The Easter Vigil: Vidi Aquam ("I saw water")

In Eastertide (and only during Eastertide), the Vidi Aquam ("I saw water") chant replaces the Asperges Me ("Thou shalt sprinkle me, O Lord") during the asperges, the traditional sprinkling rite at the start of the mass, when the priest splashes the congregation with holy water.  It is first sung as an antiphon at the Easter Vigil.

Here's an audio version of the Vidi Aquam, along with score; no word on who's singing.



From Fisheaters, here is the Latin text of Vidi Aquam:

Vidi aquam egrediéntem de templo, a látere dextro, allelúia: et omnes ad quos pervénit aqua ista salvi facti sunt et dicent: allelúia, allelúia.

Confitémini Dómino, quóniam bonus: quóniam in sæculum misericórdia ejus.

P.  Glória Patri, et Fílio, et Spirítui Sancto.
S.  Sicut erat in princípio, et nunc, et semper, et in sæcula sæculórum. Amen.

Vidi aquam egrediéntem de templo, a látere dextro, allelúia: et omnes ad quos pervénit aqua ista salvi facti sunt et dicent: allelúia, allelúia.

Here it is in English:

I saw water flowing from the right side of the temple, alleluia; and all they to whom that water came were saved, and they shall say, alleluia, alleluia.

Praise the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy endureth forever. [Psalm 117].

P.  Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
S.  As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

I saw water flowing from the right side of the temple, alleluia; and all they to whom that water came were saved, and they shall say, alleluia, alleluia.

 
The water used in the rite is a reminder of Baptism; the text referring to "water from the right side of the temple" comes from Ezekiel 47 - but is an obvious reference to spear-pierced side of Christ, and the water and blood that gushed from it. The second part of the Vidi Aquam "Praise the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy endureth forever" is from Psalm 118.


For comparison, here is the a video and the text of Asperges Me - the text which comes from Psalm 51 - in Latin and English:

Aspérges me. Dómine, hyssópo, et mundábor: lavábis me, et super nivem dealbábor.

Miserére mei, Deus, secúndum magnam misericórdiam tuam.

P.  Glória Patri, et Fílio, et Spirítui Sancto.
S.  Sicut erat in princípio, et nunc, et semper, et in sæcula sæculórum. Amen.

Aspérges me. Dómine, hyssópo, et mundábor: lavábis me, et super nivem dealbábor.


Thou shalt sprinkle me, O Lord, with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed; Thou shalt wash me, and I shall become whiter than snow.

Have mercy on me, O God, according to Thy great mercy. [Psalm 50]

P.  Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
S.  As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Thou shalt sprinkle me, O Lord, with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed; Thou shalt wash me, and I shall become whiter than snow.)

Here's the chant score of Vidi Aquam, from the Liber Usualis:





Here's a baritone solo of the Vidi Aquam from the Liber:




Here's the Vidi Aquam as sung during the mass on the 3rd sunday after Easter at St. Andrew's Catholic Church in Edinburgh:




Here's an Ambrosian Chant version of the Vidi Aquam. This one uses different words than the Gregorian text above and is quite beautiful:




Here are all the chants for the Easter Vigil, from ChristusRex.org, and sung by the Sao Paulo Benedictines:

Dominica Paschæ in Resurrectione Domini
Ad Vigiliam Paschalem in Nocte Santa

Lumen Christi (9.9s - 158 kb) score

Præconium Paschale

(provisory mono files) Exsultet iam (2m16.2s - 400 kb)  Per omnia (33.5s - 101 kb)  Vere dignum (4m43.9s - 835 kb)  In huius (1m42.2s - 303 kb)  Oramus ergo (3m00.2s - 531 kb)

Ad liturgiam verbi - cantica post lectiones

Canticum: Iubilate Domino (1m23.0s - 1298 kb) score
Canticum: Qui confidunt
Canticum: Cantemus Domino (2m12.9kb - 2078 kb) score
Canticum: Laudate Dominum
Canticum: Vinea facta est (1m40.0s - 1564 kb) score
Canticum: Attende cælum
Canticum: Sicut cervus (2m01.6s - 1902 kb) score
Alleluia: Confitemini Domino (3m15.1s - 3052 kb) score
Antiphona: Vidi aquam (1m29.4s - 1400 kb) score

Offertorium: Dextera Domini (1m36.7s - 1512 kb) score
Communio: Alleluia (1m11.9s - 1124 kb) score
Ite missa est (28.7s - 451 kb) score

And here are posts on some of these at Chantblog:

• Exsultet (or Exsultet!)
• The Easter Vigil: Alleluia!
• A Song for the Easter Vigil:  Sicut Cervus
• Vidi Aquam
• The Easter Vigil Offertory: Dextera Domini

The Introit for the Feast of the Ascension: Viri Galilaei ("O men of Galilee")

In tending to concentrate on the music for the Divine Office on this blog - largely  because there didn't seem to be much of anything on the web on the topic, but also because I love the Office - I've tended to neglect the music for the celebration of the Eucharist.

Below, as also discussed in my "Office Hymns for Ascension" post, is an audio file of the Introit for this mass, Viri Galilaei ("O men of Galilee"), sung by the "Schola of the Vienna Hofburgkapelle."



The text comes from Acts 1:11 and Psalm 47:1, and these are the Latin words, followed by the English:

Viri Galilaei, quid admiramini aspicientes in caelum?
Alleluia: quemadmodum vidistis eum ascendentem in caelum,
ita veniet, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

Omnes gentes plaudite manibus:
iubilate Deo in voce exsultationis.


Ye men of Galilee, why wonder you, looking up to heaven? alleluia. He shall so come as you have seen Him going up into heaven, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

O clap your hands, all ye nations; shout unto God, with the voice of exultation.

Here's the full chant score:

EDIT:
In the comments, an anonymous poster has left two links to videos of two of the mass chants for Ascension: one to the Introit and the other to the Alleluia I.



Here, from ChristusRex.org, are all the Mass Propers for Ascension, sung by the Sao Paulo Benedictines:

In Ascensione Domini
Dominica Introitus: Act. 1, 11; Ps. 46 Viri Galilæi (2m48.4s - 2635 kb) score here
Alleluia: Ps. 46, 6 Ascendit Deus (1m50.2s - 1725 kb) score here
Alleluia: Ps. 67, 18.19 Dominus in Sina (2m33.9s - 2409 kb) score here
Offertorium: Ps. 46, 6 Ascendit Deus (1m33.8s - 1469 kb MONO due to problems with my recording set) score here
Communio:
(anno A)Mt. 28, 18.19 Data est mihi (1m21.9s - 1283 kb) score here
(anno B)Mc. 16, 17.18 Signa (1m05.5s - 1027 kb)
(anno C)  Ps. 67, 33.34 Psallite Domino (59.0s - 925 kb MONO due to problems with my recording set) score here

You can read other posts about the day's propers on Chantblog as well:

• The Introit for the Feast of the Ascension: Viri Galilaei ("O men of Galilee")
• The 1st Alleluia and Offertory for Ascension:  Ascendit Deus ("God has gone up")
• The 2nd Alleluia for Ascension Day: Dominus in Sina ("The Lord is in Sinai")
• The Communion Song(s) for the Feast of the Ascension 
• The Sarum Ascension Office

And don't forget to read Full Homely Divinity's article on Ascension.

Office Hymns for Ascension

(See also "The Sarum Ascension Office.")

The Feast of the Ascension, which this year is celebrated on May 1, occurs forty days (there's that number again!) after Easter Day; that is, it occurs within Eastertide, on the Thursday after the sixth Sunday of Easter. (The period after Ascension Day is also called "Ascentiontide.") The feast commemorates Jesus' bodily Ascension into heaven; the description of this event can be found in Mark 16:14-19, in Luke 24:50-51, and in the first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles.

Here is an mp3 of "a Hymn for First Vespers of the Feast of the Ascension of our Lord", from the Lutheran Liturgical Prayer Brotherhood. This hymn in English is "O Eternal Monarch"; in Latin, it's Eterne Rex altissime. You can find the Latin words to this hymn, and some interesting facts about it, on page 157 of Britt's Hymns of the Breviary and Missal (a large PDF file), and the English ones on page 43 of The Hymner: Containing Translations of the Hymns from the Sarum Breviary, at Google Books. This was originally, apparently, a Matins hymn.

Here is an mp3 of "a Hymn for Morning Prayer of the Feast of the Ascension of our Lord", also from the LLPB. This hymn in English is "O Christ Thou Art Our Joy Alone"; in Latin: Tu, Christe, Nostrum Gaudium. Here's a page from a site called "A MIDI Collection of Traditional Catholic Hymns" that includes the words in Latin and English (a J.M Neale translation), and gives the source of this hymn as "Anon. 5th Cent." (The tune there is listed as "a Grenoble church melody"; it's the same tune as the one in #448 in the 1982 Hymnal, "O Love, How Deep, How Broad, How High." listed there as "Deus tuorum militum, from Antiphoner, 1753.") The words in English can be found on on page 43 of The Hymner: Containing Translations of the Hymns from the Sarum Breviary, at Google Books.

Here's a chant score of this hymn from my sources, one that uses a different set of words:






Here is an mp3 of "a Hymn for Second Vespers of the Feast of the Ascension of our Lord," also from LLPB. This hymn in English is "A Hymn of Glory"; in Latin, it's Hymnum canamus glorie; here's a page at CCEL with the words from the Lutheran hymnal, which are used on the mp3. The author is given as "The Venerable Bede, 735" on that page.

The LLPB also includes "a Versicle for Exaudi, the Sunday after Ascension": The text, from Psalm 47, is: "God is gone up with a shout, alleluia. The Lord with the sound of the trumpet, alleluia."


Here is the Ascensio Domini page at Medieval Music Database. And here's a bonus sound file: the Introit for this mass, Viri Galilaei ("O men of Galilee"), sung by the "Schola of the Vienna Hofburgkapelle." This chant is a particular favorite of mine.



The text comes from Acts 1:11 and Psalm 47:1, and these are the Latin words, followed by the English:

Viri Galilaei, quid admiramini aspicientes in caelum?
Alleluia: quemadmodum vidistis eum ascendentem in caelum,
ita veniet, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

Omnes gentes plaudite manibus:
iubilate Deo in voce exsultationis.


Ye men of Galilee, why wonder you, looking up to heaven? alleluia. He shall so come as you have seen Him going up into heaven, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

O clap your hands, all ye nations; shout unto God, with the voice of exultation.

Here is a page of images of the Ascension, from Textweek. Here's a pretty interesting one, by Pietro Perugino, 1496-98, from the Web Gallery of Art:







But I always really like the ones where Jesus' feet stick out below heaven, like this one from Master Thomas de Coloswar, 1427, also at the Web Gallery of Art:







And here's a lovely Orthodox Ascension Icon:

"And the world looks at us"

A very interesting video at DominicanFriars.org:

A 1964 Dominican Province of Saint Joseph vocation film written by Fr. Dominic Rover, O.P., and narrated by Dana Elcar. The scenes included here were filmed at St. Stephen Priory in Dover, MA, the Dominican House of Studies, Washington, D.C., and St. Dominic Church, Washington, D.C. From the archives of the Dominican Theological Library (www.dhs.edu) at the Dominican House of Studies, Washington, D.C. The 1964 video, while still containing valid insights into Dominican life, never received wide circulation due to changes introduced after the Second Vatican Council.

Well, there's a bit of chant in it....

Vespers

Here is a video (accessed from this page) of "Evening Prayer at the Basilica" - the Vespers celebrated by the Pope in Washington D.C. this week. Apparently, this is the Crypt Church at that location.

A truly beautiful setting, and some exquisitely beautiful music. (Unfortunately, the announcers seem to want talk over quite a lot of it, rather than letting it speak for itself. And shockingly - at least to this Episcopalian - there is actual applause from the hundreds of Bishops in attendance, when the Pope enters.)

All Chant, All the Time

In case you didn't know about it, here's "Choral Treasure":

An online streaming radio station devoted to playing great sacred music growing from the Catholic tradition, including (but not limited to) Gregorian chant and polyphony.

Just click the link, and there you go. It's really quite a good thing.

Also, you can now listen to complete services of Compline (in English) at the website of the (Lutheran) Minnesota Compline Choir.

Victimae paschali laudes

Victimae paschali laudes is the sequence hymn for Easter Day, one of only four   medieval Sequences approved for liturgical use at the Council of Trent (1545-63) - and a glorious hymn it is!   Here's a video of the song in Latin, apparently by "Cantori Gregoriani, Fulvio Rampi."  The images comes from the Basilica of San Marco, Venice:



Here are the Latin words and what I think is a wonderful English translation:

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.

Credendum est magis soli
Mariae veraci
Quam Judaeorum
Turbae fallaci.

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.

"Death and life have contended in that combat stupendous: the Prince of life, who died, reigns immortal." What a terrific (or is it terrifying?) image! This is the translation used in the 1982 Hymnal (it's #183), which gives attribution thusly:

Words: Wigbert [Wipo of Burgundy] (d. 1050?); tr. The Antiphoner and Grail, 1880, alt.
Music: Victimae Paschai laudes, plainsong, Mode I; melody att. Wigbert [Wipo of Burgundy] (d. 1050?)

And how about that verse about Mary and her "wayfaring"? I just love this piece!

We sang the hymn congregationally as the sequence hymn yesterday at St. Mary the Virgin; that is, we sang it as the procession was moving into the nave for the reading of the Gospel. It was a gorgeous moment. Perhaps they use it there on every Sunday in Easter, which is a great idea.

Here's a plain audio (.ogg) file of another lovely version, found on this Wikipedia page.   ( You can download an .ogg player in order to hear it, if your browser requires it.)

Here is the midi version at Oremus Hymnal, along with the words as given above. And here again is the mp3 of the hymn as sung by the Benedictine monks of Brazil.

Here's the New Advent page about this hymn.

Here's what TPL says about Victimae Paschali (and you can see the words at that link also):

Victimae Paschali is the Sequence for Easter Sunday. At one time there were many sequences in use, but the Council of Trent abolished all but a few. Today only four are used: Victimae Paschali (Easter), Veni, Sancte Spiritus (Pentecost), Lauda Sion (Corpus Christi), and Stabat Mater (Our Lady of Sorrows), of which the first two are obligatory and the later two are optional. 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).

I cannot post a copy of the chant score that was in the service leaflet from yesterday, either, as the 1982 Hymnal is still under copyright; it's too bad, because it's in English. But here's the square note version from the Brazilians, in Latin:

More about Sequence Hymns later; it's a really fascinating topic. Meanwhile, here's a quite interesting piece of anonymous early 15th century art - a "Christ appearing to Mary Magdalene" - found at this page:

Ora et labora

Listen to chant at the website of the Benedictine Abbey of St. Hildegard, in Rüdesheim, Germany, above the Rhine river.

Lutheran Office Resources

An interesting article (in PDF format) from the Lutheran Liturgical Prayer Brotherhood: Daily Prayer Books in the History of German and American Lutheranism.

It's possible to buy a copy of the Brotherhood Prayer Book here. Here's an image of a page from the Christmastide section of the book:




I like the illustrations! You can read more about the book, and about the reciting of the Office, at the LLPB home page. Here's a paragraph about the book from that page:

The most noticeable change in the second edition of the Brotherhood Prayer Book is the new music. All of the responsories, antiphons for the Magnificat, invitatories, and the Venite now have their proper Gregorian melodies. The new music has increased the content of the book by about 50%. The second edition also is now in a more convenient size, being the same size as a hymnal, and comes with seven ribbons. The second edition has marginal page references to the first edition, so that groups can use both editions together and still avoid confusion. The second edition is also graced by the beautiful liturgical artwork of Mr. Edward Riojas. Introducing sections of the BPB, each of the 26 original drawings combines theology and piety to give the user a fitting focus for prayer. Indices allow the user to find particular Psalm tones, and hymns by their English and Latin names. Finally, a Lutheran book of liturgical hours with all 150 Psalms and Old Testament Canticles in English and pointed with the Reformation Gregorian tones. Add beautiful, ancient hymns and historic responsories to your daily discipline of prayer.

(Lutheran) Office Hymns of Eastertide

In many or most traditions, the office hymns for Lauds and Vespers are the same each day throughout the 50 days of Eastertide (after Easter Week itself, that is, when at least in the Sarum Use, no hymns are sung); this certainly seems to be true for both the Roman Rite and the Sarum Use (from which Anglicans draw).  (Here's a separate post on the Sarum version of the Office Hymns of Eastertide.)

The Lutheran Liturgical Prayer Brotherhood seems to go another way, offering two choices for each Office:

A Hymn for Easter Tuesday at Morning Prayer option 1 or option 2

A Hymn for Easter Tuesday at Vespers option 1 or option 2

I think "Tuesday" stands for "every day," in some sense.  The first hymn listed above for Lauds is "The Day Draws On With Golden Light" (that's the same mp3 as in option 1, as above). This is the English version of Aurora Lucis Rutilat; here's what TPL page about it:

This hymn is from the 4th or 5th century and is often ascribed to St. Ambrose (340-397). Whether it really is his or not, it is certainly worthy of his name. The complete hymn is composed of 44 lines and is given below. In the Liturgy it is broken up in multiple hymns. In the past it was broken into three hymns, Aurora lucis rutilat, Tristes erant Apostoli, and Claro Paschali gaudio, which were altered by Pope Urban VIII to Aurora caelum purpurat (Lauds), Tristes erant Apostoli (Vespers and Matins for Apostles and Evangelists in Eastertide), and Paschale mundo gaudium (Lauds for Apostles and Evangelists in Eastertide). Today parts of it are in the hymn for Laudes.

It's a beautiful hymn; the Latin words are terrific, although I'm not mad about either of these translations into English. Here's a heart-piercingly beautiful di Lassus Aurora Lucis Rutilat, from St. Clement's in Philadelphia.

The second option for Lauds listed above is "His Cheering Message From the Grave." Oremus Hymnal describes this one as "Latin, fourth or fifth centuries," and lists the hymn tune used there as "Solemnis haec festivitas," but the music does not match the tune here. I believe the name of this hymn in Latin is "Sermone blando angelus," a snippet of which you can find at Medieval Music Database - but I'm not totally certain; the music doesn't seem to be a match. [EDIT: this is another case of a long festal hymn being broken up into several shorter ones. If you take a look at the Latin words to Aurora Lucis Rutilat, you'll see that "Sermone blando angelus" is made up of some of the middle verses of the former hymn.]

I do have a chant score that does match the LLPB tune, although it uses different words (it's the J.M. Neale translation of the middle verses of Aurora Lucis Rutilat); in this (Anglican) source, this is the sole hymn for Lauds during Eastertide (Aurora Lucis Rutilat is really a Matins hymn):







The "option 1" hymn listed above for Vespers is "The Lamb's High Banquet," a hymn I've already listed on this blog: Ad cenam Agni providi. Here's an mp3 of another version, sung by St. David's (Austin) Compline Choir, and here again is the TPL description:

One of the earliest of the Ambrosian hymns, 6th century or earlier, this hymn is used for Vespers from Easter Sunday until Ascension. In the Breviary revision of 1632 by Pope Urban VIII the hymn was so greatly altered that only three lines of the original remained and thus is really a different hymn entirely. The revised hymn can be found under the title of Ad regias Agni dapes.

Following is a chant score of this in English; my source lists this as the hymn for Second Vespers of Sunday in Eastertide. However, the tune here is not the same as those used in either of the audio files above; I don't know what that's about, but will try to find out.






The last hymn, listed above as Option 2 for Vespers, is "Ye Choirs of New Jerusalem." Oremus Hymnal gives this: "Words: Chorus novae Jerusalem, Fulbert of Chartres, (ca. 960-1028)" - but again, the metrical music there does not match the mp3. Here's a chant score, with a set of totally different words; my source lists this as the hymn for First Vespers of Sunday in Eastertide (and I believe in fact this one's used daily during this period, except at Second Vespers of Sunday):






Another hymn sung during this period is "O filii et filiae" ("Ye sons and daughters of the Lord"); its topic is St. Thomas Didymus' experience of the risen Christ, and the hymn is often sung in the parish church on the second Sunday of Easter, when that Gospel story is read. Here's TPL:

This hymn was written by Jean Tisserand, O.F.M. (d. 1494) and originally had only nine stanzas. Stanzas "Discipulis adstantibus", "Ut intellexit Didymus", "Beati qui non viderunt" are early additions to the hymn. There are several different versions of the hymn. The one below is one of the more common versions.

St. David's offers an mp3 of this one, too.

Office Hymns, etc, for the Feast of the Annunciation

Here is the entry for the Feast of the Annunciation at Medieval Music Database.

These are the antiphons (and instructions) I have for Second Vespers of the Feast of the Annunciation:





Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find any recordings of the hymns in my sources. I do know, though, that the hymns listed for Mattins and Lauds in Hymn-melodies for the whole year from the Sarum service-books (which hymns are notated "as on the Feast of the Conception") are sung to the same tune; the hymn is called "O gloriosa femina" (or "O gloriosa domina") at Lauds, and "Quem terra, pontus, ethera" at Mattins. The tune is the same as, but the words do not match up to, the hymn I have for Lauds:





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



In the Sarum book - and in most others - the Vespers hymn is Ave, Maris Stella ("Hail, Star of the Sea!"). But that's not the one I have, about which I don't know much about at all. It does have that really interesting 11-11-11-5 Meter thing going, though; I'd sure like to know where that came from, and what significance it has; it seems to be used only for certain hymns and feasts, but I'm not sure what the link is. Anyway, the chant score:





The page for the Feast of the Purification at MMDB does have some of these hymns listed, however.

Here's an mp3 of Ave Maris Stella from the Benedictines of Brazil. Here's the Latin text, and an English translation:

Ave, maris stella,
Dei Mater alma,
Atque semper Virgo,
Felix caeli porta.

Sumens illud Ave
Gabrielis ore,
Funda nos in pace,
Mutans Evae nomen.

Solve vincla reis,
Profer lumen caecis,
Mala nostra pelle,
Bona cuncta posce

Monstra te esse matrem,
Sumat per te preces,
Qui pro nobis natus
Tulit esse tuus.

Virgo singularis,
Inter omnes mitis,
Nos culpis solutos,
Mites fac et castos.

Vitam praesta puram,
Iter para tutum,
Ut videntes Jesum,
Semper collaetemur.

Sit laus Deo Patri,
Summo Christo decus
Spiritui Sancto,
Tribus honor unus. Amen.

Hail, star of the sea,
loving Mother of God,
and also always a virgin,
Happy gate of heaven.

Receiving that Ave
from Gabriel's mouth
confirm us in peace,
Reversing Eva's name.

Break the chains of sinners,
Bring light to the blind,
Drive away our evils,
Ask for all good.

Show yourself to be a mother,
May he accept prayers through you,
he who, born for us,
Chose to be yours.

O unique virgin,
Meek above all,
Make us, absolved from sin,
Gentle and chaste.

Keep life pure,
Make the journey safe,
So that, seeing Jesus,
We may always rejoice together.

Let there be praise to God the Father,
Glory to Christ in the highest,
To the Holy Spirit,
One honor to all three. Amen.

You can hear an mp3 sample of Anonymous 4's version of Ave, Maris Stella here; Edvard Grieg, of all people, also composed an Ave, Maris Stella, which is quite beautiful. And here is an mp3 of "Orthodox Byzantine Hymn(s) for the Annunciation" at Wikipedia. Best I can do, this time - sorry.

Annunciation is one of my favorite feasts of the year; I love it as the most incarnational moment of direct connection between heaven and earth - as one of the most dramatic of the moments when angels come to speak directly to human beings. Unfortunately, I can't celebrate it tonight as I am sick.

I really like this Annunciation by Henry Ossawa Tanner:




Here's a bit about Tanner:

The son of a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Henry Ossawa Tanner was raised in an affluent, well educated African-American family. Although reluctant at first, Tanner's parents eventually responded to their son's unflagging desire to pursue an artistic career and encouraged his ambitions. In 1879, Tanner enrolled at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, where he joined Thomas Eakins's coterie. Tanner moved to Atlanta in 1889 in an unsuccessful attempt to support himself as an artist and instructor among prosperous middle class African-Americans. Bishop and Mrs. Joseph C. Hartzell arranged for Tanner's first solo exhibition, the proceeds from which enabled the struggling artist to move to Paris in 1891. Illness brought him back to the United States in 1893, and it was at this point in his career that Tanner turned his attention to genre subjects of his own race.

In 1893 most American artists painted African-American subjects either as grotesque caricatures or sentimental figures of rural poverty. Henry Ossawa Tanner, who sought to represent black subjects with dignity, wrote: "Many of the artists who have represented Negro life have seen only the comic, the ludicrous side of it, and have lacked sympathy with and appreciation for the warm big heart that dwells within such a rough exterior." The banjo had become a symbol of derision, and caricatures of insipid, smiling African-Americans strumming the instrument were a cliche. In The Banjo Lesson, Tanner tackles this stereotype head on, portraying a man teaching his young protege to play the instrument - the large body of the older man lovingly envelops the boy as he patiently instructs him. If popular nineteenth-century imagery of the African-American male had divested him of authority and leadership, then Tanner in The Banjo Lesson recreated him in the role of father, mentor, and sage. The Banjo Lesson is about sharing knowledge and passing on wisdom.

And here's lots more Annunciation art.

And here's a different sort of take on Annunciation, one I like a lot:

I once heard an old piece of folklore about Mary. Imagine, this story goes, that the angel of God had been wandering the earth sine the beginning of time, asking people if they would be willing to bring God’s child into the world. Mary was not the most pure, most holy, most beautiful; she was simply the only one gutsy enough to say “yes.”

I love that little addition to the Gospel narrative because it makes us look at the story from a different angle. The Church has traditionally taught us that Mary was selected by God for the most important task of all time, the birth of Christ. Mary is seen as the most pure, the most devout woman in the world. She was selected, out of all the women of all time, to be the mother of God. It’s almost as if Mary is the valedictorian of devotion, she was the best, and she was awarded the greatest honor. But what if her role was awarded to her because she alone was willing, because she agreed? What if it was Mary’s willingness that set her apart?

In the Gospel of Luke, Mary says to the angel Gabriel, “Here am I.” These are words repeated by some of the most devout lovers of God in Scripture. Abraham says, “Here I am.” Isaiah says, “Here I am.” These are the words of those who volunteer to submit themselves to the will of God. These are the words of true devotion. After uttering these words, no one ever stands still.

From Between Two Worlds: Daily Readings for Advent by Kate Moorehead (Cowley Publications, 2003).

An Easter Shape-Note Anthem

Just for fun, and for a change of pace, here's an mp3 of "Easter Anthem," the Offertory that we sang on Easter II, courtesy of the "Southern Harmony" section of CCEL. It's a rousing good William Billings number, and here are the words:

The Lord is risen indeed! Hallelujah!
(Repeat previous line)!
Now is Christ risen from the dead,
And become the first fruit of them that slept.
(Repeat previous 2 lines).
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah.
And did he rise? And did he rise? Did he rise?
Hear it, ye nations! hear it O ye dead!
He rose, he rose, he rose, he rose,
He burst the bars of death,
(Repeat previous line twice).
And triumphed o'er the grave.
Then, then, then I rose,
Then I rose, then I rose,
Then first humanity triumphant
Past the crystal ports of light,
And seized eternal youth.
Men all immortal hail, hail, heaven,
All lavish of strange gifts to man,
Thine's all the glory, man's the boundless bliss.

Interesting to listen to them in the fasola ("fa-sol-la") run-through; you can hear the singers learning the piece - and they have it, by the time it comes to sing the words. Here's the musical score in modern notation, at CPDL. There's a midi file over there, too.

Not really "chant," per se, but an interesting vocal style and genre, anyway. Here's Wikipedia on shape-note singing; here's fasola.org, the website of the Sacred Harp Musical Heritage Association. Here's a (PDF) booklet on shape-note singing from the Smithsonian.

Something about William Billings:

William Billings (October 7, 1746 – September 26, 1800) was an American choral composer, and is widely regarded as the father of American choral music.[1] Billings was originally a tanner by trade, and lacking formal training in music, Billings created what is now recognized as a uniquely American style.

"He had one eye, a deformed arm and a harsh voice; he was lame in one leg; and he was addicted to snuff."1 He was married with six children. Billings died in poverty on September 26, 1800. His funeral was announced in the Columbian Centinel "Died- Mr. William Billings, the celebrated music composer. His funeral will be tomorrow at 4 o'clock, PM from the house of Mrs. Amos Penniman, in Chamber-stree, West-Boston."2

Here's the first page of the shape-note score of "Easter Anthem" (which isn't very readable):






Here's the frontispiece of Billings' "New England Psalm-Singer"; the engraving is by Paul Revere. (Yes, that Paul Revere.)