Animation Of Holy Week From Saint-George's Monastery In Prague From Repertory to Architectural Elements
Abstract
Holy Week is a one of the most charged period of the liturgical year regarding the presence of dramatic elements as well as the use of the props - that is objects of non-liturgical purpose in the liturgical celebration in order to sustain a dramatic moment whilst staying strictly in the frame of the liturgy itself. In Saint-Georges Monastery of Prague (the oldest ecclesiastic foundation of Bohemia that gathered the Benedictine nuns) the Easter celebrations were marked by usual paraliturgical moments starting with Palm Sunday continuing by Maundy Thursday towards the Easter morning celebration.
We learn about all this happenings not only from the processionals giving the musical repertory proving the dramatic causality and very conscious organization of the musical repertoire, but also from Liber Ordinarius describing the concrete gestures and accompanying actions as well as the indications of "dialogues" within the antiphons and the responsories. Thanks to this documentation, we learn also about some architectural elements used with a particular purpose and symbolic meaning - we could say with the same attention as the props: a column in the chapter for the Mandatum ritual; or the case object serving the sepulcher during Easter morning office.
Are these objects the part of the narrative or have they only the symbolic role specific for the female monastic environment? The reflection will be proposed in the light of the repertory accompanying the celebrations, both in the context of female Benedictine monastery.