Oxyrhynchus hymn

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The Oxyrhynchus hymn (or P. Oxy. XV 1786) is the earliest known manuscript of a Christian Greek hymn to contain both lyrics and musical notation. The papyrus on which the hymn was written dates from around the end of the 3rd century AD. [1] It is on Papyrus 1786 of the Oxyrhynchus papyri, originally kept at the Papyrology Rooms of the Sackler Library, Oxford, which was renamed the Bodleian Art, Archaeology and Ancient World Library in 2022. [2] The manuscript was discovered in 1918 in Oxyrhynchus, Egypt, and later published in 1922. [3]

Contents

Description

The lyrics of the Oxyrhynchus hymn were written in Greek, and poetically invoke silence for the praise of the Holy Trinity (i.e. cosmic stillness, a motif of ancient Greek hymnody). [4] Historically, the hymn demonstrates Greek civilizational continuity where erudite Christian Greeks used and accepted the musical notation of their classical Greek predecessors. [5]

The music is written in Greek vocal notation. [6] It is entirely diatonic, with an ambitus of exactly an octave from F to F an octave above, and a final nominally on G (assuming a key signature without sharps or flats). The notation is Hypolydian, and employs the rhythmic symbols macron (diseme), leimma + macron, stigme, hyphen, and colon. [7] The text is largely set syllabically, with a few short melismas. The hymn's meter is essentially anapaestic, though there are some irregularities. [8]

The Oxyrhynchus hymn is the only surviving fragment of notated Christian Greek music from the first four hundred years of the Christian period, [9] although historian and musician Kenneth Levy has argued that the Sanctus melody best preserved in the Western medieval Requiem mass dates from around the fourth century. [10] Modern recordings of the hymn have been included on a number of releases of Ancient Greek music.

Text

The Phos Hilaron and the Oxyrhynchus hymn constitute the earliest extant Christian Greek hymn texts reasonably certain to have been used in Christian worship, but are neither drawn from the Bible nor modeled on Biblical passages. [11]

  1. . . . together all the eminent ones of God. . .
  2. . . . night] nor day (?) Let it/them be silent. Let the luminous stars not [. . .],
  3. . . . [Let the rushings of winds, the sources] of all surging rivers [cease]. While we hymn
  4. Father and Son and Holy Spirit, let all the powers answer, "Amen, amen, Strength, praise,
  5. [and glory forever to God], the sole giver of all good things. Amen, amen." [12]
Fragment of Oxyrhynchus hymn, 29.6 x 4.8-5.0 cm. POxy 1786.jpg
Fragment of Oxyrhynchus hymn, 29.6 x 4.8–5.0 cm.

Sources

Discography

References

  1. ↑ Pöhlmann & West 2001, 192.
  2. ↑ Brown, Mark (17 May 2023). "Oxford University's Sackler Library renamed amid links to opioid crisis". BBC News. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
  3. ↑ Grenfell and Hunt 1922 , 21–25.
  4. ↑ Cosgrove 2011 , 37–63, Chapter Three: "Interpretation of the Text". According to Cosgrove, the cosmic stillness motif can be found in Homer's Iliad (19.255–19.256), Callimachus's hymn to Apollo, Limenius's hymn to Apollo, in one of Mesomedes's hymns, in two of Synesius's hymns, etc.
  5. ↑ Lang 1941 , 23: "The few words and notes of the Oxyrhynchus fragment furnish an invaluable document with which to demonstrate the uninterrupted continuity that existed between ancient and Christian Greek civilization. It testifies to the fact that the educated Christian Greeks accepted and transplanted the musical system of their ancestors. However, this is our sole document, and taking it for a model, we can only imagine how the hymns sung in the Christian communities of the great Egyptian cities sounded."
  6. ↑ McKinnon 2001.
  7. ↑ Pöhlmann & West 2001 , 190–192.
  8. ↑ Pöhlmann & West 2001 , 192–193.
  9. ↑ Smith 2011 , 28; Lang 1941 , 23.
  10. ↑ Levy 1958–62 , 7–67; McKinnon 2001.
  11. ↑ Smith 2011 , 211.
  12. ↑ Cosgrove 2011 , 37.
  13. ↑ Cosgrove 2011 , 13.
  14. ↑ "LiturgicaMusic.com". www.liturgica.com. Archived from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
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