Sequenz

Sequenz, (sequentia)a form of liturgical song often believed to have arisen out of a coloratura-like extension of the last ‘a’ of the Alleluia in the Gradual of the Mass, the Sequenz being the substitution of words for the wordless singing. Created in France, the Sequenz reached St Gall in the 9th c. There Notker Balbulus devised the first sequentiae in Germany.

Instead of being strophic, the Sequenz is divided into sections of unequal length, each of which is divided into two corresponding portions for antiphonal singing. It is sung between the Gospel and the Gradual on certain days. In the 12th c. rhyme was introduced and vernacular examples of this originally purely Latin form began to occur (see Mariensequenz von St. Lambrecht and Mariensequenz von Muri). In the 16th c. the number of sequentiae was reduced to four, Victimae paschali (Easter), Veni, sancte Spiritus (Whitsun), Lauda Sion (Corpus Christi), and Dies irae (All Souls'). In the 18th c. Stabat mater (Seven Sorrows of Our Lady) was added.