in the Oriental Christian liturgies, espe- cially in Ethiopian liturgy. The deacon calls in the fff chord, the congregation answers, always in the form of a very complex and uncontrolled heterophony set in a pentatonic framework. Accord- ing to Florentz, these massive chords represent the moment in which the Christian believer is rid of doubt. The note A in these chords symbolizes a strong faith, whereas uncontrolled heterophony represents doubts in believers.2 Florentz pointed to “an angel stand-
ing on the sun” (Rev. 19:17) as his in- spiration in composing this work. In Chapter eight of the book of Revelation, the angel is related to the number seven: “I saw the seven angels who stand be- fore God, and to them were given seven trumpets” (Rev. 8:2). In the book of Henoch, an Ethiopian apocryphal book, there are seven Archangels, which are referred to seven times in relation to the famous “I Am” passages located in the gospel of John.4 These seven numbers correspond to seven degrees of the mode that Florentz used in the massive chords: three in the first refrain, four in the second, three in the third, and four in the fourth refrain: 3 + 4 + 3 + 4 = 14. The summation of mode numbers in four refrains is 14, the traditional num- ber associated with the Stations of the Cross.5
Four Invitatoires According to Florentz, the Invitatoire
is the Psalm in the Ethiopian liturgy that, at the beginning of the first office of the day, “invites” people to the di- vine praise. The traditional Invitatoire is Psalm 94.6 It would be advisable to call this interlude an invitation, incite- ment, or exhortation. The word Invita- toire was used to avoid confusion with other invitations to prayer, innumer- able in the Ethiopian liturgy. The deacon solemnly sings an imper-
ative “Regardons!” (“Let us look!”) (mm. 7–9 and mm. 351–353), which connects with the first and fourth re- frains. Thus, the Invitatoire begins with bilingual texts—Ge’ez7 and French— that alternate between the deacon, the congregation, and the celebrant:
The Deacon: “Regardons!” (“Let us
look!”) The Celebrant: “Les choses saintes
aux saints.” (“Holy things for the saints.”) The Congregation: “Unique est le
Père Saint.” (“The Holy Father is one.”) “Unique est le Fils Saint.” (“TheHoly
Son is one.”) “Unique est l’Esprit Saint.” (“The
Holy Spirit is one.”) The Celebrant: “Le Seigneur soit avec
vous tous.” (“The Lord bewith you all.”) The Congregation: “Avec ton esprit.” (“With your spirit.”)
AUGUST 2013
Ex. 1: The deacon and congregation parts in mm. 1–2
Ex. 2: Combination of two themes in the first Invitatoire (mm. 10–11)
Between the second Inivitatoire and
the third refrain (mm. 141–144) is the call of the celebrant: “Prosternons- nous!” (“Let us bow down!”). This four- measure segment divides the first half (mm. 1–144) and the second (mm. 145–393). Prior to this time, the central themes have been human distress and anguish. While the rhythmic character associated with distress continues to a certain extent in the second portion of the piece, there is a shift in emphasis to the work of Christ on the cross and the path of discipleship. Florentz quotes Matthew 16:24 to explain the theme of the first and second half: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself (the first half: mm. 1–141) and take up his cross and followme(the sec- ond half: mm. 145–393).” The Invitatoires are more varied in
structure than the refrains that precede or follow them. But it is common for all Invitatoires to describe the meeting of Moses with God in the burning bush (Exodus 3:1–15). For example, in the first Invitatoire, the theme of “Sou- viens-toi” (“Remember!”), indicating human distress in the right hand and pedal, is superimposed on the theme of “Les choses saints aux saints” (“The holy things for the saints”) in the left hand, which is heard in a cornet solo (Ex. 2). The rhythm of human distress was translated from the Morse code of “Tazakkar” in Ge’ez, which is “Sou- viens-toi” in French (see “Morse Code” on next page).
Midrash of the Passion This structural centerpiece is a 42-
measure toccata (mm. 187–228), which is actually a dense recitative superim- posed upon a relentlessly reiterated sin- gle chord (G,A, C, D, F, B, B, E) whose 41 reiterations depict the flagellation of Jesus. The rhythm of these repeated chords was derived from birds (espe- cially turtledoves) in the Rift Valley who sing with regularly repeated im- pulses (accelerandos and rallentandos). The rhythmic quality of the various staccato chords corresponds to the pul- sation of the bird song. Midrash (as well as Madrosh) comes
from the Hebraic root darasha, which means “to seek” or “to investigate.” Flo- rentz seems to use this word in connec- tion with the idea of seeking the true meaning of the Passion of Christ. He claims that this toccata was built with several layers of meaning, which are, as he calls them, three voices (Ex. 3).2(1) The first voice is the chords of flagel-
lation. As opposed to themore common notion of 39 flagellations arising from Jewish tradition,8 the Ethiopian Church recognizes 41 flagellations. The second voice is in a succession of ascending chords, which is a paraphrase of the last words of Christ in the book of Mark (Mark 15:34): “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” On four occa- sions, Florentz adds the words “Sou- viens-toi!” (“Remember!”) as if spoken by God. The rhythm translated from the Morse code of “Tazakkar!” is the same
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