The Epiphany Office

I wasn't going to post this, feeling that I'd done it before - but actually I haven't. I've posted about most of the hymns themselves, but haven't given the whole listing of all the Office hymns for this, one of my favorite feast days of the year. So here it is, from Hymn melodies for the whole year from the Sarum service-books:

On the Feast of Epiphany & during the Octave :

Evensong: Hostis Herodes impie

On the day, the Sunday, & the Octave day, at both Evensongs... ... ... 28
On the remaining days of the Octave... ... ... 29

Mattins: No Hymn on the day itself, but within the Octave and on the Octave day, Hostis Herodes, as above.

Lauds: A Patre Unigenitus

On the day, the Sunday, & the Octave day... ... ... 28
On the remaining days of the Octave... ... ... 29

So, there are really only two hymns for this feast, and only two tunes used throughout the Octave; simple! Here are the tunes now:





Stealing from two of my own former posts, here's Part I of the lowdown on Hostis Herodes impie:

Since the Feast of Epiphany will be in just a few short days, I'll make immediate use of the LLPB listing for that day: this mp3 labeled "Hymn for the Epiphany of our Lord". [This is sung to the tune of hymn #28 above.] And a very pretty, melismatic hymn it is, too; the words for this version are taken from the Lutheran Hymnal:

1. The star proclaims the King is here;
But, Herod, why this senseless fear?
He takes no realms of earth away
Who gives the realms of heavenly day.

2. The wiser Magi see from far
And follow on His guiding star;
And led by light, to light they press
And by their gifts their God confess.

3. Within the Jordan's crystal flood
In meekness stands the Lamb of God
And, sinless, sanctifies the wave,
Mankind from sin to cleanse and save.

4. At Cana first His power is shown;
His might the blushing waters own
And, changing as He speaks the word,
Flow wine, obedient to their Lord.

5. All glory, Jesus, be to Thee
For this Thy glad epiphany;
Whom with the Father we adore
And Holy Ghost forevermore.

A note there indicates that the version is:

Hymn #131
Text: Matt. 2:9
Author: Coelius Sedulius, c.450
Translated by: John M. Neale, 1852, alt.
Titled: "Hostis Herodes impie"
Tune: "Wo Gott zum Haus"
1st Published in: _Geistliche Lieder_
Town: Wittenberg, 1535

This matches up with what's found at TPL under the listing Hostis Herodes impie:

Written by Caelius Sedulius (5th cent). This hymn is a continuation of the hymn A solis ortus cardine and is used for Vespers on Epiphany.

Under that listing, you find this note:

Written by Coelius Sedulius (d c 450) in iambic dimeter. This hymn, which is used for Lauds during the Christmas season, is the first seven verses of a much longer alphabetic hymn. Four other verses form a second hymn, Hostis Herodes impie which is used for Epiphany.

The mp3 above seems to be mix-n-match from those two listings; I'm going to research the "longer alphabetic hymn" at some point.

Simply for interest, I include a recording of a choir singing a song labeled Hostis Herodes impie; it is indeed the same tune as A solis ortus cardine.

Here's Part II:

Here is an mp3 of the hymn, Hostis Herodes impie, sung by a choir in Latin. Here is the TPL listing, which provides both the Latin and the English words (although not the words in the .jpg above). Don't forget, this is the same tune as that for the Latin hymn A solis ortus cardine, sung in English on this mp3 by the LLPB cantor. This is the one that was a long alphabetic hymn, and got broken up in various pieces and used during the Christmastide/Epiphany season.

So now you have the chant score, too, if that's something you're interested in. The Psalms are numbers 110, [two others I can't remember here], 130, 132. The Phos Hilaron is the one for Class I feasts:

As for A Patre Unigenitus: here is another stolen post:

This hymn is in the Cyberhymnal, here. Here's the description there:

Un­known au­thor, writ­ten be­tween the 10th and 13th Cen­tu­ries (A Pa­tre Un­i­gen­i­tus); trans­lat­ed from La­tin to Eng­lish by John M. Neale, St. Mar­ga­ret’s Hymn­al, 1875, alt.

The tune they link on that page, De­us Tu­or­um Mil­i­tum, from the Gre­no­ble An­ti­phon­er, 1753, is one of my favorites; it's the same hymn tune used for "O Love, How Deep, How Broad, How High."

But it's not the tune given above; I don't know where it came from, or even what it sounds like. Will continue to look for it on the web.

And things are still the same: I don't know this tune, and haven't found it on the web yet. But I will, mark my words!

Here is another set of words from Cyberhymnal, which calls this hymn "The Father’s sole begotten Son," and notes its provenance thusly: "Words: Un­known au­thor, be­tween the 10th & 13th Cen­tu­ries (A Pat­re Un­i­gen­i­tus); trans­lat­ed from La­tin to Eng­lish by Thom­as B. Poll­ock in Hymns An­cient and Mo­dern (HAM), 1889, and re­cast by the com­pil­ers of HAM in 1904." Here they are:

The Father’s sole begotten Son
Was born, the virgin’s Child, on earth;
His cross for us adoption won,
The life and grace of second birth.

Forth from the height of Heav’n He came,
In form of man with man abode;
Redeemed His world from death and shame,
The joys of endless life bestowed.

Redeemer, come with power benign,
Dwell in the souls that look for Thee;
O let Thy light within us shine
That we may Thy salvation see.

Abide with us, O Lord, we pray,
Dispel the gloom of doubt and woe;
Wash every stain of guilt away,
Thy tender healing grace bestow.

Lord, Thou hast come, and well we know
That Thou wilt likewise come again;
Thy kingdom shield from every foe,
Thy honor and Thy rule maintain.

Eternal glory, Lord, to Thee,
Whom, now revealed, our hearts adore;
To God the Father glory be,
And Holy Spirit evermore.

For comparison, here is J.M. Neale's translation:

From God the Father, virgin-born
To us the only Son came down;
By death the font to consecrate,
The faithful to regenerate.

Beginning from His home on high
In human flesh He came to die;
Creation by His death restored,
And shed new joys of life abroad.

Glide on, O glorious Sun, and bring
The gift of healing on Your wing;
To every dull and clouded sense
The clearness of Your light dispense.

Abide with us, O Lord, we pray;
The gloom of darkness chase away;
Your work of healing, Lord, begin,
And take away the stain of sin.

Lord, once You came to earth’s domain
And, we believe, shall come again;
Be with us on the battlefield,
From every harm Your people shield.

To You, O Lord, all glory be
For this Your blest epiphany;
To God Whom all His hosts adore,
And Holy Spirit evermore.

One thing about Epiphany that has been lost, apparently, in recent decades, is the fact that it actually has, over the centuries, celebrated several "manifestations" of Christ: the Visitation of the Wise Men; Christ's baptism in the Jordan by John the Baptist; and Christ's first miracle at the wedding at Cana. A motet by Marenzio from the 16th century Tribus miraculis (the text of which comes from the Magnificat antiphon for second vespers of the Epiphany), describes this:

Three are the miracles we celebrate this day:
On this day by a star the wise men were led to the manger;
On this day wine out of water was brought forth for the wedding feast;
On this day in Jordan's waters by Saint John's hand Jesus chose to be baptized,
That he might save us. Alleluia.

And I really do like this, and it's how I think of Epiphany today myself; it's much more interesting than celebrating only one event, I think!