The Hymns at the Lesser Hours: Compline III

This is the third of three posts about the Compline hymns; see Part I here and Part II here.

The following are the hymns listed for Compline, in Hymn melodies for the whole year, from the Sarum service-books:

Daily throughout the year, except on Double Feasts & from the 1st Sunday in Lent until Trinity Sunday inclusive :-

Te lucis ante terminum

(1) On Sundays & when the Choir has Rulers ... ... 14

(2) On Ferias & Simple Feasts of the lowest class ...11


On Double Feasts during Advent & daily from Xmas Eve to the 8ve of Epiphany, & on all Double Feasts from thence until the 1st Sunday in Lent, on the Vigil of Pentecost, on the Thursday, Friday, & Saturday in the 8ve of the same, & on all Double Feasts from Trinity Sunday until Advent, except on the Feast of the Holy Name :

Salvator mundi Domine ... ... 8

[At Christmas-tide (York): Corde natus ex Parentis ... 73]

On the First Sunday in Lent & daily until Passion Sunday :

Christe, qui Lux es et Dies ... ... 12

On Passion Sunday & daily until Wednesday in Holy-Week inclusive:

Cultor Dei, memento ... ... 13

From Maundy Thursday to Low Sunday no Hymns are sung.

On Low Sunday & daily until Ascension Day :

Jesu, Salvator seculi, Verbum ... 14

On Ascension Day & daily until Whitsun Day :

Jesu, nostra Redempcio ... ... 34

On Whitsun Day, (but not on the Vigil, see above) & on the three days following, & on the Feast of the Holy Name :

Alma chorus Domini ... Sequence p. (xxiij)

[On Monday & Wednesday in Whitsun Week (York):

Laudes Deo devotas ... Sequence p. (x)]

Follow along with the office here, at Breviary Offices, from Lauds to Compline Inclusive (Society of St. Margaret, Boston, 1885).    I'll link-in via iFrame at the bottom of the post too.

The last two hymns are Sequences, and as usual, I haven't found any audio or video files for these; it's always just about impossible to find any recordings anywhere of most of the old sequence hymns.  If I should come across anything, I'll create a new post to discuss these hymns.  Or, at some point I'll make recordings myself, but until that happens, you'll need to work out the tunes yourself!

I would, though, like to point to the texts for these; there are some interesting features here - a remarkable text for Alma chorus Domini, for instance.

Alma chorus Domini ... (Sequence p. (xxiij)) is sung "On Whitsun Day, (but not on the Vigil, see above) & on the three days following, & on the Feast of the Holy Name":

The (quite amazing!) words above are in English, obviously - but I have found the Latin ones, here in a footnote to this 1993 book Christ the 'name' of God: Thomas Aquinas on Naming Christ.  I've typed out the English words from the score above as well:

Alma chorus Domini nunc pangat nomina summi.
Messias, Soter, Emmanuel, Sabaoth Adonai,
Est Unigenitus, Via, Vita, Manus, Homoousion,
Principium, Primogenitus, Sapientia, Virtus,
Alpha, Caput, Finisque simul vocitatur et est Omega ;
Fons et Origo boni, Paraclitus, et Mediator ;
Agnus, Ovis, Vitulus, Serpens, Aries, Leo, Vermis ;
Os, Verbum, Splendor, Sol, Gloria, Lux, et Imago,
Panis, Flos, Vitis, Mons, Janua, Petra, Lapisque ;
Angelus, et Sponsus, Pastorque, Propheta, Sacerdos ;
Athanatos, Kyrios, Theos, Pantocraton et Iesus,
Salvificet nos, sit tui saecla per omnia doxa.

Now let our voices rehearse our Lord's dear titles in order:
King, Messais, Emmanuel, Savior, and Lord of Sabbaoth;
Consubstantial, the Way and the Life, the Hand, Only-begotten,
Wisdom and might, Beginning, the First-born of every creature,
Alpha and O we name him; at once both the Head, and the Ending,
Fountain and Source of all Good, our Advocate and Mediator,
He is the Heifer, the Lamb, Sheep, Ram, the Worm, Serpent, and Lion;
Mouth and Word of God, Light, Sun, Glory, Splendor, and Image ;
Blossom, Bread, Vine, Door, Rock, Mountain, and Stone of the Corner ;
Angel and Spouse of His Church, the Shepherd, the Priest, and the  Prophet;
Mighty, Immortal, Supreme, the Lord God, Omnipotent, Jesus ;
These be Thy titles, Jesu, to Thee be all honor and glory
O may he save us, [to Whom] be the glory through ages of ages.  Amen.

I have no idea where this text comes from; still working on this at the moment.  I do have a note from my wanderings around the web that somehow it's related to Acts 2 - but cannot figure out anymore what I was referring to by this note. Back later if I ever re-connect with this thread.

In addition to its use at Compline during the octave of Pentecost and on The Feast of the Holy Name (for obvious reasons!), apparently this Sequence was used for the Nuptial Mass, too.  This book, Music in Early English Religious Drama: Minstrels playing, notes, in a discussion of the "N-town cycle" plays, that:

Alma chorus domini is the sequence for a Nuptial Mass of the Sarum Use (MS, 52; MPE 22*), and is given as such in a missal of Norwich Diocese, Cambridge University Library MS Ff.ii.31, which is dated 1397.

The nuptial mass is not included in British Library MS Egerton 3759 (a Crowland gradual), and it is unfortunately lost from the thirteenth-century Ely missal, Cambridge University MS Ii.iv.20.  In a fifteenth-century Norwich Diocese missal, British Library Add. MS 25588, however, Alma chorus domini is set for the Mass of the Trinity on the day of a marriage. 

I haven't been able to find out much more about the wedding angle yet; I do know that Nuptial masses were often masses dedicated to the Trinity.   (While Googling, though, I came upon this Sequence listed as part of the "Marriage of England and Spain" during the 16th Century - that is, the 1554 wedding of Philip of Spain and Mary Tudor;  John Taverner's (apparently rather famous) mass, Missa Gloria tibi Trinitas, may - or may not; see the notes on this page - have been the ordinary on that day.  In any case it's mighty pretty - so I include this video of it.  (Note the use of a troped Kyrie, here: the Kyrie Deus creator omnium.)



Here are the words to the troped Kyrie:

Deus creator omnium tu theos ymon nostri pie eleyson.

Tibi laudes coniubilantes regum rex Christe oramus te eleyson.

Laus virtus pax et imperium cui est semper sine fine eleyson.

Christe rex unice Patris almi nate coeterne eleyson.

Qui perditum hominem salvasti de morte reddens vite eleyson.

Ne pereant pascue oves tue Jesu pastor bone eleyson.

Consolator Spiritus supplices ymas te exoramus eleyson.

Virtus nostra Domine atque salus nostra in eternum eleyson.

Summe Deus et une vite dona nobis tribue misertus nostrique tu digneris eleyson.

O God, creator of all things, most benevolent God: have mercy upon us.

To you, Christ, King of Kings, we pray and rejoice together: have mercy.

Praise, strength, peace and power are given to him always and without end: have mercy.

Christ, king coeternal and only-begotten of the father: have mercy.

Who saved lost man from death and restored him to life: have mercy.

Jesus, good shepherd, let not your sheep perish: have mercy.

Holy Spirit, the Comforter, we implore you to pray for us: have mercy.

Lord God our strength and salvation in eternity: have mercy.

Great and ever-living God, you have had pity on us. Grant your gifts to those whom you deem worthy: have mercy.

The famous part of  Missa Gloria tibi Trinitas, I should note, is that later dozens of other composers riffed off of Taverner's orchestration in the Benedictus; such derivative works are referred to in composer circles, apparently, as In nomine compositions.  More, I guess, about that later.)

Here's the sequence in a manuscript, from the Bréviaire de Paris, noté. Calendriers. Première partie 1201-1300:

York sang Laudes Deo devotas ... Sequence p. (x) - "On Monday & Wednesday in Whitsun Week":

From the 1852 book, The Psalter, or, Seven ordinary hours of prayer according to the use of the illustrious and excellent Church of Sarume Psalter:

[In the York Breviary the Sequence Alma Chorus is only said on the Day of Pentecost and on the Tuesday, but on Monday and Thursday the following—

Laudes Deo devotas
Dulci voce ac sonora,

Plebs resultet Catholica;

Spiritus Sancti gratia
Apostolis die hodierna,

In igneis linguis est infusa.

Paraded præsentia,
Emundet nos a peccati macula,
Pura Sibi aptans habitacula;

Charismatum et munera
Pectoribus nostris pius infundat,
Vita nostra ut £i complaceat.

Per scculorum secula,
Conclamemus Alleluya,
Sit Deo Laus, Potestas,
Honor, Virtus, et Gloria!

All laud and worship o'er the Earth,
Let the Church Catholic pour forth,

With sweet and solemn voice to God ;

This day to the Apostles given,
The Holy Spirit's grace from Heaven,

In tongues of fire was flied abroad.

Now present be the Paraclete, 

To cleanse our souls from every stain of fin, 

And fit us for his mansion pure within,

And gifts and graces ever meet,
May He unto our bosoms kindly pour,
That so our lives may please Him evermore.

Now for eternal ages long,
Alleluya be our song,
To God all Praise and Majesty,
Honour, and Might, and Glory be.]

It's very interesting, really, that the Sarum breviary celebrated Pentecost using such elaborate and striking texts.  That says to me that the Holy Spirit was very important at this time and in this place. More research to do then!

Here's a peek-in to the SSM Breviary entry for Compline:

On the Feast of the Assumption of the B. V. Mary (August 15)

I'm continuing the completion of my Office Hymn listings.  Here are the hymns for the Feast of the Assumption listed at Hymn melodies for the whole year from the Sarum service books:

On the Feast of the Assumption of the B. V. Mary:

1st Evensong:  O quam glorifica ... ... ... ... 66
Mattins:  Quem terra, pontus, ethera ... ... ... ... 63
Lauds O gloriosa femina ... ... ... ...63
2nd Evensong: Letabundus ... ... Sequence, p. (11)
(But within the 8ve & on the 8ve day, O quam glorifica,  as above.)

(This feast is called "The Repose of the Blessed Virgin Mary" at Breviary Offices, from Lauds to Compline Inclusive (Society of St. Margaret, Boston); that book was published in 1885.  You can get all the Psalms, the collect, Chapter, antiphons, etc., for all the offices of the day at that link, although no music is provided - or check the iFrame look-in at the bottom of this post. )

And the 1979 Book of Common Prayer calls this day simply "The Feast of  St. Mary the Virgin"; it is a Major Feast in the Episcopal Church.

O quam glorifica is a beautiful hymn; I was not familiar with it previously.  Melody #66 is never used at any other office on any other day; it's a really lovely tune with an unusual meter (11-11-11-11):

Here it is sung by the Trappist monks of Gethsemani in Kentucky (Thomas Merton's monastery - and he actually might have been singing here, because the YouTube page says this recording is from 1958):



Here are the Latin words (verse 3 is not included on the video above):

O quam glorifica luce coruscas,
Stirpis Davidicæ regia proles.
Sublimis residens, Virgo Maria,
Supra cæligenas ætheris .

Tu cum virgineo mater honore,
Ang(e)lorum Domino pectoris aulam
Sacris visceribus casta parasti;
Natus hinc Deus est corpore Christus.

Quem cunctus venerans orbis adorat,
cui nunc rite genuflectitur omne;
A quo te, petimus, subveniente,
Abjectis tenebris, gaudia lucis.

Hoc largire Pater luminis omnis,
Natum per proprium, Flamine sacro,
Qui tecum nitida vivit in æthera
Regnans, ac moderans sæcula cuncta.
Amen. 

It's quite beautiful in English, too:

O how glorious art thou, dazzling with light,
stock of David, royal offspring!
Thou dwellest in a sublime height, O Virgin Mary,
Looking down on all the heavenly regions.

Thou, with the honor of being a virgin and mother,
hast prepared for the Lord of Angels thy bosom
as a sacred palace, thy most holy womb,
from whence God took flesh, and was born Christ.

Thou, whom the whole world venerates and pays homage,
before whom all now rightfully bend the knee,
To whom we humbly beseech in our misery and darkness,
coming before thee surrounded by the joy of pure light.

O Father of all lights, through this sacred Flame
give unto us thy only Begotten Son,
who with Thee reigns brilliantly in the heavens,
ruling and governing for all ages.
Amen.

Here is the chant score for melody #63 from Hymn Melodies:; this melody is used for both the Mattins and Lauds hymn on Assumption.

Here's an mp3 the cantor from LLPB singing melody #63; it's the Mattins hymn Quem terra, pontus, ethera, called "The God Whom Earth and Sea and Sky" in English.  This hymn is also sung at Mattins on Purification (Candlemas).

Here are the words from Oremus; the note says "Words: attributed to Fortunatus, sixth century; trans. John Mason Neale, 1854."

The God whom earth and sea and sky
adore and laud and magnify,
whose might they own, whose praise they swell,
in Mary's womb vouchsafed to dwell.

The Lord whom sun and moon obey,
whom all things serve from day to day,
was by the Holy Ghost conceived
of her who through his grace believed.

How blessed that Mother, in whose shrine
the world's Creator, Lord divine,
whose hand contains the earth and sky,
once deigned, as in his ark, to lie.

Blessed in the message Gabriel brought,
blessed by the work the Spirit wrought;
from whom the great Desire of earth
took human flesh and human birth.

O Lord, the Virgin-born, to thee
eternal praise and glory be,
whom with the Father we adore
and Holy Ghost for evermore.

The Lauds hymn, O gloriosa femina (sometimes "O gloriosa domina"), is sung to the same melody today;  O gloriosa domina is also sung at Lauds on Purification (Candlemas)

This set of words comes from the SSM Breviary mentioned above (p.291);  it uses the same meter as Quem terra, pontus, ethera, so just sing it to the same tune, as prescribed.

O GLORIOUS Virgin, throned in rest
Amidst the starry host above,
Who gavest nurture from thy breast
To God with pure maternal love:

What we had lost through sinful Eve
The Blossom sprung from thee restores.
And granting bliss to souls that grieve.
Unbars the everlasting doors.

O gate, through which hath passed the King:
O hall, whence light shone through the gloom;
The ransomed nations praise and sing,
Life given from the virgin womb.

All honour, laud, and glory be,
O Jesu, Virgin-born, to Thee;
All glory, as is ever meet,
To Father and to Paraclete. Amen.

CPDL has the words to O gloriosa Domina, in Latin and English; the words above are clearly taken from the same original Latin text, so it's definitely the same song:

O gloriosa Domina
excelsa super sidera,
qui te creavit provide,
lactasti sacro ubere.

Quod Eva tristis abstulit,
tu reddis almo germine;
intrent ut astra flebiles,
Caeli fenestra facta es.

Tu regis alti janua
et porta lucis fulgida;
vitam datam per Virginem,
gentes redemptae, plaudite.

Gloria tibi, Domine,
qui natus es de Virgine,
cum Patre et Sancto Spiritu
in sempiterna secula. Amen.


O Heaven's glorious mistress,
elevated above the stars,
thou feedest with thy sacred breast
him who created thee.

What miserable Eve lost
thy dear offspring to man restors,
the way to glory is open to the wretched
for thou has become the Gate of Heaven.

Thou art the door of the High King,
the gate of shining light.
Life is given through a Virgin:
Rejoice, ye redeemed nations.

Glory be to Thee, O Lord,
Born of a Virgin,
with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
world without end. Amen.

Here's a page from the Poissy Antiphonal that includes both of these hymns - but the melodies seem quite different:




And here again is Letabundus, the Christmas Sequence Hymn, sung today at Second Vespers, as it is on Candlemas also. Here's a lovely version, sung by the Gregorian Singers of the Cremona Church of Sant’Abbondio:



Here's the score, from Hymn Melodies for the whole year from the Sarum service-books:





Here's an image of the score from the same source:





Here's the entry for this feast from the wonderful website Full Homely Divinity:

The Feast of Saint Mary the Virgin - Marymas
August 15th

 O God, who hast taken to thyself the blessed Virgin Mary, mother of thy incarnate Son: Grant that we, who have been redeemed by his blood, may share with her the glory of thine eternal kingdom; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Collect for the feast, 1979 BCP)

The feast days of the saints are often referred to as their "heavenly birthdays" since they ordinarily celebrate the day when the saint died and thus passed into the new life of the Kingdom of Heaven.  No one illustrates this better than the Blessed Virgin Mary. Tradition relates that, when the time of her death drew near, all of the apostles gathered in Jerusalem to be with her--all except Thomas, who was preaching the Gospel in India and was unable to return to Jerusalem in time. The apostles gathered around her in a house on Mount Zion, near the Upper Room where they had shared the Last Supper with Jesus and had also received the Holy Spirit with Mary on Pentecost. In the charming medieval carving at the left, John still appears quite youthful, standing on the near side of her bed. Peter is wearing glasses and is reading to her. When she died, the apostles carried her to a tomb in the Garden of Gethsemane, which, tradition says, belonged to Mary's family.

Some time later, the apostles discovered that Mary's tomb was empty. This was not like the Resurrection of Jesus: Mary was not raised from the dead and did not appear to the apostles after her death; nor did an angel announce the news. Rather, her tomb was simply empty and they concluded that she had been taken directly into heaven ("assumed"), in much the same way that scripture and tradition attest that the greatest saints of the Old Testament--Enoch, Moses, and Elijah--were taken up bodily. In time, Thomas returned from India and the apostles told him what had happened, together with their conviction that Mary had been assumed into heaven. According to this tradition, Thomas once again played the role of the doubter and insisted that he would have to see the evidence before he would believe. At this point, we may perhaps be forgiven for thinking that the tradition is a bit unfair to Thomas. It hardly seems possible that this apostle who had traveled far and risked much to share his faith would make the same mistake twice. Nevertheless, the tradition has him going to the tomb of Mary where, instead of her body, he found the tomb full of fragrant flowers--one version of the tradition says the flowers were roses and lilies. And then, looking up, he saw Mary herself, going up to heaven. Looking back, she saw Thomas and dropped the girdle which had tied her robe and an angel delivered it into the hands of Thomas.

It was not until 1950 that the Assumption of Mary was defined as a dogma of the Roman Catholic Church, when Pope Pius XII proclaimed that "the ever-virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heaven." In reality, however, this dogma was nothing new. It simply made it a matter of obligation for Roman Catholics to believe what many Christians have always believed, namely, that God had "taken to himself," for eternity, the blessed woman who had borne his incarnate Son in time. All believers look forward to "the resurrection of the body and the life of the world to come." At the Council of Chalcedon in 451, the emperor asked the patriarch of Jerusalem to bring the relics of Mary to Constantinople so that they could be enshrined at what was then the center of the world. The patriarch replied that there were no relics because, as he said, the apostles had found that her tomb was empty and her body had been assumed into heaven: she had already gone where we all hope to go.

Some Christians have difficulty with this idea because it is not in the Bible (though, as we have already noted, the Bible does tell of others who have been assumed, body and soul, into heaven). Nevertheless, Mary's role in our salvation, and her particular relationship with God is a pivotal one on our behalf. Her "yes" to the Archangel Gabriel opened the way for God to take on our humanity, to become fully one with us in the flesh. As an ancient prayer says, God humbled himself to share our humanity in order that we might share in his divinity. In the moment that Mary said "yes" to God's plan, she was already one with God in a unique way, bearing within her body God himself. A connection such as this transcends by far the intimacy of human relationships. Indeed, it reaches beyond death--and so the Church believes.

At the Council of Ephesus in 431, Mary was given the title "Theotokos"--"God-bearer" or "Mother of God." Nestorius taught that the divinity and humanity of Jesus were distinct and never mingled, so that Mary was "Christotokos," the mother of the man Jesus, but not the mother of God incarnate. The teaching of Nestorius was rejected by the Council and Mary has been known ever since as Theotokos, in token of the fact that she carried God himself in her womb, and continued ever after to share a special union with him, both in life and in death. In the West, Mary's feast on August 15th is called the Assumption. In the East it is called Koimesis--"Dormition" or "Falling Asleep." Both titles are somewhat vague about the details. Indeed, in spite of the tradition concerning Thomas's vision of her ascent into heaven, the Church is officially silent on the way in which she got there. What is clear is that, as our Collect says, God took Mary to himself, to be with him and one with him for ever. And that is what we celebrate on this day.

There are two places in Jerusalem associated with the end of Mary's earthly life. One is the basilica in the Garden of Gethsemane (above) which houses her tomb. The other is a monastery on Mount Zion on the traditional site of her falling asleep. Dormition is the name the community of German Benedictines have given to the Abbey that crowns Mount Zion. A life-sized sculpture of the Theotokos in the crypt of the Abbey church shows the influence of traditional Byzantine iconography. In the traditional Orthodox icon, Jesus himself is depicted, standing by his Mother as she falls asleep, and holding her soul, like a child, in his arm.

Taking its cue from the experience of Thomas at the tomb of Mary, the celebration of this feast includes the blessing of fragrant flowers and herbs. Flowers have always been associated with Mary in a particular way. She is the Mystical Rose and many flowers are named for her or have popular names that relate to her. Here is a link describing many of Mary's flowers. And here is another link to a slide show with more information about Mary's flowers and Mary Gardens. A Mary Garden is a place to honor the Mother of God, as well as a place to go for quiet reflection and prayer. It could also provide a setting for your Easter Garden.  Mary Gardens may be found on the grounds of monasteries and churches, and also in the gardens of private homes. They are planted with flowers, herbs, and trees that are named for Mary or associated with her and her Son in scripture and tradition. They may also have statuary, icons, and other art and symbols that provide a focus for prayer and contemplation. Ideally, a Mary Garden is enclosed to provide a place truly set-apart, but even a dish garden can serve the purpose if properly used as a means of focusing prayer.

August is the wrong time to plant any kind of garden, but Marymas would be a good day to begin planning and marking out a Mary Garden. Some plants and seeds and bulbs do best if planted in the fall, and others can be added in the spring. Here is a link that will help you choose appropriate plants for your Mary Garden. In addition to the online resources linked above, Vincenzina Krymow's book Mary's Flowers is a beautifully illustrated text about the flowers associated with Mary and their legends. It includes information about how to create your own Mary Garden. Krymow has also written a companion volume, Healing Plants of the Bible. (Click here to find both of these books in our Bookshop.)

Llandaff Cathedral in Wales has a unique variation on a Mary Garden which we like a lot: each of the niches in the reredos of the Lady Chapel has a sculpture of a flower named in Welsh in honor of Mary.

From ancient times, in every culture, herbs and various flowers have been known to have healing properties. The blessing of herbs and flowers on Marymas is a way of "baptizing" the wisdom of traditional healing and combining it with the Christian wisdom that recognizes that God is the true source of healing and that salvation (wholeness) is ultimately found only in the Son of Mary, Jesus Christ. Thus, it was customary for the faithful to bring bunches of herbs and wild flowers to church on this day. They were blessed at the beginning of the Eucharist and then taken home to be used for healing and protection through the coming year. For the renewal of this tradition, an abbreviated form of the traditional prayers are found on ourMarymas Prayers page (click on the title).

In many parishes and especially at shrines, this is a day for processions and for celebrations that continue after the liturgical observances have been completed. Traditionally, working people had a holiday from work, so that there were also family celebrations. Today, we must be more creative about marking these holidays in our homes, and it may be necessary to transfer some of the celebration to the weekend in order to keep the spirit of a fully homely divinity alive and healthy. If your parish does not have a procession on this day, or if you are unable to attend, why not have a family procession? Hymn singing does not require an organ for accompaniment, and does not need to rival the Kings College Choir in order to praise God in joyful song. (You will find an assortment of good hymns on our Sing of Mary page.) Homemade banners can be as simple as strips of cloth waved by children, or as elaborate as those with greater skills can make them. Our homes can be filled with fragrant flowers and herbs. In the northern hemisphere, this is an outdoor feast. If you do not have a Mary Garden, any garden or park will serve--even the back porch, fitted out with potted plants and cut flowers and herbs, will serve quite well.

An especially good, yet relatively simple way to celebrate this feast is to have a tea party. A festive table can be set in your version of a Mary Garden, which is already full of flowers. Perhaps a few Mary flowers could be put in a small vase on the table. For drinks, we suggest teas that are scented with herbs or made entirely with herbs, as well as a fruit and herb punch from our friends at Catholic Culture that children will enjoy. For those who like old fashioned black teas, there are teas that are flavored with roses--a natural for the feast of the Mystical Rose. Earl Grey tea is another good choice as it is infused with Bergamot, a variety of Monarda, or Bee Balm, which is also known as Sweet Mary. For food, at the tea party, we suggest nasturtium sandwiches and strawberry shortcake. It is a little late in the season for local strawberries but, with modern refrigeration and transportation, it seems that almost any fresh fruit or vegetable can be obtained year-round. The strawberry was known as the "Fruitful Virgin" because it blooms and bears fruit at the same time. Another lovely European tradition says that the strawberry is sacred to Mary who accompanies children to keep them safe when they go strawberry picking on St. John's Day. The nasturtium is known as "St. Joseph's Flower." It is an edible flower and can be combined with cream cheese to make tea sandwiches. Tea should be accompanied by prayers appropriate to the occasion, such as the Collect of the Day which begins this article. Children should be told the story of Mary's heavenly birthday--how else will they learn it? Tomie de Paola's beautifully illustrated book Mary: The Mother of Jesus (available in our Bookshop) tells the story reverently and well. Finally, everyone will enjoy a walk in the garden which could easily be made into a game, with an award, such as a Mary-blue ribbon, for the person who identifies the most flowers and herbs that are named for Mary.

 
For more information about Mary on FHD, click on the links below and also visit our pages on Marymas Prayers and Sing to Mary.

Feasts of Mary
Here is a list of some of the Feast Days which celebrate Mary and her role in our salvation:

December 8th - The Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

December 12th - Our Lady of Guadalupe

December 18th - Santa Maria de la O

December 25th - The Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ

February 2nd - The Presentation of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple,
also known as the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and Candlemas

March 19th - Saint Joseph (Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary)

March 25th - The Annunciation of Our Lord Jesus Christ to the Blessed Virgin Mary

May 31st - The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

July 26th - The Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Joachim and Anne

August 15th - Saint Mary the Virgin
(The Assumption, or The Dormition of the Mother of God)

September 8th - The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
(Our Lady of Glastonbury)

September 24th - Our Lady of Walsingham

October 1st - The Protecting Veil of the Mother of God

November 1st - All Saints' Day (formerly Saint Mary and All Martyrs)

November 21st - The Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple

November 27th - Icon of Our Lady of the Sign

And here's a peek-through to the SSM Breviary; rather than clicking the link above, you can just scroll through the day's offices here, if you'd rather:

Veni, Sancte Spiritus (Dufay)

Here's a wonderful recording of Guilliaume Dufay's (ca. 1400-1474) setting of the exquisite Pentecost Sequence hymn,  Veni, Sancte Spiritus.  It's sung here, I believe, by La Capella Reial de Catalunya; M. Figueras, M.C.Kiehr (sopranos); K. Wessel (contre-ténor):



The original hymn is one of the most beautiful in the entire Gregorian repertoire, especially in its text (Latin and English below the video):

Veni, Sancte Spiritus,
et emitte caelitus
lucis tuae radium.

Veni, pater pauperum,
veni, dator munerum,
veni, lumen cordium.

Consolator optime,
dulcis hospes animae,
dulce refrigerium.

In labore requies,
in aestu temperies,
in fletu solatium.

O lux beatissima,
reple cordis intima
tuorum fidelium.

Sine tuo numine,
nihil est in homine,
nihil est innoxium.

Lava quod est sordidum,
riga quod est aridum,
sana quod est saucium.

Flecte quod est rigidum,
fove quod est frigidum,
rege quod est devium.

Da tuis fidelibus,
in te confidentibus,
sacrum septenarium.

Da virtutis meritum,
da salutis exitum,
da perenne gaudium.


Holy Spirit, Lord of light,
From the clear celestial height
Thy pure beaming radiance give.

Come, thou Father of the poor,
Come with treasures which endure;
Come, thou light of all that live!

Thou, of all consolers best,
Thou, the soul's delightful guest,
Dost refreshing peace bestow.

Thou in toil art comfort sweet,
Pleasant coolness in the heat;
Solace in the midst of woe.

Light immortal, light divine,
Visit thou these hearts of thine,
And our inmost being fill.

If thou take thy grace away,
Nothing pure in man will stay;
All his good is turned to ill.

Heal our wounds, our strength renew;
On our dryness pour thy dew,
Wash the stains of guilt away.

Bend the stubborn heart and will,
Melt the frozen, warm the chill,
Guide the steps that go astray.

Thou, on us who evermore
Thee confess and thee adore,
With thy sevenfold gifts descend.

Give us comfort when we die,
Give us life with thee on high,
Give us joys that never end.

Amen.

TPL says this about the hymn:

Veni, Sancte Spiritus, known as the Golden Sequence, is the sequence for the Mass for Pentecost. It is commonly regarded as one of the greatest masterpieces of sacred Latin poetry ever written. Its beauty and depth have been praised by many. The hymn has been attributed to three different authors, King Robert II the Pious of France (970-1031), Pope Innocent III (1161-1216), and Stephen Langton (d 1228), Archbishop of Canterbury, of which the last is most likely the author.

Laetabundus: The Sequence Hymn for Christmas and Candlemas

Here sung very well by "I Cantori Gregoriani - dirige il Maestro Fulvio Rampi - Cremona Chiesa di Sant'Abbondio."



This Sequence is also used at Second Vespers in the Sarum Office for Candlemas (although not in Septuagesima, which is in fact where we are this year!). This page says that "The Sequence Laetabundus, for the mass of Christmas, is not found in the Tridentine Roman Missal. It was found in all the Gallican Missals, including those of France, and the English Sarum Usage; and is also in the Dominican and Carmelite Missals."

Here's the score, from Hymn Melodies for the whole year from the Sarum service-books:





These seem to be the Latin words; the source quotes Dom Gueranger's The Liturgical Year:   "... a sequence, which is to be found in all the Roman-French missals.  For a long time, it was thought to have been written by St. Bernard: but, we have seen it in a Manuscript of the 11th century, and, consequently, it must have been written earlier than the date usually assigned to it."

Laetabundus
exsultet fidelis chorus.
Alleluia.

Regem regum
intactae profudit thorus:
res mirranda.

Angelus consilii
natus est de virgine:
sol de stella.

Sol occasum nesciens,
stella semper rutilans,
semper clara.

Sicut sidus radium,
profert Virgo Filium,
pari forma.

Neque sidus radio,
neque mater filio,
fit corrupta.

Cedrus alta Libani
conformatur hyssopo,
valle nostra;

Verbum ens Altissimi
corporari passum est,
carne sumpta.

Isaias cecinit,
Synagoga meminit,
numquam tamen desinit
esse caeca.

Si non suis vatibus,
credat vel gentilibus;
Sibyllinis versibus
haec praedicta.

Infelix, propera,
crede vel vetera:
cur damnaberis,
gens misera?

Quem docet littera,
natum considera:
ipsum genuit puerpera.
Alleluia.

This Sequence contains some language that's a bit discomforting:  "Though Esais had forshown, though the synagogue had known; yet the truth she will not own; blind remaining.  If her prophets speak in vain, let her heed a Gentile strain; and from mystic Sybil gain; light in darkness."  This doesn't seem angry or accusing, merely hopeful that things will change - in the way Paul writes about the same topic in Romans.  In fact, the text seems to refer directly to Romans 9-11, and to Paul's references to Isaiah - and his stated desire to "make my fellow Jews jealous," per this section of Romans 11:

11 I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham,[h] a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? 3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” 4 But what is God's reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. 6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

7 What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, 8 as it is written,

“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
    eyes that would not see
    and ears that would not hear,
down to this very day.”

9 And David says,

“Let their table become a snare and a trap,
    a stumbling block and a retribution for them;
10 let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
    and bend their backs forever.”

11 So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. 12 Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion[i] mean!

13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry 14 in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. 15 For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? 16 If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.

Still, it's a bit disconcerting, given what's happened in history, to see this in the middle of a beautiful Sequence hymn!  Perhaps it's good to have it there, though - as a stark reminder of how damaging misinterpretations of the Bible - and bad religion - can be and have been.  "Penitence" applies to the church, too.

You can listen to the mass chants for Candlemas - including what looks like four antiphons used in the opening procession - at the Brazilian Benedictines' site.  I will certainly work on some posts about these in the future.

Candlemas/Presentation is a celebration of the events recounted in Luke 2:22-40; as you can see in the citation below, the Nunc Dimittis, the famous Evensong/Compline canticle (the first line of which in English is "Lord, now lettest thou Thy servant depart in peace"), comes from this story.

22 And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” 25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant[d] depart in peace,
    according to your word;
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation
31     that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
    and for glory to your people Israel.”

33 And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed 35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

36 And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, 37 and then as a widow until she was eighty-four.[e] She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

39 And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.

Simeon and Anna are often said to represent "the Law and the Prophets" (as, later at Transfiguration, Moses and Elijah would) - and Jesus as the fulfillment of them.

Rembrandt did at least three paintings of Simeon - and sometimes Anna - in the Temple.   This one is from 1627 or 1628:

This one - called "Simeon's song of praise" -  was painted in 1631:

And this - my favorite - was done in 1669:

Meanwhile, here's a bit about the Cremona Church of Sant'Abbondio, from Visual Italy, the place where the video above was recorded:

The Church of Sant’Abbondio in Cremona was built with the purpose of reconstructing a previous chapel by the religious order of the Humiliated, which came after the Benedictines in 1288. In the 15th and 16th centuries the ceiling wooden framework was replaced by a masonry vault and the single nave was restricted, so as to leave space to a series of side chapels embellished by beautiful stucco statues. Worth mentioning is the remarkable cycle of frescoes by Giulio Campi, Orazio Sammachini and the Malosso, with the Glories of the Virgin Mary. The Romanesque bell tower with terracotta conic covering stands out magnificently outside. The bell tower has pairs of walled ogival windows on each side and a triple-lanced window for the belfry. In 1624, following the will of Count Conte Giovanni Pietro Ala, a perfect copy of the Holy House of Loreto, containing a worshipped statue of the Black Madonna inside, was built inside the Church. The Lauretano Museum on the upper floor of the old apartment of the prior of the Humiliated displays memories and evidence of the devotion of Loreto, which is related to the Holy House, as well as of the events of the history of the Church of St. Abbondio. Worth mentioning is the annexed cloister in Bramante style, with terracotta decorations and elegant duotone effects.

Here's an image of the cloisters at the church, from cremonaitaly.org; beautiful:

The Easter Sequence: Victimae Paschali Laudes

Victimae paschali laudes
immolent Christiani.

Agnus redemit oves:
Christus innocens Patri
Reconciliavit peccatores.

Mors et vita duello conflixere mirando,
Dux vitae mortuus, regnat vivus.

Dic nobis Maria, quid vidisti in via?
Sepulcrum Christi viventis,
Et gloriam vidi resurgentis:

Angelicos testes, sudarium et vestes.
Surrexit Christus spes mea:
Praecedet vos in Galilaeam.


Scimus Christum surrexisse
a mortuis vere:
Tu nobis, victor Rex, miserere.
Amen. Alleluia.

Christians, to the Paschal victim
offer your thankful praises!

A lamb the sheep redeemeth:
Christ, who only is sinless,
reconcileth sinners to the Father.

Death and life have contended
in that combat stupendous:
the Prince of life, who died,
reigns immortal.

Speak, Mary, declaring
what thou sawest, wayfaring:

"The tomb of Christ, who is living,
the glory of Jesus' resurrection;

"Bright angels attesting,
the shroud and napkin resting.

"Yea, Christ my hope is arisen;
to Galilee he will go before you."

Christ indeed from death is risen,
our new life obtaining;
have mercy, victor King, ever reigning!
Amen.

From the YouTube page:

Victimae Paschali is usually attributed to Wipo of Burgundy (1039), chaplain of the German Emperor Conrad II in the 11th century. It has also been attributed to Notker Balbulus (10th century) and Adam of St. Victor (13th century). Its text was also set to different music by many Renaissance and Baroque composers, including Busnois, Josquin, Lassus, Willaert, Hans Buchner, Palestrina, Byrd, Perosi, and Fernando de las Infantas. Lutheran chorales derived from Victimae Paschali Laudes include Christ ist erstanden and Christ lag in Todesbanden.

During the Middle Ages there were many Sequences in use, but the Council of Trent abolished all but a few. In the Missal of Pius V (1570) the number of sequences for the entire Roman Rite was reduced to four: Victimae paschali laudes (11th century) for Easter, Veni Sancte Spiritus for Pentecost (12th century), Lauda Sion Salvatorem (c.1264) for Corpus Christi, and Dies Irae (13th century) for All Souls and in Masses for the Dead. In 1727, the 13th century Stabat Mater for Our Lady of Sorrows was added to this list. In 1970 the Dies Irae was removed from the Requiem Mass of the revised, new Roman Missal and was transferred to the Liturgy of the Hours to be sung ad libitum in the week before the beginning of Advent. The Christmas sequence "Laetabundus," not present in the Roman Missal, is found in the Dominican Missal. This sequence is permitted for the Third Mass of Christmas, the Epiphany, and Candlemas.

Sung by Chanticleer.

Rex Omnipotens die hodierna ("The King Eternal as upon this Holy Day"): The Ascension Sequence

The Sequence Hymn for Ascension Day - today - is, according to Hymn Melodies for the Whole Year from the Sarum Service-books, "Rex Omnipotens die hodierna" ("The King Eternal as upon this Holy Day"). Here's the chant score itself:




Unfortunately - and as is pretty usual, for the lesser-known Sequence hymns - it's difficult to find recordings of this music online. Anonymous 4 did an 8-minute version called "Sequence with Prose: Salvator mundi/Rex omnipotens die hodierna," of which you can find short clips here and there. There's one on their website, from the CD "1000: A Mass for the End of Time," that gives a bit of the flavor of the piece (and includes some of the other mass chants for Ascension). Amazon offers this similar 30-second cut. Here's another 30-second version, taken from somewhere in the middle of the piece.

The Latin words are, I think, these - taken from a book called (yes!) Archaeologia, Or, Miscellaneous Tracts Relating to Antiquity, Volume 46, Part 2 (which seems to have words to many of the Sequences):

Prosa adseguentia Cithara, de Ascensione Domini. Alleluia.

Rex omnipotens, die hodierna,
Mundo triumphali redempto potentia,
Victor ascendit caelos unde descenderat
Nam quadraginta postquam surrexerat
Diebus sacris confirmans pectore
Apostoloru[m] pacis clara reliquens oscula
Quibus et dedit potestatem laxandi crimina,
Et misit eos in mundum baptizare cunctas animas,
In patris et filii et sancti spiritus dementia
Et conuescens precepit eis ab ierosolomis
Ne abirent sed expectarent promissa munera. [f. 1456.]
Non post multos enim dies mittam uobis spiritum paraclitum in terra
Et eritis mihi testes in ierusalem iudea siue samaria.
Et, cum hoc dixisset, uidentibus illis elevatus est, et nubes clam
Suscepit eum ab eorum oculis intuentibus illis aera.
Ecce stetere amicti duo uiri in ueste clara
Juxta, dicentes quid admiramini caelorum alta?
Jesus enim, hie qui assumptus est a uobis ad patris dextera[m]
Vt ascendit ita ueniet querens talenti commissi lucra,
0 deus maris poli arcei. hominem quern creasti fraude subdola
Hostis expulit paradiso et captiuatum secum traxit ad tartara.
Sanguine proprio quem redemisti deo [f. 146]
Illuc et rediens unde prius corruit paradisi gaudia,
Iudex, cum ueneris iudicare secula,
Da nobis petimus sempiterna gaudia in sanctorum patria
In qua tibi cantemus omnes alleluia. [Bodl. MS. 775, f. 145. Cott. Cal. A, xiv. f. 61. MS. Beg. 2, B. iv. f. 97 vo. Sarnm Gradual, f. 143 vo.]

Here's an English translation, from The Latin hymns in the Wesleyan hymn book : studies in hymnology, by Frederic W. MacDonald (1899) (here's a PDF of this book):

This day the King omnipotent,
Having redeemed the world by His triumphant might,
Ascends a Conqueror to heaven, whence He had come.
Through forty holy days after He rose He tarried.
Confirming the souls of the Apostles ;
To whom, bequeathing the sweet kiss of peace,
He gave the power to bind and loose,
And sent them to baptize all men
In the mercy of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
And, eating with them, bade them not depart
From Jerusalem, but wait for the promised gifts.
Not many days hence will I send to you the Spirit, the
Comforter,
And ye shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, and
Samaria.
And when He had this said, while they beheld He rose,
and a bright cloud
Received Him from their sight, they gazing upward.
Behold, two men, in white robes clad, stood by, and said :
Why look ye to high heaven ?
For this Jesus, who is taken from you to the right hand of
the Father,
As He ascended so shall come, seeking His gain of the
entrusted talent.
O God of ocean, air, and field, man whom Thou didst
create, and whom by guile
The foe drove out of paradise, and led a captive with him
to the abyss,
Whom by Thine own blood Thou hast redeemed, O God,
Bring back again thither whence first he fell.
To joys of paradise.
When Thou the judge, to judge the world shalt come,
Grant us, we pray Thee, everlasting joy
In the homeland of saints.
Where we all shall sing to Thee, Alleluia."

I do wish these Sequences were more readily available! Maybe I'll get some singers together and record them all myself, in fact; to me, they are some of the most beautiful music in all the chant repertoire. It really is worth clicking to the Anonymous 4 site to listen to their clips, though. Always worth listening to them sing, no matter how short or long the clips; they always produce such beautiful stuff.


In the Google book, A Dictionary of Hymnology, there is this note about this Sequence:

Rex omnipotens die hodierna. Hermannus Contractus (?). [Ascension.] This is found in a MS. in the Bodleian (Bodl. 775 f. 145), written c. 1000, as a Sequence "on the Ascension of the Lord," and in another Ms., in the same Library, of circa 1070 (Douce, 222, f. 101); in a Winchester book of the 11th cent, now in Corpus Christi College, Cambridge (No. 473); in a Ms. of the 11th cent. (Harl. 2961 f. 254), and another of the 11th or 12th cent. (Reg. 8 C. xiii. f. 22). both in the British Museum, &c. Among Missals it is found in an early 14th cent. Paris and a 14th cent. Sens in the British Museum; in a Sarum, c. 1370, a Hereford, c. 1370, and a York, c. 1390, all now in the Bodleian: in the St. Andrew's, and various French Missals, its use being uniformly for the Ascension. The printed text is also in Neale's Sequentiae, 1852, p. 58; Daniel, v. p. 66, and Kehrein, No. 116 (see also p. 967, ii.). Tr. as:—

1. Lord of all power and might, Mankind redeemed, Ac. By C. S. Calverley, In the 1871 ed. of the Hymnary, No. 305, and in his Literary Remains, 1886.

2. To the throne He left, victorious. By E. H. Plomptre, made for and pub. in the Hymnary, 1872, No. 305. in the place of the above No. 1.

3. The almighty King, victorious, on this day. By C. B. Pearson, In the Sarum Missal in English, 1868, and his Sequences from the Sarum Missal, 1871.

So you can see why Anonymous 4 included on their CD "1000: A Mass for the End of Time" - it was written, it seems, about the year 1000.

Here's a post on the Ascension Office (and actually, here's another!), and here's one on the mass chants for the day.

Here's one video that's appropriate for the day, even though it's not of the Sequence: Finzi's "God Is Gone Up With a Shout," sung by the Christ Church Cathedral Ottawa Choir of Men and Boys. The text is from Psalm 47, from what I can recall:



This is an icon of the "The Anastasis and the Ascension" at St. Catherine's Monastery in Egypt, from, apparently, the 13th Century:

Anastasis - Victimae paschali laudes

"Uno sguardo ai mosaici della Basilica di San Marco a Venezia, ascoltando l'antica sequenza pasquale. Per un augurio di Buona Pasqua 2009."

(A look at the mosaics of the Basilica of San Marco in Venice, while listening to the ancient Easter sequence. Good wishes for a Happy Easter 2009.)

Words in Latin and English here.

The Offertory for the Feast of the Annunciation: Ave Maria, gracia plena

The Feast of the Annunciation is this Friday.  If you're in New York, you'll really, really enjoy celebrating it here.

The Offertory on the day is Ave Maria, gracia plena - one of the most famous of Latin phrases: "Hail Mary, full of grace." Here's Giovanni Vianini's Schola Gregoriana Mediolanensis' version of this offertory:



Here's the score:

The text comes from Luke's Gospel, and the story of the Annunciation:

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,
27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
28 And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.’*
29 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
30 The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God.
31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.
32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.
33 He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’
34 Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’*
35 The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born* will be holy; he will be called Son of God.
36 And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren.
37 For nothing will be impossible with God.’
38 Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ Then the angel departed from her.

Here's a quite nice thing I came across while searching on the topic, via New Liturgical Movement and something called "Anglican Use": it's a PDF of the mass chant propers for the Feast of the Annunciation. In English.  Here's the same list of propers, with scores and mp3s, from the Brazilian Benedictines.  In Latin.

And here's a page of all the chants for this day, from Ad Vesperas to Ad Missam, and everything in between, from the LaTrobe Medieval Music Database.

Ave Maria is also a prayer.  It's said in many circumstances, both public and private; public instances of the prayer include services of Evensong & Benediction, and at the ringing of the Angelus bell.

Ave Maria, gratia plena,
Dominus tecum,
benedicta tu in mulieribus,
et benedictus fructus ventris tui Iesus.
Sancta Maria mater Dei,
ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae.
Amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee,
blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, mother of God,
pray for us sinners, now, and in
the hour of our death.
Amen.

G. Vianini also offers this "Spartito canto gregoriano, Antifona simplex" ("Mariana popolare") version of the Ave Maria prayer:



Many composers have used this text to set their music. Here's Rachmaninoff's glorious Orthodox Russian version, "Bogoroditse Dyevo Raduisya," from the All-Night Vespers:



Wow - that music is just amazing, isn't it?  The blurb at the YouTube page says the words are slightly different:

"Virgin Birthgiver of God, rejoice! Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee! Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, for thou hast borne the Saviour of our souls!"

Another lovely Ave Maria comes from Josquin des Prez and the 15th Century:

The words are different from the ones usually used:

Ave Maria, Gratia plena,
Dominus tecum, Virgo serena.
Ave, cuius Conceptio,
Solemni plena gaudio,
Caelestia, Terrestria,
Nova replet laetitia.
Ave, cuius Nativitas
Nostra fuit solemnitas,
Ut lucifer lux oriens
Verum solem praeveniens.
Ave pia humilitas,
Sine viro fecunditas,
Cuius Annuntiatio
Nostra fuit salvatio.
Ave vera virginitas,
Immaculata castitas,
Cuius Purificatio
Nostra fuit purgatio.
Ave, praeclara omnibus
Angelicis virtutibus,
Cuius Assumptio
Nostra fuit glorificatio.
O Mater Dei,
Memento mei. Amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace,
The Lord is with thee, serene Virgin.
Hail, thou whose Conception,
Full of great joy,
Fills heaven and earth
With new gladness.
Hail, thou whose Nativity
Became our great celebration,
As the light-bearing Morning Star
anticipates the true Sun.
Hail, faithful humility,
Fruitful without man,
Whose Annunciation
Was our salvation.
Hail, true virginity,
Immaculate chastity,
Whose Purification
Was our cleansing.
Hail, glorious one
In all angelic virtures,
Whose Assumption
Was our glorification.
O Mother of God,
Remember me. Amen.

The "virgo serena" motif was, from what I can tell, taken from a Sequence hymn sung at Marian feasts - perhaps Conception, Nativity, Annunciation, Purification (Candlemas), and Assumption, as the des Prez words make explicit above.  Here's the full text of the Sequence - at least, the version I know about:

Ave Maria, gratia plena,
Dominus tecum—virgo serena.
Benedicta tu in mulieribus—
que peperpisti pacem hominibus
et angelis gloriam.
Et benedictus fructus ventris tui—
qui coheredes ut essemus sui
nos, fecit per gratiam.
Per hoc autem Ave
Mundo tam suave,
Contra carnis iura
Genuisti prolem
Novum stella solem
Nova genitura.
Tu parvi et magni,
Leonis et agni,
Salvatoris Xpisti
Templum extitisti,
Sed virgo intacta.
Tu floris et roris,
Panis et pastoris,
Virginum regina
Rosa sine spina,
Genitrix es facta.
Tu civitas regis iusticie,
Tu mater es misericordie,
De lacu faecis et miseriae
Theophilum reformans gratie.
Te collaudat celestis curia,
Tibi nostra favent obsequia,
Que es Dei mater et filia,
Per te reis donatur venia.
Ergo maris stella,
Verbi Dei cella
Et solis aurora,
Paradysi porta,
Per quam lux est orta,
Natum tuum ora,
Ut nos solvat a peccatis,
Et in regna claritatis
Quo lux lucet sedula,
Collocet per secula.
Amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace,
The Lord is with you—O serene virgin.
Blessed are you among women,
you who bore peace for humankind
and glory for the angels.
And blessed is the fruit of your womb—
he who makes us his heirs through grace,
so that we might be his.
But though this “Ave” —
So pure and sweet,
Contrary to the law of the flesh—
You, O star, through a new birth
Brought forth your offspring,
The new sun.
You stand out as the temple
Of the humble and the great,
Of the lion and the lamb,
Of Christ the savior—
Yet you remain a virgin.
You have been made mother
Of the bud and the dew,
Of the bread and the shepherd
You are queen of virgins,
Rose without thorns.
You are the city of the king of justice,
You are mother of mercy,
From the pool of impurity and misery
You recast one who through grace
becomes a lover of God.
You the celestial curia together praises in song,
To You our services are devoted,
You who are mother and daughter of God,
Through You the pardon for guilt is offered.
Therefore star of the sea,
Sanctuary of the word of God
And dawn of the sun,
Door of paradise
Through which the Light is born:
Pray to Him your Son,
That He might free us from sins,
And place us in the kingdom of clarity,
Where the sedulous light shines
Through all ages.
Amen.

This appears to be a section of the Sequence, perhaps reworked, from Guillaume Du Fay's Missa Ecce Ancille Domini. This small clip calls it "Ave maria...Virgo serena (Sequence for the Annunciation)." 

But in notes I have from a chant class, I see "+iii in Assumptione."

Here, though, it seems you can listen to the entire sequence; sung by "the Carmelite Monks of Wyoming." The last few phrases before the "Amen" sound very much like something else, and I can't think what. Perhaps it's just the Josquin. I'd love to find the score for this sequence.

And ah!  I hadn't noticed before, but there, at the end of this sequence, are the words to one of my very favorite chants of all:  Ergo Maris Stella!  In fact, I should have known, because it's in my notes at that post - and in fact so is this entire sequence! - but I didn't put the two things together.

In truth, though, this text is very sequence-ish!   Quick, rhythmic, poetic, evocative phrases taken from non-Scriptural sources.   Again I realize need to do some serious research on this topic; this is composed music, and I do think there are patterns to be found in it - despite the fact that there had to have been numerous composers.

Actually, sequences remind me of nothing so much as Orthodox hymnody; not musically at all, but in the texts.  I do like the Scriptural sources, of course - but these are really interesting and more idiosyncratic poetry, just like some of the Eastern stuff.

This page (quoted also in my post linked above) says that:

The sequence Ave Maria...virgo serena demonstrates the new style of both poetry and music that emerged in the late eleventh and twelfth centuries. The poetry of the sequence is rhymed without being strictly metrical, and the music is shaped by the rhythmic flow and rhymed lines of the text. While this sequence originated in the south German sphere around 1100, by the fifteenth century it was sung throughout Europe.

Well, that's next; I'm sure I'll be back with more about this.  Meantime:  Hail Mary, full of Grace!  And here's an annunciation from Andrea del Sarto that I quite like.

The Epiphany Sequence: Epiphaniam Domino canamus gloriosam

I'm amazed to realize that I've never posted or discussed the Sequence hymn for Epiphany, Epiphaniam Domino canumus gloriosam. Better late than never, though! Here's a bit about the hymn, from Hymnary.org:

Epiphaniam Domino canamus gloriosam. [Epiphany.] This Sequence occurs in a manuscript of Sequences (circa 1000) in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, No. 775, f. 140. It is also in a Winchester manuscript of the 11th century, now at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and an 11th century manuscript in the British Museum (Harl. 2961, f. 251 b). In the Sarum Missal it is the Sequence for the Feast of the Epiphany only. In the Hereford Missal it is appointed for the Epiphany itself, its Octave, and the Sunday in the Octave. In the York Missal it is divided into three parts: (1) "Epiphaniam Domini," (2) "Balaam de quo vaticinans," and (3) "Magi sibi stelia." The first is to be said on the Feast of the Epiphany, the second on the first day after; the third on the second day after, and so on, to the Octave, when the entire Sequence has to be sung. If however the 2nd or 3rd part should fall upon a Sunday, then it gave place to the proper Sequence for the "Translation of St. William the Archbishop," the Festival of that day. Text in reprints of the Sarum, Hereford, and York Missals, and Kehrein, No. 27. [Rev.W. A. Shoults, B. D.]

Here's an mp3 of this really lovely music.

Below are the words in Latin and English.

Epiphaniam Domino canamus gloriosam,
Qua prolem Dei vere magi adorant.
Immensam Chaldaei cujus Persaeque venerantur potentiam,
Quem cuncti prophetae praecinere venturum gentes ad salvandas.
Cujus majestas ita est inclinata, ut assumeret servi formam.
Ante saecula qui Deus et tempora, homo factus est in Maria.

Balaam de quo vaticinans, exibit ex Jacob rutilans, inquit, stella
Et confringet ducum agmina regionis Moab maxima potentia.
Huic magi munera deferunt praeclara aurum simul thus et myrrham.
Thure Deum praedicant, auro regem magnum, hominem mortalem myrrha.
In somnis hos monet angelus, ne redeant ad regem commotum propter regna.
Pavebat etenim nimium regem natum verens amittere regni jura.

Magi stella sibi micante praevia pergunt alacres itinera, patriam quae eos ducebat ad propriam linquentes Herodis mandata.
Qui perculsus corda nimia prae ira extemplo mandat, eludia magica non linquitaliter impunita, sed mox privari eos vita.
Omnis nunc caterva tinnulum laudibus jungat organi pneuma,
Mystice offerens regi regum Christo munera pretiosa,
Poscens ut per orbem regna, omnia protegat in saecula sempiterna.


Let us duly magnify
This renown'd Epiphany,
To the Child of God to-day
Wise men rightful homage pay.
Whom, immeasurably great,
Chaldee sages venerate,
To Whose coming, man to save.
All the prophets witness gave :
His majestic throne on high, —
Such His great humility, —
He refused not to forsake.
And a servant's form to take ;
God from all eternity,
Ere the world began to be,
He was man of Mary made :

Whom predicting Balaam said, —
Out of Jacob, seen from far,
There shall come a flaming star,
Which with power shall smite the host
Of Moab to his utmost coast.
Him their costly offering,
Gold, myrrh, incense, wise men bring.
God, sweet incense ; precious gold
A King 5 myrrh doth a Man unfold :
Angel-warned, no word they bring
Back to Herod, ruthless king,
Fearing much, in rage and hate,
He should lose his royal state.

Lo ! the star before them went,
Homeward on their journey bent,
Glad they seek their native land,
Heeding not the king's command.
Madden 'd with exceeding ire
Forth he sends the mandate dire
Throughout Bethlehem's coasts to seek
And to slay the infants meek.
Now the choir their voice unite.
Organs swell with mystic rite,
Bringing to the King of kings.
Praise and costly offerings.
O'er all kingdoms, o'er all lands
May He spread His sheltering hands.
Ever present to defend,
Unto worlds that never end.

And here's the chant score, from Hymn Melodies for the whole year, from the Sarum service-books:



The Internet Archive has this 1871 book in various formats: Sequences from the Sarum Missal - and Google Books has a copy, too.

Epiphany really is one of my favorite feasts of the year; the readings during this period are so intense and potent. The background image I'm using now for this blog is of the Aurora Borealis - which seems absolutely fitting to me.

Here's a beautiful Rubens "Adoration of the Magi"; more lovely light!