Come, ye disconsolate, where’er ye languish,
Come to the mercy seat, fervently kneel.
Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish;
Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.

Joy of the desolate, light of the straying,
Hope of the penitent, fadeless and pure!
Here speaks the Comforter, tenderly saying,
“Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot cure.”

Here see the Bread of Life, see waters flowing
Forth from the throne of God, pure from above.
Come to the feast of love; come, ever knowing
Earth has no sorrow but heaven can remove.

Dulce lignum, dulces clavos
Dulcia ferens pondera
Quae sola fuistis digna sustinere
Regem coelorum et Dominum

O sweet wood, O sweet nails
That bore his sweet burden
Which alone were worthy to support
The King of Heaven and Lord

Crux fidelis, inter omnes arbor una nobilis,
nulla talem silva profert flore, fronde, germine,
dulce lignum dulce clavo dulce pondus sustinens.

Flecte ramos, arbor alta, tensa laxa viscera,
et rigor lentescat ille quem dedit nativitas,
ut superni membra regis mite tendas stipite.

Sola digna tu fuisti ferre pretium saeculi
atque portum praeparare nauta mundo naufrago,
quem sacer cruor perunxit fusus agni corpore.

Faithful Cross!
above all other,
one and only noble Tree!
None in foliage, none in blossom,
none in fruit thy peers may be;
sweetest wood and sweetest iron!
Sweetest Weight is hung on thee!

Lofty tree, bend down thy branches,
to embrace thy sacred load;
oh, relax the native tension
of that all too rigid wood;
gently, gently bear the members
of thy dying King and God.

Tree, which solely wast found worthy
the world's Victim to sustain.
harbor from the raging tempest!
ark, that saved the world again!
Tree, with sacred blood anointed
of the Lamb for sinners slain.

During the reign of Constantine, first Roman Emperor to profess the Christian faith, his mother Helena went to Israel and there undertook to find the places especially significant to Christians. (She was helped in this by the fact that in their destructions around 135, the Romans had built pagan shrines over many of these sites.) Having located, close together, what she believed to be the sites of the Crucifixion and of the Burial (at locations that modern archaeologists think may be correct), she then had built over them the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which was dedicated on 14 September 335. It has become a day for recognizing the Cross (in a festal atmosphere that would be inappropriate on Good Friday) as a symbol of triumph, as a sign of Christ's victory over death, and a reminder of His promise, "And when I am lifted up, I will draw all men unto me." (John 12:32)

Tertullian, in his De Corona (3:2), written around AD 211, says that Christians seldom do anything significant without making the sign of the cross. Certainly by his time the practice was well established. Justin Martyr, in chapters 55 and 60 of his First Apology (Defence of the Christian Faith, addressed to the Emperor Antoninus Pius and therefore written between 148 and 155 Ad), refers to the cross as a standard Christian symbol, but not explicitly to tracing the sign of the cross as a devotional gesture. In the ruins of Pompeii (destroyed 79 Ad), there is a room with an altar-like structure against one wall, and over the altar the appearance of the plaster shows that a cross-shaped object had been nailed to the wall, and forcibly pulled loose, apparently shortly before the volcano buried the city. It is suggested that this house may have belonged to a Christian family, and that they took the cross and other objects of value to them when they fled the city. This is not the only possible explanation, but I do not know of a likelier one.

Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ was lifted high upon the cross that he might draw the whole world to himself: Mercifully grant that we, who glory in the mystery of our redemption, may have grace to take up our cross and follow him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting.

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God,
    did not regard equality with God
    as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself,
    taking the form of a slave,
    being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
    he humbled himself
    and became obedient to the point of death--
    even death on a cross.
Therefore God also highly exalted him
    and gave him the name
    that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
    every knee should bend,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess
    that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.

Isaiah 45:21-25
Psalm 98 or 98:1-4
Philippians 2:5-11
or Galatians 6:14-18
John 12:31-36a 

The story of Francis of Assisi’s conversion is well known to many Christians. Of course, there is the confrontation with Francis’s seriously displeased father; but there is also Francis’s experience in the run-down Church of San Damiano, just outside of Assisi. Francis is walking by the church and goes in to pray. He gazes upon a large crucifix, painted in the Byzantine style; and he hears Christ saying to him, “Go, repair my Church, which as you see is falling completely in ruin.” These are loaded, prophetic, words. Francis starts fixing the church and in doing so, he too is “repaired.” The Lord comes up close and Francis is converted. He is turned toward Christ in a new way. Eventually, Francis gathers brothers and sisters around him. He founds his famous order and the rest is history.

The San Damiano Crucifix is a familiar image to many people, especially to those interested in Franciscan history and spirituality. It is large, nearly seven feet tall and over four feet wide. It was probably created around 1100 by an Umbrian artist working in what is known as the Syro-Byzantine style. There are some truly wonderful things about this crucifix. It comes as no surprise that it moved Francis so. First, like much Christian art, in particular much Western Christian art, it is an image that is meant to teach. It has been pointed out that, taken together, the many figures on the cross tell the story of Our Lord’s passion, death, resurrection, and ascension. (Michael D. Guinan, O.F.M., does a detailed and fascinating interpretation of the Cross in his book, The Franciscan Vision and the Gospel of John: The San Damiano Cross, St. Bonaventure, NY, 2006. His book got me thinking about the cross for this article.) Second, the cross is an icon and like all icons “written” in the Eastern Christian tradition, it invites the viewer to meditate and pray, to enter into an encounter with the reality depicted in the image.

Father Guinan reminds us that the San Damiano Crucifix, that most Franciscan of images, is in some ways, not typically Franciscan (Franciscan Vision, 2). For one thing, it was created before Francis was born. More important, the cross does not accentuate Jesus’ suffering on the cross, and therefore it does not stress Jesus’ humanity, which was an important focus in later Franciscan theology, spirituality, and art. Jesus’ humanity is not denied. This is a human body, nailed to a cross. Blood flows both from Jesus’ hands and from his feet. But Jesus does not wear the crown of thorns and the iconographer makes no attempt to depict the suffering of a crucified criminal with any sort of realistic, historical, or physiological accuracy.

In this image, the artist carefully balances humanity with divinity. The inscription above Jesus’ head tells us that he is a king. The clean white garment, edged in gold, may tell us that he is a priest. The attitude of his body, the expression on his face, and the brilliant halo around his head tell us that the Crucified One is also the Risen Lord. As Father Guinan points out, the blood from Jesus’ hands and feet flows forth and down upon the other figures in the image. (If one didn’t know better, the very idea would be gory and distasteful; but for those with “eyes to see,” it is a richly symbolic, deeply scriptural and sacramental idea.) Moreover, angels attend Jesus on the cross and, at the top of the image, angels greet Jesus as he “returns” to the heavenly places, to be seated at the Father’s right hand. As in the Gospel of John, so also here, the Cross is not so much the locus of abandonment and desolation, it is the place where the glory of God is already being revealed: “Jesus said, ‘And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’ He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die” (John 12:32).

If icons are meant to be an encounter with the Holy One, what do we encounter when we look at this image? That will be different for each one of us. Perhaps the encounter will be different every time we look at it. (If God is working to “repair,” transform, and convert us, are we ever exactly the same today as we were yesterday?) This is what I see as we arrive at Holy Cross Day: the cross was invented by human beings, acting on their cruelest impulses, to torture, shame, deter, terrorize, and kill. Jesus Christ, “though he was in the form of God” (Philippians 2:6), becomes fully human, “being born in human likeness” (2:7). He does not recoil from the worst and most painful elements of the human condition: sin, death, and terrible cruelty. He does not flee from us in horror or distaste. He comes up close. He sees what we sometimes forget: we were created in the very image of God. Jesus Christ “descends” deeply into the human condition in order to heal us and set us free; and by doing that he shows us who God is. He shows us that God is more powerful than sin and death. He shows us God’s tenacious, unyielding love. He shows us, in his deep humility, the very Glory of God.

CRUX fidelis,
inter omnes
arbor una nobilis;
nulla talem silva profert,
flore, fronde, germine.
Dulce lignum, dulci clavo,
dulce pondus sustinens!

PANGE, lingua, gloriosi
proelium certaminis,
et super Crucis trophaeo
dic triumphum nobilem,
qualiter Redemptor orbis
immolatus vicerit.

De parentis protoplasti
fraude Factor condolens,
quando pomi noxialis
morte morsu corruit,
ipse lignum tunc notavit,
damna ligni ut solveret.

Hoc opus nostrae salutis
ordo depoposcerat,
multiformis proditoris
ars ut artem falleret,
et medelam ferret inde,
hostis unde laeserat.

Aequa Patri Filioque,
inclito Paraclito,
sempiterna sit beatae
Trinitati gloria,
cuius alma nos redemit
atque servat gratia. Amen.


FAITHFUL Cross!
above all other,
one and only noble Tree!
None in foliage, none in blossom,
none in fruit thy peers may be;
sweetest wood and sweetest iron!
Sweetest Weight is hung on thee!

SING, my tongue,
the Savior's glory;
tell His triumph far and wide;
tell aloud the famous story
of His body crucified;
how upon the cross a victim,
vanquishing in death, He died.

Eating of the tree forbidden,
man had sunk in Satan's snare,
when our pitying Creator did
this second tree prepare;
destined, many ages later,
that first evil to repair.

Such the order God appointed
when for sin He would atone;
to the serpent thus opposing
schemes yet deeper than his own;
thence the remedy procuring,
whence the fatal wound had come.

Blessing, honor, everlasting,
to the immortal Deity;
to the Father, Son, and Spirit,
equal praises ever be;
glory through the earth and heaven
to Trinity in Unity. Amen.

1  Thou, O God, art praised in Sion *
 and unto thee shall the vow be performed in Jerusalem.
2  Thou that hearest the prayer *
 unto thee shall all flesh come.
3  My misdeeds prevail against me *
 O be thou merciful unto our sins.
4  Blessed is the man, whom thou choosest, and receivest unto thee *
 he shall dwell in thy court, and shall be satisfied with the pleasures of thy house, even of thy holy temple.
5  Thou shalt shew us wonderful things in thy righteousness, O God of our salvation *
 thou that art the hope of all the ends of the earth, and of them that remain in the broad sea.
6  Who in his strength setteth fast the mountains *
 and is girded about with power.
7  Who stilleth the raging of the sea *
 and the noise of his waves, and the madness of the people.
8  They also that dwell in the uttermost parts of the earth shall be afraid at thy tokens *
 thou that makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to praise thee.
9  Thou visitest the earth, and blessest it *
 thou makest it very plenteous.
10  The river of God is full of water *
 thou preparest their corn, for so thou providest for the earth.
11  Thou waterest her furrows, thou sendest rain into the little valleys thereof *
 thou makest it soft with the drops of rain, and blessest the increase of it.
12  Thou crownest the year with thy goodness *
 and thy clouds drop fatness.
13  They shall drop upon the dwellings of the wilderness *
 and the little hills shall rejoice on every side.
14  The folds shall be full of sheep *
 the valleys also shall stand so thick with corn, that they shall laugh and sing.

Anglican Chant composed by Sir Ivor Algernon Atkins (29 November 1869 -- 26 November 1953) was the choirmaster and organist at Worcester Cathedral for over 50 years (1897-1950). He is well known for editing Allegri's Miserere with the famous top-C part for the treble. He is also well known for The Three Kings, an arrangement of a song by Peter Cornelius as a choral work for Epiphany. Born into a Welsh musical family at Llandaff, Atkins graduated with a bachelor of music degree from The Queen's College, Oxford in 1892, and subsequently obtained a Doctorate in Music (Oxford). He was assistant organist of Hereford Cathedral (1890-1893) and organist of St Laurence Church, Ludlow from 1893 to 1897. He composed songs, church music, service settings and anthems. With Edward Elgar he prepared an edition of Bach's St. Matthew Passion. Knighted in 1921 for services to music, Atkins was President of the Royal College of Organists from 1935 to 1936. He died in Worcester. He was a friend of Edward Elgar, who in 1904 dedicated the third of his Pomp and Circumstance Marches to Atkins. wikipedia

At the March on Washington in 1963 Mahalia sang in front of 250,000 people "I've Been 'Buked, and I've Been Scorned", in which Martin Luther King, Jr. made his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. She also sang "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" at the funeral of her friend Martin Luther King, Jr. She was one of his favorite gospel singers. Indeed, her good friend Martin Luther King said "a voice like hers comes along once in a millennium". In addition to sharing her singing talent with the world, she mentored the extraordinarily gifted Aretha Franklin; she was a close friend of Aretha's father, C. L. Franklin, and a frequent guest in the Franklin home.

The following are the hymns listed for Tierce (Terce), in  Hymn melodies for the whole year, from the Sarum service-books:

Daily throughout the year except on WhitsunDay&the three days following : 

Nunc sancte nobis Spiritus

(1) On allDouble Feasts throughout the year ... ... 5

(2) On Thursday, Friday,&Saturday in Whitsun Week... ...8

(3) On the Vigil ofEpiphany,&on all Sundays&Simple Feasts throughout the year ... ... ... ... ... 6

(4) On all Ferias throughout the year ... ... ... 7

On WhitsunDay and the three days following :

Veni, Creator Spiritus ... ... ... 8

[At Cbristmas-tide (York) : Maria ventre concipit ... ... ... 55]

Terce is the third hour of the day: 9 a.m.   Apparently hymns to the Holy Spirit figure prominently at this Office because the Spirit appeared to the Apostles at this hour on the Day of  Pentecost.

Here's TPL on Nunc sancte nobis Spiritus:

Attributed to St. Ambrose (340-397), this hymn is for the office of Terce (mid-morning prayer, about 9:00 AM) from the Liturgy of the Hours. It is particularly appropriate for Terce, for it was at that hour the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles on Pentecost (Acts 2:15).  From the Liturgia Horarum;  Translation by Cardinal Newman (1801-1890).

NUNC, Sancte, nobis Spiritus,
unum Patri cum Filio,
dignare promptus ingeri
nostro refusus pectori.    

Os, lingua, mens, sensus, vigor
confessionem personent,
flammescat igne caritas,
accendat ardor proximos.    

Per te sciamus da Patrem,
noscamus atque Filium,
te utriusque Spiritum
credamus omni tempore. Amen.   


COME, Holy Ghost, who ever One
art with the Father and the Son,
it is the hour, our souls possess
with Thy full flood of holiness.

Let flesh, and heart, and lips, and mind,
sound forth our witness to mankind;
and love light up our mortal frame,
till others catch the living flame.

Grant this, O Father, ever One
with Christ, Thy sole-begotten Son,
and Holy Ghost, whom all adore,
reigning and blest forevermore.  Amen.

The melodies are these:

This is an mp3 of melody #7 from the Liber Hymnarius Wiki; this tune is used at Terce on all ferias throughout the year.  It's a plain and simple song, as you can see; often the ferial hymns for the Little Hours are just as simple as this.  Unfortunately, I haven't found sound files for either melody #5 or #6.

But Liber Hymnarius Wiki offers sound files for seven different melodies used for this hymn!   I've pasted them all in below, just for fun; you can always use the LH system instead of the Sarum melodies, until I find audio files for those.

For instance, use  the third melody below, labeled "in festis," in place of melody #5 "On the Vigil ofEpiphany,&on all Sundays&Simple Feasts throughout the year."    And maybe use the fifth melody, labeled "in sollemnitatibus," in place of melody #6 "On all Double Feasts throughout the year."   Click the arrow in each case to play the mp3.  (The first melody, labeled "in feriis per annum," is #7 above.):

Nunc, Sancte, nobis, Spiritus (Ambrosius?)

Meter: 8.8.8.8

Melody: a a a a a a g g

  in feriis per annum, H.D, p. 192 
  in memoriis, H.VIII, p. 192 
  in festis, H.VIII, p. 192

Melody: d c d f e d d c :

  in dominicis per annum, H.II, p. 185

Melody: g g ab b ag abCb ag g :

 in sollemnitatibus, H.VIII, p. 186

Melody: f e d e dc de e e :

 in Adventu, H.IV, p. 7

Melody: d d d c d f e d :

  in Nativitate, H.II, p. 24

Invocando lo Spirito Santo e sapendo bene che noi non possiamo in questo momento realizzare quanto c'è da fare per la Chiesa e per il mondo: solo nella forza dello Spirito Santo possiamo trovare quanto è retto e poi attuarlo. E tutti i giorni inizieremo il nostro lavoro invocando lo Spirito Santo con la preghiera dell'Ora Terza. 

Invoking the Holy Spirit, knowing full well that we can not at this moment do what needs to be done to the Church and for the world, only in the power of the Holy Spirit we can discover what is right and then implement it. And every day we will start our work invoking the Holy Spirit through prayer of the Third Hour.

One of the most widely used hymns in the Church, Veni, Creator Spiritus, is attributed to Rabanus Maurus (776-856). It is used at Vespers, Pentecost, Dedication of a Church, Confirmation, and Holy Orders and whenever the Holy Spirit is solemnly invoked. A partial indulgence is granted to the faithful who recite it. A plenary indulgence is granted if it is recited on January 1st or on the feast of Pentecost.

Agnoscat omne saeculum
Vemsse vitae praemium;
Post  hostis asperi jugum
Apparuit redemptio

Esaias quae cecinitComplete sunt in Virgine
Annuntiavit Angelus
Sanctus replevit Spiritus.

Maria ventre concipit
Verbi fidelis semine:
Quem totus orbis non capit
Portant puellae viscera.

Radix Jesse floruit,
Et Virga fructum edidit;
Foecunda partum protulit,
Et Virgo mater permanet.

Praesepo poni pertulit
Qui lucis auctor exstitit,
am Patre coelos condidit,
Sub Matre pannos induit.

Legem dedit qui saeculo,
Cujus decem praecepta sunt,
Dignando factus est homo
Sub Legis esse vinculo.

Adam vetus quod polluit
Adam novus hoc abluit:
Tumens quod ille dejicit
Humiliimus hie erigit,

Jam nata lux est et salus,
Fugnta nox et victa mora,
Venite gentes, credite,
Deum Maria protulit. Amen.

Let all ages acknowledge  that he is come,
Who is the reward of life.
After mankind had carried the yoke of its cruel enemy
Our Redemption appeared.

What Isaias foretold,
has been fulfilled in the Virgin;
an Angel announced the mystery to her,
and the Holy Ghost filled her by his power.

Mary conceived in her womb,
for she believed in the word that was spoken to her:
the womb of a youthful maid holds Him,
whom the whole earth cannot contain.

The Root of Jesse has given its flower,
and the Branch has borne its fruit:
Mary has given birth to Jesus,
and the Mother is still the spotless Virgin.

He that created the light
suffers himself to be laid in a manger;
He that, with the Father, made the heavens,
is now wrapt by his Mother's hand in swaddling-clothes.

He that gave to the world the ten
commandments of the law, deigns,
by becoming Man, to be
Under the bond of the law.

What the old Adam defiled,
that the new Adam has purified;
and what the first cast down by his pride,
the second raised up again by his humility.

Light and salvation are now born to us,
night is driven away, and death is vanquished:
oh! come, all ye people, believe;
God is born of Mary. Amen.

Terce, or Third Hour, is a fixed time of prayer of the Divine Office of almost all the Christian liturgies. It consists mainly of psalms and is said at 9 a.m. Its name comes from Latin and refers to the third hour of the day after dawn.

Much of this article is adapted from the Catholic Encyclopedia of 1917. Note that it describes the office before the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. The psalm numbers are given first according to the Septuagint (followed by the Masoretic or "King James" numbering in parentheses).

Origin

The origin of Terce, like that of Sext and None, to which it bears a close relationship, dates back to Apostolic times.^[1] As has already been stated (see None) according to an ancient custom of the Romans and Greeks, the day and night respectively were divided into four parts of about three hours each. The second division of the day contained the hours from about the modern nine o'clock until about midday; using the Roman numbering the hour just preceding this division was called hora tertia (the third hour) from which the word terce is derived. Since the Roman day was divided into twelve hours from sunrise to sunset regardless of day length, the timing for hora tertia depended on the latitude and day of year. At Rome's latitude hora tertia was in modern terms 09:02 to 09:46 solar time at the winter solstice, but at the summer solstice it was 06:58 to 08:13.^[2]

These divisions of the day were also in vogue among the Jews at the time of Christ. In the New Testament we find mention of the sixth hour in Matthew 20:5; Matthew 27:45; Mark 15:33; John 19:14; of the ninth hour, in Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:25; the Holy Ghost descends upon the Apostles on the day of Pentecost at the third hour, Acts 2:15. Some of these texts prove that these three hours were, in preference to others, chosen for prayer by the Christians, and probably also by the Jews, from whom the Christians appear to have borrowed the custom.

Development

We find frequent mention in the Fathers of the Church and the ecclesiastical writers of the third century of Terce, Sext, and None as hours for daily prayers. For example, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria,^[3] and the Canons of Hippolytus. Tertullian says expressly that we should always pray, and that there is no prescribed time for prayer, but adds: "As regards the time, there should be no lax observation of certain hours—I mean, of those common hours which have long marked the divisions of the day, the third, the sixth, and the ninth—and which we may observe in Scripture to be more solemn than the rest"^[4]

Clement and Tertullian in these passages refer only to private prayer at these three hours. The Canons of Hippolytus also speak of these three hours as suitable for private prayer. However, on the days called "days of station", that is to say Wednesday and Friday, which were set apart as especially consecrated to prayer, and Sunday, these hours were recited in public^[5] St. Cyprian remarked that these three hours had been observed in the Old Testament, and that Christians should also observe them^[6] In the fourth century the custom of praying at these hours became more frequent, and even obligatory, at least for monks.^[7] Our texts say nothing as to what were the elements of the prayer of Terce, Sext, or None before the fourth century. Doubtless, like all prayers at that time, they were composed of psalms, canticles, hymns, and litanies. It is from the fourth century onwards that we can gather a more precise idea as to the composition of the hour of Terce. In the fourth century, as we have said, the custom of prayer at Terce spread, and tended to become obligatory, at least for monks. There is no mention in the "Peregrinatio ad Loca Sancta" of an office of Terce on ordinary days. Some authors have misunderstood the text here, but there is no mention of a meeting at this hour, except on Sunday and during Lent. The hour of Terce is also mentioned in St. Jerome, "Ep. ad Lætam."; "Ep. ad Eustoch."; in the Life of St. Melania the Younger, "Analecta Bollandiana", VIII; in Cassian, "De institut. coenob.", etc.

At this period it is composed of the same elements as the hours of Sext and None; the distribution is the same, and it is clear that the three "Little Hours" were composed at the same time and that they have the same origin. The psalms of Terce are different from those of the other two hours. There were also certain varieties of composition. Thus, in certain countries, three psalms were assigned to Terce, six to Sext, nine to None, in virtue of the symbolism.

Symbolism

The Fathers of the Church and the liturgists of the Middle Ages considered the hour of Terce as corresponding to the hour of Christ's condemnation to death. They also often point out on this occasion the mysteries of the number three, which in ecclesiastical symbolism is a sacred number. What gives it its especial dignity, however, is its association with the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles on the day of Pentecost at this very hour ("seeing it is but the third hour of the day" (Acts 2:15). In several liturgies, and particularly in the Roman, this connection is brought to mind by one or other of the formulæ. Again, this is the reason why, from the earliest times, the hour of Terce was chosen as that of the Eucharist on feast days. Sometimes, also, this hour is called in liturgical language hora aurea or hora sacra (the "golden hour" or "holy hour")^[8]

Comparison to other Rites

The composition varies also in the various liturgies. (See Neale and Littledale, "Commentary on the Psalms", I, p. 34.) In the Benedictine Rite, Terce comprises, on week days, the Gradual Psalms, 119 (120), 120 (121), and 121 (122), with a capitulum, verse, Kyrie, Pater, and prayer.

On Sundays and Mondays the Gradual Psalms are replaced by three octonaries (i.e. three sections of eight verses each) of Psalm 118 (119). In the Mozarabic Rite, three octonaries of Ps. 118 (119) are also recited, the composition otherwise differing very little. In the main, the recitation of three psalms at Terce, as at the other two "Little Hours" of the day, is founded on a universal and very ancient tradition. Divergencies on this point are only exceptional. The practice of the Roman Liturgy, which at first sight appears to be somewhat different, may be traced to this tradition also. In this rite a part of Ps. 118 (119) is recited at Terce as well as at the other "little hours", the psalm being divided into three double octonaries. In the Psalter arrangement of 1911-12, the psalms are: on Sunday, Psalm 118 (119) (three divisions); on Monday, Psalm 26 (27) (two divisions); on Tuesday, Psalm 39 (40) (three divisions); on Wednesday, Psalm 53 (54) (two divisions); on Thursday, Psalm 72 (73) (three divisions); on Friday, Psalm 39 (40) (two divisions); on Saturday, Psalm 101 (102) (three divisions). The number three is therefore preserved in each case.

The hymn Nunc Sancte nobis Spiritus recalls the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles. The other elements are the same as for Sext and None.

Eastern Christian Office

Further information: Little Hours — Eastern Christian Practice

In the Eastern Orthodox and Greek Catholic Churches the office of the Third Hour is normally read by a single Reader and has very little variation in it. Three fixed psalms are read at the Third Hour: Psalms 16, 24, and 50 (LXX). The only variable portions for most of the year are the Troparia (either one or two) and Kontakion of the Day.

During Great Lent a number of changes in the office take place. On Monday through Friday, after the three fixed psalms, the Reader says a kathisma from the Psalter. The Troparion of the Day is replaced by special Lenten hymns that are chanted with prostrations. Then a portion of the Ladder of Divine Ascent may be read. The Kontakion of the Day is replaced by special Lenten troparia. Near the end of the Hour, the Prayer of St. Ephraim is said, with prostrations.

During Holy Week, on Great Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, the services are similar to those during Great Lent (including the reading of a kathisma), but instead of the normal Lenten hymns which replace the Kontakion, the Kontakion of the day (i.e., that day of Holy Week) is chanted. On Great Thursday and Saturday, the Little Hours are more like normal. On Great Friday, the Royal Hours are chanted.

During the Lesser Lenten seasons (Nativity Fast, Apostles' Fast and Dormition Fast) the Little Hours undergo changes similar to those during Great Lent, except the Lenten hymns are usually read instead of chanted, and there are no kathismata. In addition, on weekdays of the Lesser Fasts, an Inter-Hour (Greek: Mesorion) may be read immediately after each Hour (at least on the first day of the Fast).^[9] The Inter-Hours follow the same general outline as the Little Hours, except they are shorter.

Regina coeli laetare, Alleluia.
Quia quem meruisti portare, Alleluia.
[Iam] Resurrexit sicut dixit, Alleluia.
Ora pro nobis Deum. Alleluia.


Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia.
For He whom you were worthy to bear, alleluia.
[Now] has risen, as He said, alleluia.
Pray for us to God, alleluia.

We praise thee, O God :
    we acknowledge thee to be the Lord.
All the earth doth worship thee :
    the Father everlasting.
To thee all Angels cry aloud :
    the Heavens, and all the Powers therein.
To thee Cherubim and Seraphim :
    continually do cry,
Holy, Holy, Holy :
    Lord God of Sabaoth;
Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty :
    of thy glory.
The glorious company of the Apostles : praise thee.
The goodly fellowship of the Prophets : praise thee.
The noble army of Martyrs : praise thee.
The holy Church throughout all the world :
    doth acknowledge thee;
The Father : of an infinite Majesty;
Thine honourable, true : and only Son;
Also the Holy Ghost : the Comforter.
Thou art the King of Glory : O Christ.
Thou art the everlasting Son : of the Father.
When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man :
    thou didst not abhor the Virgin's womb.
When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death :
    thou didst open the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers.
Thou sittest at the right hand of God : in the glory of the Father.
We believe that thou shalt come : to be our Judge.
We therefore pray thee, help thy servants :
    whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood.
Make them to be numbered with thy Saints : in glory everlasting.

[added later, mainly from Psalm verses:]
O Lord, save thy people :
    and bless thine heritage.
Govern them : and lift them up for ever.
Day by day : we magnify thee;
And we worship thy Name : ever world without end.
Vouchsafe, O Lord : to keep us this day without sin.
O Lord, have mercy upon us : have mercy upon us.
O Lord, let thy mercy lighten upon us :
    as our trust is in thee.
O Lord, in thee have I trusted :
    let me never be confounded.

The Stanford Chamber Chorale and University Organist Robert Huw Morgan, under the direction of Stephen M. Sano, perform the "Coronation Te Deum" of William Walton (1902-1983), in the arrangement for double choir and organ by Simon Preston and Mark Blatchly.

The audio is taken from a live concert recording in May 2009 in Stanford Memorial Church.

For more information, please visit the Chorale's website: http://chorale.stanford.edu/

1  The Lord is King, and hath put on glorious apparel *
 the Lord hath put on his apparel, and girded himself with strength.
2  He hath made the round world so sure *
 that it cannot be moved.
3  Ever since the world began hath thy seat been prepared *
 thou art from everlasting.
4  The floods are risen, O Lord, the floods have lift up their voice *
 the floods lift up their waves.
5  The waves of the sea are mighty, and rage horribly *
 but yet the Lord, who dwelleth on high, is mightier.
6  Thy testimonies, O Lord, are very sure *
 holiness becometh thine house for ever.

Psalm 93 (Greek numbering: Psalm 92) is the 93rd psalm in the biblicalBook of Psalms. One of the Royal Psalms, Psalm 93-99, praising God as the King of His people.

Uses - Judaism

• Is the psalm of the day for the Shir Shel Yom on Friday.^[1]
  
• Is recited during Kabbalat Shabbat.^[2]
• Is recited during Pesukei Dezimra on Shabbat, Yom Tov, and Hoshana Rabbah.^[3]
  
• Verse 1 is part of Mishnah Tamid 7:4.^[4] It is found in the MussafAmidah on Rosh Hashanah.^[5]
  

George Mursell Garrett (8 June 1834 – 8 April 1897^[1]) was an English organist and composer.

Garrett was born in Winchester where his father was master of the choristers at Winchester Cathedral. He later served as assistant to Samuel Sebastian Wesley at Winchester. Garrett was appointed the Director of Music at St. John's College, Cambridge in 1857 and held the position for forty years.^[2]

Garrett wrote music for the Anglican Church in the form of service settings and anthems. He is perhaps best represented today by his Anglican chant setting of Psalm 126.

He is buried in the Mill Road cemetery, Cambridge.

A textual insertion into the authorized liturgical texts. Tropes varied from a few words to lengthy sentences. Used with traditional plainchant, the extra words were matched to the notes of a long melisma (a series of notes assigned to one syllable of the text). For example, the setting for the Kyrie eleison at S 356 in The Hymnal 1982 Accompaniment Edition, Vol. 1, once included the trope cunctipotens Genitor Deus inserted after the word Kyrie. The practice of including tropes was popular in the ninth to thirteenth centuries.

Cunctipotens genitor Deus omnicreator eleison    
Salvificet pietas tua nos bone rector eleison    
Fons et origo bone pie luxque perhennis eleison    
Christe dei splendor virtus patrisque sophia eleison    
Plasmatis humanis factor lapsis reparator eleison    
Ne tua dampnatur Jhesu factura benigne eleison    
Amborum sacrum spiramen nexus amorque eleison    
Procedens fomes vite fons purificans vis eleison    
Indultor culpe venie largitor optime offensas dele sacro nos munere reple eleison    
Spirte alme eleison    

All-powerful Father, God, Creator of all things, have mercy
May thy compassion save us, good ruler, have mercy
Font and origin of goodness, Holy one, light everlasting, have mercy
Christ, the splendor of God, strength and wisdom of the Father, have mercy
Creator of humankind, healer of those who fall, have mercy
Lest thy creation be damned, kind Jesus, have mercy
The holy breath, the fusion and the love of both, have mercy
Advancing flame, source of life, purifying power, have mercy
Forgiver of sin, bestower of pardon, erase our offenses, replenish us, give us holy grace, have mercy
Most gracious Spirit, have mercy

Generally Kyries of the early medieval period contained long untexted portions. To compensate for this, Notker writes that he fitted Latin poetry to the untexted portions as a mnemotic device. Consequently, the Kyrie began to exist in two equally valid formats: the original Greek text and in a Latin prosula. In this case, prosula refers to the words added to the pre-existing chant. Such additions, known also as tropes were added to many chants, in both the Mass and the Office, that contained long melismatic passages. In the Mass this showed itself most clearly in the Kyrie and the Alleluia. Adding words, however, could become problematic, as tradition held that the words and music of the chants were given to the original composers by God himself. These added texts, nevertheless, served three purposes: to provide a memory aid for long melismas; to enhance and elaborate the liturgy; and (in a backhanded way) to create new liturgical texts. Tropes and Sequences (another form of medieval liturgical poetry) were severly restricted in the reforms of the 16th century Council of Trent: four Sequences were allowed to remain and all tropes were eliminated.

It is believed that a man named Tuotilo was responsible for writing this added text to Kyrie IV. Like Notker, Tuotilo was a monk at the monastery of St. Gall. Also like Notker, Tuotilo was a student of Iso annd Marcellus, unlike Notker, Tuotilo was also a sculptor and painter. Scholars believe that Notker and Tuotilo shared the work of composing prosulas; Notker was primarily responsible for adding text to the Alleluias and Tuotilo added text to other parts of the Mass. Ekkehard IV, who wrote a small biography of these early monks described Tuotilo's melodies as "strange and easily recognisable."  Of Tuotilo himself, he wrote:

"Tutilo was widely different. [from Notker] He was strong and supple in arm and limb, such a man as Fabius tells us to choose for an athlete; ready of speech, clear of voice, a delicate carver and painter; musical, with especial skill on the harp and the flute; for the Abbot gave him a cell wherein he taught the harp to the sons of noble families around. He was a crafty messenger, to run far or near; skilled in building and all the kindred arts; he had a natural gift of ready and forcible expression whether in German or in Latin, in earnest or in jest; so that the emperor Charles [the Fat] once said, "Devil take the fellow who made so gifted a man into a monk!" But with all this he had higher gifts: in choir he was mighty, and in secret prayer he had the gift of tears; a most excellent composer of poetry and melodies, yet chaste, as became the disciple of our Master Marcellus, who shut his eyes against women."

Tropes were a particular feature of the music and texts of the Sarum Use (the use of Salisbury, the standard liturgical use of England until the Reformation), although they occurred widely in the Latin church. Deus creator omnium, was widely used in the Sarum Use and is in the form of a 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 standard Latin-rite ninefold Kyrie is the backbone of this trope. Although the supplicatory format ('eleyson'/'have mercy') has been retained, the Kyrie in this troped format adopts a distinctly Trinitarian cast with a tercet address to the Holy Spirit which is not present in the standard Kyrie. Deus creator omnium is thus a fine example of the literary and doctrinal sophistication of some of the tropes used in the Latin rite and its derived uses in the mediæval period.

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)]

An old and venerable Ambrosian hymn from the 7th century for the close of day at Compline. This version is the one found in the Monastic Breviary and the Roman Breviary. The current version in the Liturgy of the Hours, which is given below, drops the second verse and replaces it with two other verses.

TE lucis ante terminum,
rerum Creator, poscimus
ut pro tua clementia
sis praesul et custodia.    

Procul recedant somnia
et noctium phantasmata;
hostemque nostrum comprime,
ne polluantur corpora.    

Praesta, Pater piissime,
Patrique compar Unice,
cum Spiritu Paraclito
regnans per omne saeculum.
Amen.    

To thee before the close of day,
Creator of the world, we pray
That, with thy wonted favor, thou
Wouldst be our guard and keeper now.

From all ill dreams defend our sight,
From fears and terrors of the night;
Withhold from us our ghostly foe,
That spot of sin we may not know.

O Father, that we ask be done,
Through Jesus Christ, thine only Son,
Who, with the Holy Ghost and thee,
Doth live and reign eternally. Amen.

This Compline Hymn setting for the Vigil of Christmas in the Sarum Rite makes use of the Sarum Plainchant also associated with Veni Creator Spiritus. Sheppard sets the second and fourth verses, the odd verses being sung as plainchant.

Salvator mundi Domine,
Qui nos salvasti hodie,
In hac nocte nos protege,
Et salva omni tempore.

Adesto nunc propitius,
Et parce supplicantibus;
Tu dele nostra crimina,
Tu tenebras illumina.

Ne mentem somnus opprimat,
Ne hostis nos surrepiat,
Nec ullis caro, petimus,
Commaculetur sordibus.

Te, reformator sensuum,
Votis precamur cordium,
Ut puri castis mentibus
Surgamus a cubilibus.

Deo Patri sit gloria,
Eiusque soli Filio,
Cum Spiritu Paraclito
Et nunc et in perpetuum.
Amen.


SAVIOUR of man, and Lord alone,
"Who through this day hast saved Thine own,
Protect us through the coming night,
And ever save us by Thy might.

Be with us, Lord, in mercy nigh,
And spare Thy servants when they cry;
Blot out our every past offence,
And lighten Thou our darkened sense.

0 let not sleep oppress the soul,
Nor Satan with his spirits foul;
Our flesh keep chaste, that it may be
An holy temple unto Thee.

To Thee, Who makest souls anew,
With heartfelt vows we humbly sue;
That pure in heart, and free from stain,
We from our beds may rise again.

All laud to God the Father be;
All praise, Eternal Son, to Thee;
All glory, as is ever meet,
To God the blessed Paraclete. Amen.

Corde natus ex parentis
Ante mundi exordium
A et O cognominatus,
ipse fons et clausula
Omnium quae sunt, fuerunt,
quaeque post futura sunt.
Saeculorum saeculis.
   
Ipse iussit et creata,
dixit ipse et facta sunt,
Terra, caelum, fossa ponti,
trina rerum machina,
Quaeque in his vigent sub alto
solis et lunae globo.
Saeculorum saeculis.

Corporis formam caduci,
membra morti obnoxia
Induit, ne gens periret
primoplasti ex germine,
Merserat quem lex profundo
noxialis tartaro.
Saeculorum saeculis.
   
O beatus ortus ille,
virgo cum puerpera
Edidit nostram salutem,
feta Sancto Spiritu,
Et puer redemptor orbis
os sacratum protulit.
Saeculorum saeculis.
   
Psallat altitudo caeli,
psallite omnes angeli,
Quidquid est virtutis usquam
psallat in laudem Dei,
Nulla linguarum silescat,
vox et omnis consonet.
Saeculorum saeculis.
   
Ecce, quem vates vetustis
concinebant saeculis,
Quem prophetarum fideles
paginae spoponderant,
Emicat promissus olim;
cuncta conlaudent eum.
Saeculorum saeculis.
   
Macte iudex mortuorum,
macte rex viventium,
Dexter in Parentis arce
qui cluis virtutibus,
Omnium venturus inde
iustus ultor criminum.
Saeculorum saeculis.
   
Te senes et te iuventus,
parvulorum te chorus,
Turba matrum, virginumque,
simplices puellulae,
Voce concordes pudicis
perstrepant concentibus.
Saeculorum saeculis.

Tibi, Christe, sit cum Patre
hagioque Pneumate
Hymnus, decus, laus perennis,
gratiarum actio,
Honor, virtus, victoria,
regnum aeternaliter.
Saeculorum saeculis.

Of the Father’s love begotten,
Ere the worlds began to be,
He is Alpha and Omega,
He the source, the ending He,
Of the things that are, that have been,
And that future years shall see,
Evermore and evermore!

At His Word the worlds were framèd;
He commanded; it was done:
Heaven and earth and depths of ocean
In their threefold order one;
All that grows beneath the shining
Of the moon and burning sun,
Evermore and evermore!

He is found in human fashion,
Death and sorrow here to know,
That the race of Adam’s children
Doomed by law to endless woe,
May not henceforth die and perish
In the dreadful gulf below,
Evermore and evermore!

O that birth forever blessèd,
When the virgin, full of grace,
By the Holy Ghost conceiving,
Bare the Saviour of our race;
And the Babe, the world’s Redeemer,
First revealed His sacred face,
evermore and evermore!

O ye heights of heaven adore Him;
Angel hosts, His praises sing;
Powers, dominions, bow before Him,
and extol our God and King!
Let no tongue on earth be silent,
Every voice in concert sing,
Evermore and evermore!

This is He Whom seers in old time
Chanted of with one accord;
Whom the voices of the prophets
Promised in their faithful word;
Now He shines, the long expected,
Let creation praise its Lord,
Evermore and evermore!

Righteous judge of souls departed,
Righteous King of them that live,
On the Father’s throne exalted
None in might with Thee may strive;
Who at last in vengeance coming
Sinners from Thy face shalt drive,
Evermore and evermore!

Thee let old men, thee let young men,
Thee let boys in chorus sing;
Matrons, virgins, little maidens,
With glad voices answering:
Let their guileless songs re-echo,
And the heart its music bring,
Evermore and evermore!

Christ, to Thee with God the Father,
And, O Holy Ghost, to Thee,
Hymn and chant with high thanksgiving,
And unwearied praises be:
Honour, glory, and dominion,
And eternal victory,
Evermore and evermore!

Of the Father's Heart Begotten alternatively known as Of the Father's Love Begotten is a Christmas carol based on the Latin poem Corde natus by the Roman poet Aurelius Prudentius, from his Liber Cathemerinon (hymn no. IX) beginning "Da puer plectrum," which includes the Latin stanzas listed below.^[1]

The ancient poem was translated and paired with a medieval plainchant melody Divinum mysterium. Divinum mysterium was a "Sanctus trope" - an ancient plainchant melody which over the years had been musically embellished.^[2] An early version of this chant appears in manuscript form as early as the 10th century, although without the melodic additions, and "trope" versions with various melodic differences appear in Italian, German, Gallacian, Bohemian and Spanish manuscripts dating from the 13th to 16th centuries.^[2]

Divinum mysterium first appears in print in 1582 in the Finnish song book Piae Cantiones, a collection of seventy-four sacred and secular church and school songs of medieval Europe compiled by Jaakko Suomalainen and published by Theodoric Petri.^[3] In this collection, Divinum mysterium was classified as "De Eucharistia" reflecting its original use for the Mass.^[4]

The text of the Divinum mysterium was substituted for Prudentius's poem when it was published by Thomas Helmore in 1851. In making this fusion, the original meter of the chant was disturbed, changing the original triple meter rhythm into a duple meter and therefore altering stresses and note lengths. A later version by Charles Winfred Douglas corrected this using an "equalist" method of transcription, although the hymn is now found in both versions as well as a more dance-like interpretation of the original melody.^[2

Compline (/ˈkɒmplɪn/ kom-plin; also Complin, Night Prayer, Prayers at the End of the Day) is the final church service (or Office) of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours. The English word Compline is derived from the Latin completorium, as Compline is the completion of the working day. The word was first used in this sense about the beginning of the 6th century by St. Benedict in his Rule (Regula Benedicti; hereafter, RB), in Chapters16, 17, 18, and 42, and he even uses the verb complere to signify Compline: "Omnes ergo in unum positi compleant" ("All having assembled in one place, let them say Compline"); "et exuentes a completorio" ("and, after going out from Compline...") (RB, Chap. 42).

Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran, and certain other Christian denominations with liturgical traditions prescribe Compline services. Compline tends to be a contemplative Office that emphasizes spiritual peace. In manymonasteries it is the custom to begin the "Great Silence" after Compline, during which the whole community, including guests, observes silence throughout the night until the morning service the next day.

Historical development

This section incorporates information from the Catholic Encyclopedia of 1917. References to psalms follow the numbering system of the Septuagint, as said in the Latin of the Vulgate.

The origin of Compline has given rise to considerable discussion among liturgists. In the past, general opinion (including Bäumer and Batiffol) ascribed the origin of this Hour to St. Benedict, in the beginning of the 6th century. But Jules Pargoire and, later still, A. Vandepitte oppose this opinion and seek a more ancient origin for this Hour.

A text in Callinicus (between 447 and 450), first introduced in Father Pargoire's argument, informs us that betweenVespers and the Night Office there was celebrated in the East a canonical Hour called in this text prothypnia, because it preceded the first sleep, being nothing other than what the Greeks today call apodeipnon, on account of the meal it follows (see Compline in Byzantine usage, below). However, in the thirty-seventh question of his Great Asketikon (Long Rules), St. Basil the Great, also, speaks of an intermediate Hour between Vespers and the nightly Office. Father Pargoire therefore disputes the assertion that St. Benedict was the originator of Compline, being rather disposed to trace its source to St. Basil.

In the article mentioned above, Father Vandepitte confirms these conclusions; nevertheless he states, in the clearest terms, that it was not in Cæsarea in 375, but in his retreat in Pontus (358-362), that Basil established Compline, which Hour did not exist prior to his time, that is, until shortly after the middle of the 4th century. Dom Plaine also traced the source of Compline back to the 4th century, finding mention of it in a passage in Eusebius and in another in St. Ambrose, and also in John Cassian. These passages have been critically examined, and Fathers Pargoire and Vandepitte have proved that before St. Basil's time the custom of reciting Compline was unknown.

At any rate, even if these texts do not express all that Dom Plaine says they do, at least they bear witness to the private custom of saying a prayer before retiring to rest. If this was not the canonical Hour of Compline, it was certainly a preliminary step towards it.

The same writers reject the opinion of Paulin Ladeuze and Dom Besse, both of whom believe that Compline had a place in the Rule of St. Pachomius, which would mean that it originated still earlier in the 4th century.

It might be possible to reconcile these different sentiments by stating that, if it be an established fact that St. Basil instituted and organized the Hour of Compline for the East, as St. Benedict did for the West, there existed as early as the days of St. Cyprian and Clement of Alexandria the custom of reciting a prayer before sleep, in which practice we find the most remote origin of our Compline.

Compline in the Roman Rite

Prior to Vatican II

It is generally thought that the Benedictine form of Compline is the earliest western order, although some scholars, such as Dom Plaine, have maintained that the Hour of Compline as found in the Roman Breviary at his time, antedated the Benedictine Office. These debates apart, Benedict's arrangement probably invested the Hour of Compline with the liturgical character and arrangement which were preserved in the Benedictine Order, and largely adopted by the Roman Church. The original form of the Benedictine Office, lacking even an antiphon for the psalms, is much simpler than its Roman counterpart, resembling more closely the Minor Hours of the day.

Saint Benedict first gave the Office the basic structure by which it has come to be celebrated in the West: threepsalms (4, 90, and 133) as noted above said without antiphons, the hymn, the lesson, the versicle Kyrie eleison, thebenediction, and the dismissal (RB, Chaps. 17 and 18).

The Roman Office of Compline came to be richer and more complex. To the simple Benedictine psalmody—modified, there is a fourth psalm, "In te Domine speravi" (Psalm 30)— and perhaps at a fairly late date it added the solemn introduction of a benediction with a reading (based perhaps on the spiritual reading which, in the Rule of St. Benedict, precedes Compline; RB, Chap. 42), and the confession and absolution of faults. This is absent from parallel forms, such as that of Sarum.

The distinctive character and greater solemnity of the Roman form of Compline comes from the response, In manus tuas, Domine ("Into Thy hands, O Lord ..."), with the evangelical canticle, Nunc Dimittis, and its anthem, which is particularly characteristic.^[1]

The Hour of Compline, such as it appeared in the Roman Breviary prior to the Second Vatican Council, may be divided into several parts, viz. the beginning or introduction, the psalmody, with its usual accompaniment ofantiphons, the hymn, the capitulum, the response, the evangelical canticle, the prayer, and the benediction.

By way of liturgical variety, the service of initium noctis may also be studied in the Celtic Liturgy, such as it is read in the Antiphonary of Bangor, its plan being set forth by Warren and by Bishop (see Bibliography, below).

Current usage

In the breviary of 1974 Roman Catholic Liturgy of the Hours, Compline is divided as follows: introduction, an optionalexamination of conscience or penitential rite, a hymn, psalmody with accompanying antiphons, scriptural reading, the responsory, the Canticle of Simeon, concluding prayer, and benediction. The final antiphon to the Blessed Virgin Mary (Salve Regina, etc.) is an essential part of the Office.^[2] Summorum Pontificum does allow Compline to be recited according to the older form.

Compline in Byzantine usage

Compline (Greek: Apodeipnon; Slavonic: Povecheriye; literally, "after-supper" prayer) in the Eastern Orthodox andGreek-Catholic Churches takes two distinct forms: Small Compline and Great Compline. The two versions are quite different in length.

At Compline (whether Small or Great), a Canon to the Theotokos in the Tone of the Week will normally be read (these Canons will be found in the Octoechos). Services to saints in the Menaion that, for one reason or another, cannot be celebrated on the day assigned to them, may be chanted on the nearest convenient day at Compline. In such cases, the Canon for the Saint would be read together with the Canon to the Theotokos, followed by theStichera to the saint from Vespers. There are also particular days (such as certain Forefeasts, Afterfeasts, and days during the Pentecostarion) that have special Canons for Compline composed for them.

The Office always ends with a mutual asking of forgiveness. In some traditions, most notably among the Russians, Evening Prayers (i.e., Prayers Before Sleep) will be read near the end of Compline. It is an ancient custom, practiced on the Holy Mountain and in other monasteries, for everyone present at the end of Compline to venerate the Relics and Icons in the church, and receive the priest's blessing.

Small Compline

Small Compline is served on most nights of the year (i.e., those nights on which Great Compline is not served). On the eves of Sundays and feasts with All-Night Vigil, Compline may be either read privately or suppressed altogether. Among the Greeks, who do not normally hold an All-Night Vigil on Saturday evenings, Compline is said as normal.

The service is composed of three Psalms (50, 69, 142), the Small Doxology, the Nicene Creed, the Canon followed by Axion Estin,^[3] the Trisagion, Troparia for the day, Kyrie eleison (40 times), the Prayer of the Hours, the Supplicatory Prayer of Paul the Monk, and the Prayer to Jesus Christ of Antiochus the Monk.^[4] Then the mutual forgiveness and final blessing by the Priest. After this, there is a Litany and the veneration of Icons and Relics.

Great Compline

Great Compline is a penitential office which is served on the following occasions:

• Tuesday and Thursday nights of Cheesefare Week (the week before Great Lent)
• Monday through Thursday nights of Great Lent ^[5]
• Friday nights of Great Lent ^[6]
• Monday and Tuesday of Holy Week
• Monday through Friday during the lesser Lenten seasons: Nativity Fast, Apostles' Fast and Dormition Fast ^[7]
• The Eves of certain Great Feasts, as a part of the All-Night Vigil:
  
  • Nativity
  • Theophany
  • Annunciation

Unlike Small Compline, Great Compline has portions of the service which are chanted by the Choir ^[8] and during Lent the Prayer of St. Ephraim is said with prostrations. During the First Week of Great Lent, the Great Canon ofSaint Andrew of Crete is divided into four portions and read on Monday through Thursday nights.

Due to the penitential nature of Great Compline, it is not uncommon for the priest to hear Confession during the service.

Great Compline is composed of three sections, each beginning with the call to prayer, "O come, let us worship...":

First Part

Psalms^[9] 4, 6, and 12; Glory..., etc.; Psalms 24, 30, 90; then the hymn "God is With Us" and troparia, the Creed, the hymn "O Most holy Lady Theotokos", the Trisagion and Troparia of the Day, Kyrie eleison (40 times), "More honorable than the cherubim..." and the Prayer of St. Basil the Great.

Second Part

Psalms 50, 101, and the Prayer of Manasses; the Trisagion, and Troparia of Repentance,^[10] Kyrie eleison (40 times), "More honorable than the cherubim..." and the Prayer of St. Mardarius.

Third Part

Psalms 69, 142, and the Small Doxology;^[11] then the Canon followed by Axion Estin, the Trisagion, the hymn "O Lord of Hosts, be with us...", Kyrie eleison (40 times), the Prayer of the Hours, "More honorable than the cherubim....", the Prayer of St. Ephraim, Trisagion, the Supplicatory Prayer of Paul the Monk, and the Prayer to Jesus Christ of Antiochus the Monk.^[4] Then the mutual forgiveness. Instead of the normal final blessing by the Priest, all prostrate themselves while the priest reads a special prayer intercessory prayer. Then the Litany and the veneration of Icons and Relics.

Anglican usage

In the Anglican tradition, Compline was originally merged with Vespers to form Evening Prayer in the Book of Common Prayer. ECUSA's Book of Offices of 1914, the Church of England's proposed Prayer Book of 1928, and the Anglican Church of Canada's Prayer Book of 1959 restored a form of Compline to Anglican worship. Several contemporary liturgical texts, including the American 1979 Book of Common Prayer, the Anglican Church of Canada's Book of Alternative Services, and the Church of England's Common Worship, provide modern forms of the service. The Common Worship service consists of the opening sentences, the confession of sins, the psalms and other Bible lessons, the canticle of Simeon, and prayers, including a benediction. There are authorised alternatives for the days of the week and the seasons of the Christian year. As a public service of worship, likeMorning Prayer and Evening Prayer, Compline may be led by a layperson.

Lutheran usage

Among Lutherans, Compline has re-emerged as an alternative to Vespers. The Office of Compline is included in the various Lutheran books of worship and prayer books [along with Matins/Morning Prayer and Vespers/Evening Prayer]. Quite similar to Anglican use, in some Lutheran Churches Compline may be conducted by a layperson.

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)]

Another old and venerable hymn for the close of day at Compline. This hymn has 8th century origins and is sometimes attributed to the Venerable Bede.

Christe qui lux es et dies,
Noctis tenebras detegis,
Lucisque lumen crederis,
Lumen beatum praedicans.

Precamur Sancte Domine,
Defende nos in hac nocte,
Sit nobis in te requies,
Quietam noctem tribue.

Ne gravis somnus irruat,
Nec hostis nos surripiat,
Nec caro illi consentiens,
Nos tibi reos statuat.

Oculi somnum capiant,
Cor ad te semper vigilet,
Dextera tua protegat
Famulos qui te diligunt.

Defensor noster aspice,
Insidiantes reprime,
Guberna tuos famulos,
Quos sanguine mercatus es.

Memento nostri Domine
In gravi isto corpore,
Qui es defensor animae,
Adesto nobis Domine.

Deo Patri sit gloria,
Eiusque soli Filio,
Cum Spiritu Paraclito,
Et nunc et in perpetuum. Amen.


O Christ, who art the Light and Day,
thou drivest darksome night away!
we know thee as the Light of light
illuminating mortal sight.

All holy Lord, we pray to thee,
keep us tonight from danger free;
grant us, dear Lord, in thee to rest,
so be our sleep in quiet blessed

And while the eyes soft slumber take,
still be the heart to thee awake,
be thy right hand upheld above
thy servants resting in thy love.

Yea, our Defender, be thou nigh,
to bid the powers of darkness fly;
keep us from sin, and guide for good
thy servants purchased by thy blood.

Remember us, dear Lord, we pray,
while in this mortal flesh we stay:
'tis thou who dost the soul defend
be present with us to the end.

Blest Three in One and One in Three,
almighty God, we pray to thee,
that thou wouldst now vouchsafe to bless
our fast with fruits of righteousness.

Servant of God, remember
The stream thy soul bedewing,
The grace that came upon thee
Anointing and renewing.

When kindly slumber calls thee,
Upon thy bed reclining,
Trace thou the cross of Jesus,
Thy heart and forehead signing.

The cross dissolves the darkness,
And drives away temptation;
It calms the wavering spirit
By quiet consecration.

Begone, begone, the terrors
Of vague and formless dreaming;
Begone, thou fell deceiver,
With all thy boasted scheming.

Begone, thou crooked serpent,
Who, twisting and pursuing,
By fraud and lie preparest
The simple soul’s undoing.

Tremble, for Christ is near us,
Depart, for here He dwelleth,
And this, the sign thou knowest,
Thy strong battalions quelleth.

Then while the weary body
Its rest in sleep is nearing,
The heart will muse in silence
On Christ and His appearing.

To God, eternal Father,
To Christ, our king, be glory,
And to the Holy Spirit,
In never ending story.

Ades Pater supreme. This is in a manuscript of the 6th century, in the Bibl. Nat. Paris (Lat, 8084, f. 18). Another translation of the cento Ades Pater is "Father, Most High, be with us." In the 1885 edition of Hymns Ancient & Modern, by the Compilers.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

Marcus Aurelius Clemens Prudentius, "The Christian Pindar" was born in northern Spain, a magistrate whose religious convictions came late in life. His subsequent sacred poems were literary and personal, not, like those of St. Ambrose, designed for singing. Selections from them soon entered the Mozarabic rite, however, and have since remained exquisite treasures of the Western churches. His Cathemerinon liber, Peristephanon, and Psychomachia were among the most widely read books of the Middle Ages. A concordance to his works was published by the Medieval Academy of America in 1932. There is a considerable literature on his works.

--The Hymnal 1940 Companion

"Fetch me a pen, lad. I mean to sing of the noble deeds of Jesus Christ, the theme of my heavenly Muse."

Born in Spain in the fourth century, Aurelius Prudentius Clemens held a position of considerable authority in the Roman imperial administration. He was thirteen when Julian, the last pagan emperor, came to the throne and attempted to suppress Christianity and restore paganism. And he watched, two years later, when Julian was succeeded by the co-emperors, Valentinian and Valens, both Christians whose courts included such men as Jerome, Ausonius, and Martin of Tours.

His lasting influence comes, however, from his work as a poet: a pioneer in the creation of a Christian literature, Prudentius is generally regarded as the greatest of the Christian Latin poets, and his legacy informed the work of future poets, among them George Herbert and John Donne. Prudentius wrote two collections of hymns: the Cathemerinon Liber and the Peristephanon. The former, a collection of twelve songs in English "The Daily Round" is translated here by David Slavitt. Essentially literary in nature, the hymns replaced mythology of the classical mode with stories from the Scriptures and enjoyed immense popularity and success for centuries in the liturgy of the church.

"Prudentius's Latin is decorative and his poetic stance is enormously appealing. I have tried to do the voice and suggest to others something of what I admire in it. If I read these poems as objets d'art, I have no objection to my Christian friends reading them another way, as devotions. Indeed, I cannot for the life of me guess which of us will be getting more out of them. The particular belief is perhaps not so much the crucial issue as the yearning for belieffor the faithful feel, in the momentary flaggings of their faith, a fervent longing most agnostics have experienced, whether they admit it or not."

JEsu, who brought'st redemption nigh,
Word of the Father, God most high:
O Light of Light, to man unknown,
And watchful Guardian of thine own.

Thy hand Creation made and guides;
Thy wisdom time from time divides:
By this world's cares and toils opprest,
O give our weary bodies rest.

That, while in frames of sin and pain
A little longer we remain,
Our flesh may here in such wise sleep,
That watch with Christ our souls may keep.

O free us, while we dwell below,
From insults of our ghostly foe,
That he may ne'er victorious be
O'er them that are redeem'd by thee.

We pray thee, King with glory deck'd,
In this our Paschal joy, protect
From all that death would fain effect,
Thy ransom'd flock, thine own elect.

To thee who, dead, again dost live,
All glory, Lord, thy people give:
All glory, as is ever meet,
To Father and to Paraclete. Amen.

JEsu, Redemption all divine,
Whom here we love, for whom we pine,
God, working out creation's plan,
And, in the latter time, made Man:

What love of thine was that, which led
To take our woes upon thy head,
And pangs and cruel death to bear,
To ransom us from death's despair!

To thee hell's gate gave ready way,
Demanding there his captive prey:
And now, in pomp and victor s pride,
Thou sittest at the Father's side.

Let very mercy force thee still
To spare us, conquering all our ill;
And, granting that we ask, on high
With thine own face to satisfy.

Be thou our Joy and thou our Guard;
Who art to be our great Reward:
Our glory and our boast in thee
For ever and for ever be.

All glory, Lord, to thee we pay,
Ascending o'er the stars to-day:
All glory, as is ever meet,
To Father and to Paraclete. Amen.

Jesu, nostra redemptio,
Amor et desiderium,
Deus creator omnium,
Homo in fine temporum.

Quae te vicit clementia,
Ut ferres nostra crimina,
Crudelem mortem patiens
Ut nos a morte tolleres!

Inferni claustra penetrans,
Tuos captivos redimens,
Victor triumpho nobili
Ad dextram Dei residens

Ipsa te cogat pietas
Ut mala nostra superes
Parcendo et voti compotes
Nos tuo vultu saties.

Tu esto nostrum gaudium,
Qui es futurus praemium,
Sit nostra in te gloria,
In sempiterna saecula.
   

Jesus, our redemption,
love and desire,
God, Creator of all things,
becomes man in the fullness of time.

What mercy made thee
bear our crimes,
to suffer a cruel death
that we might be saved from death!

Descending into Hell’s prison,
freeing thy captives,
Thy noble triumph won,
dwelling at the Father’s right hand.

Let pity compel thee
to overcome our evils,
granting pardon,
fulfil and satisfy us with thy face.

Be our joy,
who will be our future prize;
let all our glory be in Thee
forever, throughout all ages.

O Christ, our Hope, our heart’s Desire,
Redemption’s only Spring!
Creator of the world art Thou,
Its Savior and its King.

How vast the mercy and the love
Which laid our sins on Thee,
And led Thee to a cruel death,
To set Thy people free.

But now the bands of death are burst,
The ransom has been paid,
And Thou art on Thy Father’s throne,
In glorious robes arrayed.

O may Thy mighty love prevail
Our sinful souls to spare;
O may we come before Thy throne,
And find acceptance there!

O Christ, be Thou our lasting Joy,
Our ever great Reward!
Our only glory may be it be
To glory in the Lord.

All praise to Thee, ascended Lord;
All glory ever be
To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
Through all eternity.

La Capella Reial de Catalunya was created in Barcelona in 1987 by its conductor Jordi Savall as a group of soloist singers whose aim is to make the repertoire of Catalan historical music and, by extension, that of Spanish and other music widely known throughout the world. La Capella Reial de Catalunya often performs with Le Concert des Nations, a period instrument group also founded and conducted by Savall.

1. Exultet coelum laudibus
resultet terra gaudiis
apostolorum gloriam
sacra canunt solemnia.

2. Vos saecli justi judices
et vera mundi lumina
votis precamur cordium
audite preces supplicum.

3. Qui caelum verbo clauditis
serasque ejus solvitis
nos a peccatis omnibus
solvite jussu, quaesumus.

4. Quorum praecepto subditor
salus et languor omnium:
sanate aegros moribus
nos reddentes virtutibus.

5. Ut cum judex advenerit
Christus in fine saeculi
nos sempiterni gaudii
faciat esse compotes.

6. Deo Patri sit gloria
ejusque soli Filio,
cum Spiritu Paracleto,
et nunc et in perpetuum.

Additional verse
Summa sit ipsi gloria,
qui dat nos evangelicis
per vos doctrinis instrui
et prosequi caelestia.


1. Let the round world with songs rejoice;
Let Heaven return the joyful voice;
All mindful of th’Apostles’ fame,
Let Heav’n and earth their praise proclaim.

2. Ye servants who once bore the light
Of Gospel truth o’er heathen night,
Still may your work that light impart,
To glad our eyes and cheer our heart.

3. O God, by whom to them was giv’n
The key that shuts and opens Heav’n,
Our chains unbind, our loss repair,
And grant us grace to enter there.

4. For at Thy will they preached the Word
Which cured disease, which health conferred:
O may that healing power once more
Our souls to grace and health restore.

5.That when Thy Son again shall come,
And speak the world’s unerring doom,
He may with them pronounce us blest,
And place us in Thy endless rest.

6. To Thee, O Father; Son, to Thee;
To Thee, blest Spirit, glory be!
So was it ay for ages past,
So shall through endless ages last.

tr. Richard Mant (1776-1848)

Additional verse
The highest glory be to him,
who gives us the Gospel.
May we be taught by you
and follow you to heaven.

If you're interested in purchasing the CD, it is available at either Arkivmusic:
http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/D...

Or at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Vaughan-William...

The CD also includes other choral works by Vaughan Williams, and Mass by Judith Bingham.

Adoro te devote, latens Deitas,
Quæ sub his figuris vere latitas;
Tibi se cor meum totum subjicit,
Quia te contemplans totum deficit.

Visus, tactus, gustus in te fallitur,
Sed auditu solo tuto creditur.
Credo quidquid dixit Dei Filius;
Nil hoc verbo veritátis verius.

O memoriale mortis Domini!
Panis vivus, vitam præstans homini!
Præsta meæ menti de te vívere,
Et te illi semper dulce sapere.

Pie Pelicane, Jesu Domine,
Me immundum munda tuo sanguine:
Cujus una stilla salvum facere
Totum mundum quit ab omni scelere.

Jesu, quem velatum nunc aspicio,
Oro, fiat illud quod tam sitio:
Ut te revelata cernens facie,
Visu sim beátus tuæ gloriæ. Amen



    Prostrate I adore Thee, Deity unseen,
    Who Thy glory hidest 'neath these shadows mean;
    Lo, to Thee surrendered, my whole heart is bowed,
    Tranced as it beholds Thee, shrined within the cloud.

    Taste, and touch, and vision, to discern Thee fail;
    Faith, that comes by hearing, pierces through the veil.
    I believe whate'er the Son of God hath told;
    What the Truth hath spoken, that for truth I hold.

    On the Cross lay hidden but thy Deity,
    Here is hidden also Thy Humanity:
    But in both believing and confessing, Lord,
    Ask I what the dying thief of Thee implored.

    Thy dread wounds, like Thomas, though I cannot see,
    His be my confession, Lord and God, of Thee,
    Make my faith unfeigned ever-more increase,
    Give me hope unfading, love that cannot cease.

    O memorial wondrous of the Lord's own death;
    Living Bread, that giveth all Thy creatures breath,
    Grant my spirit ever by Thy life may live,
    To my taste Thy sweetness never-failing give.

    Pelican of mercy, Jesus, Lord and God,
    Cleanse me, wretched sinner, in Thy Precious Blood:
    Blood where one drop for human-kind outpoured
    Might from all transgression have the world restored.

    Jesus, whom now veiled, I by faith descry,
    What my soul doth thirst for, do not, Lord, deny,
    That thy face unveiled, I at last may see,
    With the blissful vision blest, my God, of Thee. Amen

Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and charity; and, that we may obtain what you promise, make us love what you command; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The prayer is among a series for use at Vespers in the Leonine sacramentary (no.598).  The Gelasian appoints it as the initial prayer of the eighth of the sixteen Sunday Masses (no. 1209), and the Gregorian supplement has it as the collect (no. 1168) for the fourteenth Sunday after (the) Pentecost (octave).  The Sarum missal and earlier Prayer Books associate it with the fourteenth Sunday after Trinity.  The message is clear and forthright:  only if we love what God commands can we render cheerful obedience, and for this we need the gifts of faith, hope, and charity.  The Latin form as "that we may deserve to obtain what you promise," but Cranmer eliminated any idea of merit from the collect.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.  Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Luke 6:20-31

Jesus looked up at his disciples and said:

"Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
"Blessed are you who are hungry now,
for you will be filled.
"Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
"Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.
"But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
"Woe to you who are full now,
for you will be hungry.
"Woe to you who are laughing now,
for you will mourn and weep.
"Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets
"But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you."

Die 1 novembris
Omnium SanctorumIntroitus: Ps. 32 Gaudeamus... Sanctorum omnium (3m09.8s - 2969 kb) score

Graduale: Ps. 33, 10. V. 11b Timete Dominum (2m33.1s - 2395 kb) score

Alleluia: Mt. 11, 28 Venite ad me (3m34.5s - 3355 kb) score

Offertorium: Sap. 3, 1.2.3 Iustorum animæ (2m25.8s - 2281 kb) score

Communio: Mt. 5, 8.9.10 Beati mundo corde (1m29.8s - 1408 kb) score

Mikołaj Zieleński (Zelenscius, birth and death dates unknown) was a Polishcomposer, organist and Kapellmeister to the primate Baranowski, Archbishop of Gniezno.

Zieleński's only known surviving works are two 1611 liturgical cycles of polychoral works, the Offertoria/Communes totius anni. These were dedicated to the Archbishop of Gniezno, Wojciech Baranowski. The whole comprises eight part-books and a ninth book, the Partitura pro organo, which constitutes the organ accompaniment. This publication contains in all 131 pieces written for various vocal and also vocal and instrumental ensembles, all with organ accompaniment.

The Venetian publication does not only comprise the offertories and communions; we find there also over a dozen other pieces, such as hymns, antiphons, a magnificat, and even three instrumental fantasias. In his compositions Zieleński relies on his own creative invention and does not, in general, make use of the cantus firmi. The few pieces which a pre-existent melody may be traced out are based not on a plainsong melody but on the melodies of Polish songs. The sets consist of large-scale double- and triple-choir antiphons, as well as some monodic works typical of the Seconda pratica style of early Monteverdi. Zieleński's music is the first known Polish music set in the style of the Baroque.

Blessed [are] the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed [are] they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

Blessed [are] the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed [are] they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Blessed [are] the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed [are] the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

Blessed [are] the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

Blessed [are] they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are ye, when [men] shall revile you, and persecute [you], and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

Matthew 5:3-11 KJB

Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

Solemnity celebrated on the first of November. It is instituted to honour all the saints, known and unknown, and, according to Urban IV, to supply any deficiencies in the faithful's celebration of saints'feasts during the year.

In the early days the Christians were accustomed to solemnize the anniversary of a martyr's death for Christ at the place of martyrdom. In the fourth century, neighbouring dioceses began to interchange feasts, to transfer relics, to divide them, and to join in a common feast; as is shown by the invitation of St. Basil of Caesarea (397) to the bishops of the province of Pontus. Frequently groups of martyrs suffered on the same day, which naturally led to a joint commemoration. In the persecution of Diocletian the number of martyrs became so great that a separate day could not be assigned to each. But the Church, feeling that every martyr should be venerated, appointed a common day for all. The first trace of this we find in Antioch on the Sunday after Pentecost. We also find mention of a common day in a sermon of St. Ephrem the Syrian (373), and in the 74th homily of St. John Chrysostom (407). At first only martyrs and St. John the Baptist were honoured by a special day. Other saints were added gradually, and increased in number when a regular process of canonization was established; still, as early as 411 there is in the Chaldean Calendar a "Commemoratio Confessorum" for the Friday after Easter. In the West Boniface IV, 13 May, 609, or 610, consecrated the Pantheon in Rome to the Blessed Virgin and all the martyrs, ordering an anniversary. Gregory III (731-741) consecrated a chapel in the Basilica of St. Peter to all the saints and fixed the anniversary for 1 November. A basilica of the Apostles already existed in Rome, and its dedication was annually remembered on 1 May. Gregory IV(827-844) extended the celebration on 1 November to the entire Church. The vigil seems to have been held as early as the feast itself. The octave was added by Sixtus IV (1471-84).

Ecclesiasticus 44:1-10,13-14

1 Let us now sing the praises of famous men,    
          our ancestors in their generations.
2 The Lord apportioned to them great glory,
          his majesty from the beginning.
3 There were those who ruled in their kingdoms,
          and made a name for themselves by their valour;
          those who gave counsel because they were intelligent;
          those who spoke in prophetic oracles;
4 those who led the people by their counsels
          and by their knowledge of the people’s lore;
          they were wise in their words of instruction;
5 those who composed musical tunes,
          or put verses in writing;
6 rich men endowed with resources,
          living peacefully in their homes—
7 all these were honoured in their generations,
          and were the pride of their times.
8 Some of them have left behind a name,
          so that others declare their praise.
9 But of others there is no memory;
          they have perished as though they had never existed;
          they have become as though they had never been born,
          they and their children after them.
10 But these also were godly men,
          whose righteous deeds have not been forgotten;
13 Their offspring will continue for ever,
          and their glory will never be blotted out.
14 Their bodies are buried in peace,
          but their name lives on generation after generation.

Gaudeamus omnes in Domino diem festum celebrantes
sub honore Sanctorum omnium:
de quorum solemnitate gaudent angeli, et collaudant Filium Dei.

Exsultate iusti in Domino: rectos decet collaudatio.
Gloria Patri...

Let us all rejoice in the Lord celebrating the feast
in honour of all the saints,
in which solemnity the angels rejoice, while the Archangels praise the Son of God.

Ring out your joy to the lord, O you just; for praise is fitting for loyal hearts.
Glory be to the Father ...

It should be pointed out, however, that the Introit "Gaudemus" - as ascertained already by Helmuth Ostoff - is also used for a large number of saints' days as well as for the feast of All Saints (November 1). The Introit sung in the Mass of Saint Agatha (February 5) is the oldest version. Its text is the same as that of Example 1, except that it has "Agathae martyres: de cujus passione" (Agatha martyr, at whose passion) instead of "Mariae virginis: de cujus assumptionae" (the Virgin Mary, for whose Assumption). From the eleventh century onwards, the antiphon appears in at least seven other Masses. In the Introit of All Saints the text passage quoted above reads "Sanctorum omnium de quorum solemnitate" (of all the Saints, at whose solemnity).

Although the Mass combines the techniques of cantus firmus and ostinato, it is generally the incipt of the Introit which, thematically, occupies the foreground.  In the Ms. Cambrai 18 the motif even appears several times with the word "gaudeamus" instead of the litugical text. The ostinato technique has its culmination in the final Angus dei, where, as Jeremy Noble remarks, "the memorable opening phrase of the introit it put through a vertiginous series of transpositions."  It has never been noticed that the arrangement of the total numbers of "Gaudeamus" statements in the five sections of the Mass is anything but proportional.  The motif occurs 6, 14, 2, 5+7, and 4+23 times respectively.  If we take into account that it appears more often in Agnus dei III, which is 58 bars long, than in the Kyrie and Gloria which together make up 220 bars, and that it appears only twice in the Credo which contains 274 bars, the conclusion seems inescapable that Josquin deliberately determined the various numbers of statements.  Evidence of the justness of this conclusion can be found by comparing the present Mass with Josquin's Missa Ave maris stella.  Both works are based on a Gregorian chant, the incipits of which are used in ever-changing melodic and rhythmic shapes.  Moreover, both present thd cantus prius factus in the tenor.  Contrary, however, to the irregular distribution of the "Gaudeamus" motifs in the various Mass sections and the individual voices, the employment of the "Ave maris stella" incipit is much more balanced.  Noble says:  "....one senses that in Ave maris stella the exuberance of Gaudeamus has begun to be tamed, even spiritualized."

The "Gaudeamus" motif in Josquin's Mass of the same name has more than a purely musical significance.  It functions, as I shall now attempt to show, as a sign which refers explicitly to the composer's profession of faith.  On the basis of the allegorical meaning of the numbers 6, 14, 2, 5, 7, 4 and 23 (see above), it can be said that the Mass in all probability was intended as an All Saints' Day liturgy and that the application of number symbolism may have been inspired by the Book of Revelation.

Requiem ( Op. 9):
I. Introit: Requiem aeternam 00:00
II. Kyrie 03:25
III. Domine Jesus Christe 06:57
IV. Sanctus 15:00
V. Pie Jesu 17:41
VI. Agnus Dei 22:00
VII. Lux Aeterna 25:39
VIII. Libera me 29:43
IX. In paradisum 35:10

Durufle, Maurice (1902-86) -composer
Cecilia Bartoli -mezzosoprano
Bryn Terfel -bass-baritone
Myung-Whun Chung -conductor
Coro e Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia

The Requiem, op. 9, by Maurice Duruflé was commissioned in 1947 by the French music publisher Durand and is written in memory of the composer's father. The work is for SATB choir with mezzo-soprano and baritone soloists. It exists in three orchestrations: one for organ alone, one for organ with string orchestra and optional trumpets, harp and timpani, and one for organ and full orchestra.

At the time of commission, Duruflé was working on an organ suite using themes from Gregorian chants. He incorporated his sketches for that work into the Requiem, which uses numerous themes from the Gregorian "Mass for the Dead." Nearly all the thematic material in the work comes from chant.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Requiem_...)

Buy the CD here: http://www.amazon.com/Faur%C3%A9-Duru..