Margot Fassler is Keough-Hesburgh Professor of Music History and Liturgy, University of Notre Dame and Director of the Program in Sacred Music Supervisors: My dissertation was written at Cornell under the supervision of Don M. Randel
Aux origines de la liturgie dominicaine : le manuscrit Santa Sabina XIV L I, 2004
Fassler Margot. Music and the miraculous : Mary in the mid-thirteenth-century Dominican sequence ... more Fassler Margot. Music and the miraculous : Mary in the mid-thirteenth-century Dominican sequence repertory. In: Aux origines de la liturgie dominicaine : le manuscrit Santa Sabina XIV L I. Aubervilliers : Institut de Recherche et d'Histoire des Textes (IRHT), 2004. pp. 229-278. (Documents, études et répertoires de l'Institut de Recherche et d'Histoire des Textes, 67
The divine office in the latin middle ages methodology and source studies, regional developments,... more The divine office in the latin middle ages methodology and source studies, regional developments, hagiography BALTZER Rebecca A., FASSLER Margot E.
This chapter demonstrates how liturgical scholars traditionally study the Office, working out of ... more This chapter demonstrates how liturgical scholars traditionally study the Office, working out of the example of the Advent season and its history. It lays out the common source materials for the study of liturgy in the Latin Middle Ages, and demonstrates how scholars work with various kinds of tools currently available. The creative genius of the 10th and 11th centuries was lavished upon this Office, as each region and religious community refashioned a large body of broadly circulating materials to suit its particular needs and tastes. The process of understanding how this happened is crucial to knowing how religious cultures evolved in the Latin Middle Ages.
Aux origines de la liturgie dominicaine : le manuscrit Santa Sabina XIV L I, 2004
Fassler Margot. Music and the miraculous : Mary in the mid-thirteenth-century Dominican sequence ... more Fassler Margot. Music and the miraculous : Mary in the mid-thirteenth-century Dominican sequence repertory. In: Aux origines de la liturgie dominicaine : le manuscrit Santa Sabina XIV L I. Aubervilliers : Institut de Recherche et d'Histoire des Textes (IRHT), 2004. pp. 229-278. (Documents, études et répertoires de l'Institut de Recherche et d'Histoire des Textes, 67
The divine office in the latin middle ages methodology and source studies, regional developments,... more The divine office in the latin middle ages methodology and source studies, regional developments, hagiography BALTZER Rebecca A., FASSLER Margot E.
This chapter demonstrates how liturgical scholars traditionally study the Office, working out of ... more This chapter demonstrates how liturgical scholars traditionally study the Office, working out of the example of the Advent season and its history. It lays out the common source materials for the study of liturgy in the Latin Middle Ages, and demonstrates how scholars work with various kinds of tools currently available. The creative genius of the 10th and 11th centuries was lavished upon this Office, as each region and religious community refashioned a large body of broadly circulating materials to suit its particular needs and tastes. The process of understanding how this happened is crucial to knowing how religious cultures evolved in the Latin Middle Ages.
Cosmos, Liturgy and the Arts in the Twelfth Century: Hildegard's Illuminated Scivias, 2023
In Cosmos, Liturgy, and the Arts in the Twelfth Century, Margot E. Fassler takes readers into the... more In Cosmos, Liturgy, and the Arts in the Twelfth Century, Margot E. Fassler takes readers into the rich, complex world of Hildegard of Bingen’s Scivias (meaning “Know the ways”) to explore how medieval thinkers understood and imagined the universe. Hildegard, renowned for her contributions to theology, music, literature, and art, developed unique methods for integrating these forms of thought and expression into a complete vision of the cosmos and of the human journey. Scivias was Hildegard’s first major theological work and the only one of her writings that was both illuminated and copied by scribes from her monastery during her lifetime. It contains not just religious visions and theological commentary, but also a shortened version of Hildegard’s play Ordo virtutum (“Play of the virtues”), plus the texts of fourteen musical compositions.
These elements of Scivias, Fassler contends, form a coherent whole demonstrating how Hildegard used theology and the liturgical arts to lead and to teach the nuns of her community. Hildegard’s visual and sonic images unfold slowly and deliberately, opening up varied paths of knowing. Hildegard and her nuns adapted forms of singing that they believed to be crucial to the reform of the Church in their day and central to the ongoing turning of the heavens and to the nature of time itself. Hildegard’s vision of the universe is a “Cosmic Egg,” as described in Scivias, filled with strife and striving, and at its center unfolds the epic drama of every human soul, embodied through sound and singing. Though Hildegard’s view of the cosmos is far removed from modern understanding, Fassler’s analysis reveals how this dynamic cosmological framework from the Middle Ages resonates with contemporary thinking in surprising ways, and underscores the vitality of the arts as embodied modes of theological expression and knowledge.
Cosmos, Liturgy, and the Arts: Hildegard's Illuminated Scivias, 2022
In Cosmos, Liturgy, and the Arts in the Twelfth Century: Hildegard's Illuminated Scivias, Margot ... more In Cosmos, Liturgy, and the Arts in the Twelfth Century: Hildegard's Illuminated Scivias, Margot E. Fassler takes readers into the rich, complex world of Hildegard of Bingen’s Scivias (meaning “Know the ways”) to explore how medieval thinkers understood and imagined the universe. Hildegard, renowned for her contributions to theology, music, literature, and art, developed unique methods for integrating these forms of thought and expression into a complete vision of the cosmos and of the human journey. Scivias was Hildegard’s first major theological work and the only one of her writings that was both illuminated and copied by scribes from her monastery during her lifetime. It contains not just religious visions and theological commentary, but also a shortened version of Hildegard’s play Ordo virtutum (“Play of the virtues”), plus the texts of fourteen musical compositions.
These elements of Scivias, Fassler contends, form a coherent whole demonstrating how Hildegard used theology and the liturgical arts to lead and to teach the nuns of her community. Hildegard’s visual and sonic images unfold slowly and deliberately, opening up varied paths of knowing. Hildegard and her nuns adapted forms of singing that they believed to be crucial to the reform of the Church in their day and central to the ongoing turning of the heavens and to the nature of time itself. Hildegard’s vision of the universe is a “Cosmic Egg,” as described in Scivias, filled with strife and striving, and at its center unfolds the epic drama of every human soul, embodied through sound and singing. Though Hildegard’s view of the cosmos is far removed from modern understanding, Fassler’s analysis reveals how this dynamic cosmological framework from the Middle Ages resonates with contemporary thinking in surprising ways, and underscores the vitality of the arts as embodied modes of theological expression and knowledge.
Cantors made unparalleled contributions to the way time was understood and history was remembered... more Cantors made unparalleled contributions to the way time was understood and history was remembered in the medieval Latin West. The men and women who held this office in cathedrals and monasteries, along with other officials who often shared their duties, were responsible for calculating the date of Easter and the feasts dependent on it, for formulating liturgical celebrations season by season, managing the library and preparing manuscripts and other sources necessary to sustain the liturgical framework of time, and promoting the cults of saints. Crucially, their duties also often included committing the past to writing, from simple annals and chronicles to more fulsome histories, necrologies, and cartularies, thereby ensuring that towns, churches, families, and individuals could be commemorated for generations to come.
This interdisciplinary book is the first of its kind to be dedicated wholly to exploring these cantors and their craft. As the use of this word––“craft”––in our titles suggests, the essays in this volume are studies of constructions, both of the building blocks of time and of the people who made and performed them, in acts of ritual remembrance and in written records. These essays respond to a fundamental question: How can the range of cantors’ activities help us understand the many different ways in which the past was written and, in the liturgy, celebrated across this long period? Our contributors present a variety of different approaches to answering this question, and in the process their essays recover some of the multifaceted work of medieval history-making. In most cases, their answers involve recourse to the liturgy, a mode of history-production in which all members of the community––lay and religious, men and women––had roles to play. Cantors, as this volume makes clear, shaped the communal experience of the past in the Middle Ages.
Contributors include: Cara Aspesi, Alison I. Beach, Katie Bugyis, Anna de Bakker, Margot Fassler, David Ganz, James Grier, Paul Antony Hayward, Peter Jeffery, CJ Jones, Andrew Kraebel, Lori Kruckenberg, Rosamond McKitterick, Henry Parkes, Susan Rankin, C. C. Rozier, Sigbjorn Olsen Sonneysn, Tessa Webber, and Lauren Whitnah.
Sacred Music at Notre Dame Releases Documentary Film about Coptic Chant:
Where the Hudson Meets t... more Sacred Music at Notre Dame Releases Documentary Film about Coptic Chant: Where the Hudson Meets the Nile: Teaching Coptic Chant in Jersey City
Where the Hudson Meets the Nile: Teaching Coptic Chant in Jersey City, a short documentary film by Christian Jara and Margot Fassler, explores the ways chant has been taught at St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Church in Jersey City by singers David Labib and Steve Soliman, with attention to the place of the music in the formation of communal identity. Filmed over several years of time, the film enters into teaching practices within a completely memorized oral tradition developed by the singers to encourage children and youth to learn a vast and highly complex repertory of melodies.Through this teaching children are prepared for roles in the church of the future as congregants, as deacons, and as future monks and priests.The Coptic Orthodox Church has grown exponentially since the 1960's when St. Mark's in Jersey City was founded. There are now nearly 200 Coptic churches in the USA and two monasteries, and the chant is central to the liturgical practices and institutional lives of these establishments. The teaching skills displayed by Labib and Soliman in their work include breaking down melismas to their simplest components, developing personalized systems of "notation" to trigger the memory, comparative study of master chanters, and mastery of the Coptic texts so the singer understands what is being sung and can pray while singing. The film concentrates upon several stages of learning, with an emphasis on the use of technology both within the service, and for personal and group study. Commentary on footage of music and the liturgy is provided through a filmed conversation between musicologist Margot Fassler, an outsider to the tradition, and Bishop Kyrillos (Formerly Fr. John Paul Abdelsayed), a theologian and auxiliary bishop in the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles. Link to the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL-uOOEWZvA
In recent years, renewed attention has been paid by scholars and performers to the Dominican dial... more In recent years, renewed attention has been paid by scholars and performers to the Dominican dialect of Gregorian chant, used by Dominican friars and cloistered nuns throughout the middle ages through the present day. This symposium will focus on recent scholarship and ongoing projects undertaken by scholars and practitioners of Dominican chant.
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Papers by margot fassler
These elements of Scivias, Fassler contends, form a coherent whole demonstrating how Hildegard used theology and the liturgical arts to lead and to teach the nuns of her community. Hildegard’s visual and sonic images unfold slowly and deliberately, opening up varied paths of knowing. Hildegard and her nuns adapted forms of singing that they believed to be crucial to the reform of the Church in their day and central to the ongoing turning of the heavens and to the nature of time itself. Hildegard’s vision of the universe is a “Cosmic Egg,” as described in Scivias, filled with strife and striving, and at its center unfolds the epic drama of every human soul, embodied through sound and singing. Though Hildegard’s view of the cosmos is far removed from modern understanding, Fassler’s analysis reveals how this dynamic cosmological framework from the Middle Ages resonates with contemporary thinking in surprising ways, and underscores the vitality of the arts as embodied modes of theological expression and knowledge.
These elements of Scivias, Fassler contends, form a coherent whole demonstrating how Hildegard used theology and the liturgical arts to lead and to teach the nuns of her community. Hildegard’s visual and sonic images unfold slowly and deliberately, opening up varied paths of knowing. Hildegard and her nuns adapted forms of singing that they believed to be crucial to the reform of the Church in their day and central to the ongoing turning of the heavens and to the nature of time itself. Hildegard’s vision of the universe is a “Cosmic Egg,” as described in Scivias, filled with strife and striving, and at its center unfolds the epic drama of every human soul, embodied through sound and singing. Though Hildegard’s view of the cosmos is far removed from modern understanding, Fassler’s analysis reveals how this dynamic cosmological framework from the Middle Ages resonates with contemporary thinking in surprising ways, and underscores the vitality of the arts as embodied modes of theological expression and knowledge.
This interdisciplinary book is the first of its kind to be dedicated wholly to exploring these cantors and their craft. As the use of this word––“craft”––in our titles suggests, the essays in this volume are studies of constructions, both of the building blocks of time and of the people who made and performed them, in acts of ritual remembrance and in written records. These essays respond to a fundamental question: How can the range of cantors’ activities help us understand the many different ways in which the past was written and, in the liturgy, celebrated across this long period? Our contributors present a variety of different approaches to answering this question, and in the process their essays recover some of the multifaceted work of medieval history-making. In most cases, their answers involve recourse to the liturgy, a mode of history-production in which all members of the community––lay and religious, men and women––had roles to play. Cantors, as this volume makes clear, shaped the communal experience of the past in the Middle Ages.
Contributors include: Cara Aspesi, Alison I. Beach, Katie Bugyis, Anna de Bakker, Margot Fassler, David Ganz, James Grier, Paul Antony Hayward, Peter Jeffery, CJ Jones, Andrew Kraebel, Lori Kruckenberg, Rosamond McKitterick, Henry Parkes, Susan Rankin, C. C. Rozier, Sigbjorn Olsen Sonneysn, Tessa Webber, and Lauren Whitnah.
Where the Hudson Meets the Nile: Teaching Coptic Chant in Jersey City
Where the Hudson Meets the Nile: Teaching Coptic Chant in Jersey City, a short documentary film by Christian Jara and Margot Fassler, explores the ways chant has been taught at St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Church in Jersey City by singers David Labib and Steve Soliman, with attention to the place of the music in the formation of communal identity. Filmed over several years of time, the film enters into teaching practices within a completely memorized oral tradition developed by the singers to encourage children and youth to learn a vast and highly complex repertory of melodies.Through this teaching children are prepared for roles in the church of the future as congregants, as deacons, and as future monks and priests.The Coptic Orthodox Church has grown exponentially since the 1960's when St. Mark's in Jersey City was founded. There are now nearly 200 Coptic churches in the USA and two monasteries, and the chant is central to the liturgical practices and institutional lives of these establishments. The teaching skills displayed by Labib and Soliman in their work include breaking down melismas to their simplest components, developing personalized systems of "notation" to trigger the memory, comparative study of master chanters, and mastery of the Coptic texts so the singer understands what is being sung and can pray while singing. The film concentrates upon several stages of learning, with an emphasis on the use of technology both within the service, and for personal and group study. Commentary on footage of music and the liturgy is provided through a filmed conversation between musicologist Margot Fassler, an outsider to the tradition, and Bishop Kyrillos (Formerly Fr. John Paul Abdelsayed), a theologian and auxiliary bishop in the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles. Link to the film:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL-uOOEWZvA