O Sacrum Convivium IV

This hymn in praise of the Blessed Sacrament seems to give rise to very beautiful polyphonic compositions - and this piece by the Lithuanian composer Vytautas Miskinis is no exception.



This comes from the YouTube page:

The Stanford Chamber Chorale, under the direction of Stephen M. Sano, performs "O Sacrum Convivium" by Lithuanian composer Vytautas Miskinis (b. 1954). The video is taken from the Chorale's fall 2011 concert, "There is Sweet Music Here," on December 3, 2011 in Stanford Memorial Church. For more information on the Chorale, please visit our website: http://chorale.stanford.edu/

And here again is the lovely text, from Wikipedia:

O Sacrum Convivium is a Latin prose text honoring the Blessed Sacrament. It was written by Saint Thomas Aquinas. It was included in the Latin Catholic liturgy as an antiphon on the feast of Corpus Christi. Its sentiments express the profound mystery of the Eucharistic miracle: "O sacred banquet at which Christ is consumed, the memory of his Passion is recalled, our souls are filled with grace, and the pledge of future glory is given to us."

Original Latin (punctuation from Liber Usualis):

O sacrum convivium!
in quo Christus sumitur:
recolitur memoria passionis ejus:
mens impletur gratia:
et futurae gloriae nobis pignus datur.
Alleluia.

Translation of original Latin:

O sacred banquet!
in which Christ is received,
the memory of his Passion is renewed,
the mind is filled with grace,
and a pledge of future glory to us is given.
Alleluia.

HT Saturday Chorale.