Sequences are additions to the Mass, following the Alleluia or Tract. They are in paired verses with changing melodies, so that the second verse of a pair uses the same melody as the preceding verse, but the next pair of verses uses a different melody. In the older sequences, the first and last verses usually stand alone. In later sequences, from about the twelfth century on, the verses are in metric poetry and may include rhyme, and often all the verses are paired.
Most Masses do not have sequences anymore, since all but a handful of
sequences were removed from the liturgy by the Council of Trent
(1545-1563). There is no sequence in the Mass for Christmas Day (NAWM
3). NAWM 5 is an example of a Sequence in mode 1, Victimae
paschali laudes, from the Mass for Easter Day.
Last updated: 19 August 2006
URL: http://www.music.indiana.edu/som/courses/m401/Sequence.html
This page was created by Patrick Warfield and is maintained by
J. Peter Burkholder
Copyright © 1997-2006 by J. Peter Burkholder and Patrick Warfield