Armonia concinnans

The Franciscan monastery in Šibenik holds two manuscripts containing medieval sequences, which are unique testaments to the rich musical culture of the medieval Eastern Adriatic. The first, Liber sequentiarum et sacramentarium, was likely created in the mid-11th century for the church of St Thomas in Pula. Alongside sequences by Notker Balbulus (c. 840–912), one of the most famous early medieval composers, this manuscript also contains a unique piece found nowhere else: the sequence Armonia concinans.

The genre of the sequence dates back to the 8th century, when they were sung in Frankish services alongside the Alleluia, as long, wordless chants. The Alleluia was performed during Mass just before the Gospel reading, and along with it, it represented the climax of the first part of the service. As a solemn procession with the Bible (which was often the church’s most valuable treasure at the time) typically took place before the Gospel was read, this was the perfect moment to embellish the singing with intricate ornaments, or melismas. These long, wordless chants were intended to evoke angelic singing, symbolising the Heavens opening before the Gospel reading.

However, manuscripts began to appear in the second half of the 9th century that mentioned words in sequences. These were sometimes even given a different name: prose (prosa, a shortening of prosa eloquentia—‘plain speech’). Notker Balbulus, a monk from Saint Gall, recalled that a monk from the north of what is now France, who had fled from Viking raids, came to their monastery. This monk had a small book with texts for sequences. Notker was not fond of these specific texts, but he loved the idea. Believing he could do better, he began adding texts to the melodies he knew. It is likely that he then started writing his own melodies, becoming the most renowned composer of sequences in history. Manuscripts containing his works have since been discovered in many different lands.

The second Šibenik manuscript is a later work from the 14th century, containing only one musical piece: the famous late sequence Dies Irae. It is, however, a free translation into Old Croatian. As a result, Sudac gnivan, the final piece in the Ensemble Labyrinthus’s programme, is one of the earliest surviving works in the Old Croatian language.