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Views from the Choir Loft

Advent Music

Veronica Brandt · November 15, 2014

Annunciation HRISTMAS GIFT GUIDES ABOUND. Professional Santas are booked out. The Christmas carols have begun in the shops already, but at Mass we’re still waiting to start waiting.

This time of expecting is really magic because you have the time to pull out all your favourite music and make grand castles in the sky of all the wonderful music you will sing with all the wonderful people in your life.

Many hymnbooks start with Advent as it is the beginning of the Liturgical Year. My little New Book of Old Hymns kicks off with

  • Conditor alme siderum
  • Veni O Sapientia
  • Rorate Caeli

Conditor alme siderum

The first is a vespers hymn for Advent. It has one of the simplest melodies of all the hymns in the Liber Usualis. The 1962 Roman version starts Creator Alme Siderum. The older version is Conditor Alme Siderum from before the reforms of Pope Urban VIII.

The Story of Redemption for Children (available at musicasacra.com) uses this tune for two rhymes by Fr Abair, one for the Annunciation, the other the Trip to Bethlehem. The whole book is a great way to introduce basic chant standards, though the lyrics are a little uninspired. But it could form part of a plan to infiltrate families – getting children singing these melodies in order to introduce the real stuff further down the track.

My favourite translation is by Fr Edward Caswall, especially the verse:

Great judge of all in that last day
When friends shall fail and foes combine
Be present then with us, we pray
And guard us with thy arm divine.

I can’t remember why I didn’t use that translation in my hymnbook. It must have been an early decision from the first edition back in 2004. Maybe that’s something to consider updating for the fifth edition.

Veni O Sapientia

The second is best known as O Come, O Come Emmanuel. It is based on the O Antiphons – the antiphons for the Magnificat for the last seven days of Advent. The antiphons themselves are also easier than they look as there is a lot of similarity between them. I think Jonathan over at the Ictus explains this one best. He has the link to the NLM article on the origins of the two part tune as well as recordings to help practice the melody and the harmony.

Rorate Caeli

The third is a great one where you have a strong cantor (or three). The choir can learn the refrain and the congregation may join in after a few repeats.

The words can be translated as “Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down righteousness” which is particularly apposite at the moment for me here. The past few days have seen a bush fire burning 120 hectares about 15km east of where I sit.

I know a flower

The fourth, which isn’t in the book, and may actually be more a Christmas piece, is Es ist ein Ros entsprungen. It isn’t even Latin (though there is a Latin version called Flos de radice Jesse). It’s a German carol singing of Mary as the Rose who bore the Saviour. The usual English translation revises the text to make Jesus the Rose, which has truth to it too, but…

Now my German is awful, despite my surname and several great-great-grandparents from that area, so I was pleased to find an English version more faithful to the German written by George Radcliffe Woodward. Better still, this version was chosen by R R Terry for his book of Old Christmas Carols.

2. This plant, with blossom laden,
As spake Esay of yore,
Is Mary, spotless maiden,
For us this flow’ret bore;

By God’s eternal will,
A seemly Babe she childeth,
Yet maid remaineth still.

You can read the rest here.

So I typed it up and you can find it (and many other versions) up at the Choral Public Domain Library.

Typing it up I was surprised to find how much repetition there is in the music. It is really quite easy to learn and very beautiful to hear.

All the best with your Advent preparations!

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Veronica Brandt

Veronica Brandt holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering. She lives near Sydney, Australia, with her husband and six children.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Bugnini’s Statement (6 November 1966)
    With each passing day, more is revealed about how the enemies of the liturgy accomplished their goals. For instance, Hannibal Bugnini deeply resented the way Vatican II said Gregorian Chant “must be given first place in liturgical services.” On 6 November 1966, his cadre wrote a letter attempting to justify the elimination of Gregorian Chant with this brazen statement: “What really gives a Mass its tone is not so much the songs as it is the prayers and readings.” Bugnini’s cadre then attacked the very heart of Gregorian Chant (viz. the Proprium Missae), bemoaning how the Proprium Missae “is completely new each Sunday and feast day.” There is much more to be said about this topic. Stay tuned.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Luis Martínez Must Go!
    Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!
    A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

“Come now,” they said, “Thou who wouldst destroy the temple and build it up in three days, rescue Thyself; come down from that cross, if Thou art the Son of God.”

— Gospel of St. Matthew 27:42

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