Photo credit: Tim Krocak. Photo courtesty of The Chronicle Herald
The star of the university’s rare book collection is on its way back to Saint Mary’s after a successful stint in a Belgian museum exhibit.
The Salzinnes Antiphonal is recognized as a significant historical and cultural artifact by scholars from around the world. It was recently featured in the Centuries of Silence: The Discovery of the Salzinnes Antiphonal exhibition at the TreM.a Museum of Ancient Arts in Namur, Belgium.
The Salzinnes Antiphonal is a 16th-century illuminated choir manuscript containing the liturgical text and music for the Divine Office, which refers to a set of Catholic prayers recited at fixed times throughout the day. The antiphonal was created in 1555 in Namur, Belgium by nuns at the historic Abbey of Salzinnes. Of special significance are several striking illuminated pages within the antiphonal that reveal unique insight into the spiritual and cultural lives of the nuns.
An illuminated page from the antiphonal.
Running from October 7, 2023 until February 11, 2024 the exhibition was built entirely around the antiphonal and featured a main display of the manuscript, concerts of music from the antiphonal, related exhibitions at other galleries, and a symposium of academic work related to the manuscript organized by Dr. Jennifer Bain of Dalhousie University.
The exhibition was organized by curator and Saint Mary’s University alum Dr. Judith (Judy) Dietz BA'84 MA'07 DLitt’17 who has done significant work to restore and raise awareness of the antiphonal. The exhibition has been a great success with attendance and tours at the Museum of Ancient Art exceeding all expectations.
The antiphonal was likely brought to Nova Scotia in the 1840s or 1850s by Bishop William Walsh, the first Archbishop for the Archdiocese of Halifax. Eventually, Bishop James M. Hayes donated the antiphonal to Saint Mary’s University to celebrate the opening of the Patrick Power Library in 1975. At that time, the antiphonal was catalogued simply as a “Roman Catholic Antiphonary.” Judy Dietz re-discovered the antiphonal in 1999 and later identified it in 2002. Dietz was then the Manager of Collections and Gallery Services at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.
Since its re-discovery and Dietz’s significant work to preserve the manuscript and raise awareness of its existence, the antiphonal has been studied by scholars around the world with research interests in musicology, music encoding, gender and women’s studies, bookbinding, and more. For more information on the Salzinnes Antiphonal, its history, and its discovery at Saint Mary's University visit: http://www.smu.ca/academics/archives/the-salzinnes-antiphonal.html
