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Views from the Choir Loft

Where Did “Do-Re-Mi” Come From?

Jeff Ostrowski · June 7, 2019

84288 ut queant laxis HOSE WHO WILL attend Sacred Music Symposium 2019 can look forward to singing Solemn Vespers at night—and we have beautiful things planned! One of the hymns is for Saint John the Baptist—UT QUEANT LAXIS—and it shows us where “Do-Re-Mi” comes from. (Later on, “Ut” was changed to “Do,” perhaps as an exercise in vanity by Giovanni Battista Doni.) Here is the Editio Vaticana version from a wonderful Solesmes Abbey book published in 1957:

    * *  PDF • “Ut Queant Laxis” (Vaticana)

What about an organ accompaniment? If you carefully search the NOH collection, you will see that two different harmonizations are provided for this hymn: One in volume 7, another in volume 8. (It is slightly puzzling to understand why, but sometimes a particular melody seems to have “struck a chord”—pardon the pun—with the editors. When that happens, we encounter in the NOH various harmonizations for the same melody by different composers: Monsignor Jules Van Nuffel, Flor Peeters, Monsignor Jules Vyverman, Gustaaf Frans Nees, and so on.)

A concise and clear explanation vis-à-vis how we got solfège (DO-RE-MI-FA-SOL-LA-TI) is provided on page 1,229 of the 1957 publication mentioned earlier:

84286 Ut quéant laxis resonáre fibris


A literal translation of the Latin by Father Connelly:

1. Ut quéant laxis
resonáre fibris
Mira gestórum
fámuli tuórum,
Solve pollúti
lábii reátum,
Sancte Joánnes.

1. That thy servants
may be able to sing
the wonders of thy deeds
with loosened throats,
O holy John,
remove the guilt
of our polluted lips.

2. Núntius celso
véniens Olýmpo,
Te patri magnum
fore nascitúrum,
Nomen, et vitae
sériem geréndae
Órdine prómit.

2. A messenger coming
from high heaven
discloses in due order
to thy father that
thou wouldst be born great,
thy name, and the course of life
thou wouldst lead.

3. Ille promíssi
dúbius supérni,
Pérdidit promptae
módulos loquélae:
Sed reformásti
génitus perémptae
Órgana vocis.

3. Doubtful of the
heavenly promise,
he (Zachary) lost the power
of ready speech;
but thou, when born,
didst restore the organs
of the lost voice.

4. Ventris obstrúso
récubans cubíli
Sénseras Regem
thálamo manéntem:
Hinc parens nati
méritis utérque
Ábdita pandit.

4. While buried in the
hidden abode of the womb,
thou didst perceive
the King reposing in His chamber;
whereupon both parents,
by the merits of their son,
revealed hidden things.

5. Sit decus Patri,
genitaéque Proli,
Et tibi compar
utriúsque virtus,
Spíritus semper,
Deus unus, omni
Témporis aevo.
Amen.

5. O God, one
and likewise three,
may the heavenly citizens
extol Thee with praises:
and we suppliants
ask Thy pardon:
do Thou spare the redeemed.
Amen.

For myself, I prefer the melodic variant found in the 1903 Liber Usualis of Dom Mocquereau. The problem is, if your choir already knows the standard version, it will be annoying to introduce a different tune—but I really do like it better:

    * *  PDF Download • Melodic Variant (1903)

(Believe it or not, this accompaniment matches the 1903 version, not the Editio Vaticana.)

Did I mention I prefer the 1903 version? Sorry, just checking…

Veronica Brandt has created an Editio Vaticana version with a different literal English Translation underneath the notes:

    * *  PDF Download • Version by Veronica Brandt

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Ut Queant Laxis Last Updated: February 24, 2021

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Jeff Ostrowski

About Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Los Angeles.—(Read full biography).

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Quick Thoughts

Surprising Popularity!

One of our most popular downloads has proven to be the organ accompaniment to “The Monastery Hymnal” (131 pages). This book was compiled, arranged, and edited by Achille P. Bragers, who studied at the Lemmensinstituut (Belgium) about thirty years before that school produced the NOH. Bragers might be considered an example of Belgium “Stile Antico” whereas Flor Peeters and Jules Van Nuffel represented Belgium “Prima Pratica.” You can download the hymnal by Bragers at this link.

—Jeff Ostrowski
15 February 2021 • To Capitalize…?

In the Introit for the 6th Sunday after Pentecost, there is a question regarding whether to capitalize the word “christi.” The Vulgata does not, because Psalm 27 is not specifically referring to Our Lord, but rather to God’s “anointed one.” However, Missals tend to capitalize it, such as the official 1962 Missal and also a book from 1777 called Missel de Paris. Something tells me Monsignor Knox would not capitalize it.

—Jeff Ostrowski
15 February 2021 • “Sung vs. Spoken”

We have spoken quite a bit about “sung vs. spoken” antiphons. We have also noted that the texts of the Graduale Romanum sometimes don’t match the Missal texts (in the Extraordinary Form) because the Mass Propers are older than Saint Jerome’s Vulgate, and sometimes came from the ITALA versions of Sacred Scripture. On occasion, the Missal itself doesn’t match the Vulgate—cf. the Introit “Esto Mihi.” The Vulgate has: “Esto mihi in Deum protectórem et in domum refúgii…” but the Missal and Graduale Romanum use “Esto mihi in Deum protectórem et in locum refúgii…” The 1970s “spoken propers” use the traditional version, as you can see.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“If he converses with the learned and judicious, he delights in their talent—if with the ignorant and foolish, he enjoys their stupidity. He is not even offended by professional jesters. With a wonderful dexterity he accommodates himself to every disposition. As a rule, in talking with women (even with his own wife) he is full of jokes and banter.”

— ‘Erasmus on St. Thomas More (England’s 1st lay Chancellor)’

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