THE RICE ANTIPHONARY

Antiphonaries or antiphonals contained text and music for the Divine Office. This page contains the introit, gradual, and gradual verse for the first Sunday in Advent. The first initial for this feast, the “A”, is very large and more highly decorated than the rest of the initials on the page. Following the traditional hierarchy, this letter marks the beginning of a new and important feast within the manuscript. On the same page there are other initials that stand out. The large blue “U” at the bottom of the page marks the beginning of the gradual for the feast, and the red and black letter mark the beginning of the verses for the gradual. These other initials are larger than the other letters around them, but are much smaller than the “A” which marks the introit. When a performer was following along as a member of a large group sharing this manuscript, these initials visually stand out and help him follow along and keep his place.

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