Towards a Concept of the Medieval Liturgical Sequence (or Prose)

Abstract

The sequence is a kind of Medieval chant generally situated between the Alleluia and the Gospel in the Mass. It was used for certain feasts in the Roman-Frankish liturgy. Although it was not uniform or prescriptive in nature, stylistically it did not belong to the “classic” Gregorian repertory either, despite being interrelated with it. In fact, in the vast corpus that makes the sequence the most prolific chant of the Middle Ages, a variability of styles and types (for example, it can be a melody without text, partially set to text or melody and text throughout, generally made of couplets) have made it a source for discrepancies and polemics among modern critics still today when clarifying and explaining this genre. This article aims to shed light on the concept, use and meaning of the sequence (or prose) by considering such issues as its multidimensional nature, different morphologies and styles, fundamental purpose and its position of influence in the Roman-Frankish liturgy and beyond.