Louis XVI Era 1787 French Vesperal Abrege Antiphonaire

This antiphonaire (antiphonary) was published in Grenoble (for the Province of Vienne), with an Ecclesiastic coat of arms on the facing frontispiece. This is a Vesperale Romanum, which is an excerpt of the Antiphonary containing the chants sung at Vespers. The history of the antiphonary began in Medieval times: medieval antiphonaries varied with regional liturgical tradition. In 1570, following the Council of Trent, the Roman Antiphonary was declared universal. The Roman Antiphonary (Antiphonale Romanum) contains the chants for the Divine Office for the hours of Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers and Compline for every day of the year. The text contains music (words in Latin) and prayers in Latin. Beginning on page 557 (through page 648) are "Lecons du Nouveau Testament". Beginning on page 649 are "Intonations and Meditations" which includes the Chant du Benedicamus, Laudes a Vepres and Petites Heures. There is a Saint's table of contents at the very end of the text.