne du Mercredi Saint,'' H.132 (1690), for 1 voice, 2 violins and continuo * Audio: *

Responsories of the third nocturn of Maundy Thursday

The readings of the third nocturn of Maundy Thursday are

1 Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians () is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-author, Sosthenes, and is addressed to the Christian church in Anc ...

11:17−22, 11:23−26, 11:27−34

''Eram quasi agnus innocens''

Marc-Antoine Charpentier, ''Cinquième répons après la seconde leçon du second nocturne'', H.115 (1680), for 1 voice and continuo *

''Una hora''

Marc-Antoine Charpentier, ''Sixième répons après la troisième leçon du second nocturne,'' H.116 (1680), for 3 voices and continuo First of Poulenc's ''Sept répons des ténèbres''. *

''Seniores populi''

Marc-Antoine Charpentier, ''Septième répons après la première leçon du troisième nocturne,'' H.117 (1680), for 1 voice and continuo *

Responsories of Good Friday

, ''Feria VI/Sexta in Parasceve'', meaning Friday (sixth day of the week) of the Day of Preparation (from

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

Παρασκευή). Thus this second set of nine responsories can appear under such titles as ''Feria VI – In Parasceve''.

Responsories of the first nocturn of Good Friday

The readings of the first nocturn of Good Friday are Lamentations 2:8–11, 2:12–15 and 3:1–9.

''Omnes amici mei''

, ''Répons après la première leçon de ténèbres du Jeudi Saint'', H.144 (mid1690), for 1 voice, 2 flutes and continuo *

''Velum templi scissum est''

Marc-Antoine Charpentier'', Second répons après la seconde leçon du premier nocturne du Jeudi Saint,'' H.128, for soloists, chorus, flutes, strings and continuo (1690) *

''Vinea mea electa''

Second of Poulenc's ''Quatre motets pour un temps de pénitence''. *

Responsories of the second nocturn of Good Friday

The readings of the second nocturn of Good Friday are from Saint Augustine's commentary on Psalm 63/64

''Tamquam ad latronem existis''

Marc-Antoine Charpentier, ''Premier répons après la première leçon du second nocturne du Jeudi Saint,'' H.133 (1690), for 1 voice, 2 flutes,, 2 violins and continuo *

''Tenebrae factae sunt''

This responsory is included on p. 269 of the Lutheran ''Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch'' (1682). Marc-Antoine Charpentier, ''Second répons après la seconde leçon du second nocturne du Jeudi Saint'', for 1 voice, flutes, strings and continuo, H.129 (1690).Third of Poulenc's ''Quatre motets pour un temps de pénitence'', and fifth of his ''Sept répons des ténèbres'' *

''Animam meam dilectam''

Responsories of the third nocturn of Good Friday

The readings of the third nocturn of Holy Saturday are taken from –.

''Tradiderunt me''

''Jesum tradidit impius''

Third of Poulenc's ''Sept répons des ténèbres'' *

''Caligaverunt oculi mei''

Fourth of Poulenc's ''Sept répons des ténèbres'' * Audio: *

Responsories of Holy Saturday

, ''Sabbato Sancto'' in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

. Responsories for this day can appear under such titles as ''Sabbato Sancto''.

Responsories of the first nocturn of Holy Saturday

The readings of the first nocturn of Holy Saturday are from Lamentations, 3:22–30, 4:1–6 and 5:1–11.

''Sicut ovis''

''Jerusalem surge''

Marc-Antoine Charpentier, ''Second répons après la seconde leçon du premier nocturne de Vendredi Saint,'' H.130 (1690), for 2 voices, 2 flutes and continuo *

''Plange quasi virgo''

This responsory has some parallels with the

Book of Joel The Book of Joel (Hebrew language, Hebrew: ספר יוֹאֵל ''Sefer Yo'él'') is a Judaism, Jewish prophetic text containing a series of "divine announcements". The first line attributes authorship to "Joel the son of Pethuel". It forms part o ...

, e.g. "plange quasi virgo" ("Lament like a girl", 1:8), "accingite vos et plangite sacerdotes ululate ministri altaris" ("Put on sackcloth and mourn, you priests; Wail, you ministers of the altar", 1:13) and "magnus enim dies Domini et terribilis valde" ("for the day of Yahweh is great and very awesome", 2:11). *

Responsories of the second nocturn of Holy Saturday

The readings of the second nocturn of Holy Saturday are from Saint Augustine's commentary on Psalm 63/64.

''Recessit pastor noster''

''O vos omnes''

The text is adapted from the

Vulgate The Vulgate () is a late-4th-century Bible translations into Latin, Latin translation of the Bible. It is largely the work of Saint Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels used by the Diocese of ...

translation of . Some of the most famous settings of the text are by

Tomás Luis de Victoria Tomás Luis de Victoria (sometimes Italianised as ''da Vittoria''; ) was the most famous Spanish composer of the Renaissance. He stands with Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina and Orlande de Lassus as among the principal composers of the late Re ...

(two settings for four voices: 1572 and 1585),

(five voices: 1603; six voices: 1611),

, ''Second répons après la 1ère leçon du second nocturne du Vendredi saint'', H.134, for 1 voice, flutes and continuo (1690) and

Pablo Casals Pau Casals i Defilló (Catalan: ; 29 December 187622 October 1973), known in English as Pablo Casals,Der Gerechte kömmt um Der or DER may refer to: Places * Darkənd, Azerbaijan * Dearborn (Amtrak station) (station code), in Michigan, US * Der (Sumer), an ancient city located in modern-day Iraq * d'Entrecasteaux Ridge, an oceanic ridge in the south-west Pacific Ocean ...

''. Poulenc set it as the seventh of his ''Sept répons des ténèbres''. Marc-Antoine Charpentier'', Troisième répons après la troisième leçon du second nocturne du Vendredi Saint,'' H.131 (1690), for 1 voice, muted strings and continuo *