Papp Anette

Introits of the Hungarian Protestant Graduals from Advent to Epiphany
Anette Papp

Even though European Gregorian chant fell into decline in the 16th and 17th centuries, and the reforms of the Council of Trent caused the Hungarian version of chant to vanish from Catholic practice, this monophonic music began a new, individual existence within the Hungarian Protestant Church. Hundreds of melodies were put to Hungarian texts and recorded in manuscripts (and Two printed choir books) called “Gradual Books”. This vernacular liturgical chant was used throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, and in some cases even until the 19th century. This study compares the Introits of 4 Graduals (Batthyány-Ráday-Óvári, Spáczay, Eperjesi, Öreg) with the material of Hungarian medieval sources and a number of codices belonging to the area of the pentatonic dialect. The aim of the research is to identify the textual and melodic models of the Protestant Gradual Introits. Are they simply the translations of the Latin items or do they include independent pieces, not documented in medieval or other Protestant sources? The order of analyzing the Gradual Introits followed the arrangement of the church year. The present article, therefore, concentrates on the period from Advent to Epiphany, dealing with nearly the half of the repertory.