Nieszpory polskie

Abstract

As far as we know, the oldest text of Vespers translated into Polish is in a prayer book of 1700 entitled "Celestial Grown" (Jagiellonian Library – BJ 585391). It contains a Latin version, with translations into the vernacular of some psalms, Sunday antiphones, versicles and antiphones to the "Magnificat" as well as a hymn, a prayer and Marian antiphones for the whole year. The abovementioned relic is not a sufficient proof of the use of Polish versions in churches instead of the Latin liturgical Vespers. The prayer book lacks musical notation in all its editions, and the text from the second edition (1745) does not dispel doubts and only points out difficulties which surround the introduction of the Polish vespers. The XIX century prayer books and song books give both the Latin and the Polish texts of Vespers, but a clear proof for the singing of Polish Vespers is the song book by Father M. M. Mioduszewski (1838). There are also books of "Vesper prayers" which contain prayer texts instead of psalms, and it is possible that they were recited while the Latin version was performed. Prayer books from the Warmia region give five different versions of Vespers - some of them contain only 3 psalms and they were most probably meant to be performed at home. The above article is only a contribution to the subject which still awaits a complete elaboration.