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Views from the Choir Loft

HYMN • “Vexilla Regis” (SATB setting in English)

Jeff Ostrowski · March 27, 2020

ATHER Adrian Fortescue (d. 1923) called Vexilla Regis Prodeunt “perhaps the greatest of all hymns.” I must confess that I’m slightly taken aback by his praise, because—in a particular sense—this hymn is a bit of a hodgepodge. That is to say, the original version was an altered version of Bishop Fortunatus. (Father John Connelly provides the missing verses in his volume on the Breviary hymns.) Then, Pope Urban VIII made the situation even more confused, as you can see if you scroll down to the bottom of this page and read the excerpt from the Brébeuf hymnal, which contains annotations. Of course, it’s still a superb hymn, and the Brébeuf hymnal contains multiple musical settings and translations. If you have not read my February 6th article on this tune (“ALTONA”) I really hope you will:

*  Article • “What Makes A Good Hymn?”
—Published 6 February by Jeff Ostrowski.

I am proud of that article, and it includes many examples. I don’t want to repeat all that stuff here, because that would be confusing. Today (27 March 2020) there has been a new addition to the collection of “English Hymns with rehearsal videos for each individual voice”—which is posted towards the middle of the Brébeuf website:



* Access free rehearsal videos for each individual voice by clicking on #546.

Here are two pages from the Brébeuf hymnal which give a literal English translation:

The Brébeuf hymnal contains abundant settings of Vexilla Regis Prodeunt. Some people have assaulted the book for this reason—but we consider it to be a very important hymn for the Catholic Church.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Jean de Brebeuf Hymnal Last Updated: March 31, 2020

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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

    26 January 2023 • FEEDBACK
    “Jeff, I wanted to personally thank you for your spiritual witness at the Symposium & often blogs that you write too. Praying that prayer in the mornings My God, my Father and my all (by Cardinal Merry Del Val), mentioning saints’ stories of Brébeuf, Jogues, John Vianney, monks who fought in WWII, their hard work in spite of terrible conditions, their relentless zeal for the faith, their genuine love for the laypeople they served, etc. Overall though—more than anything concrete I can point to that you did or said—it was your demeanor at the Symposium. I could tell you really absolutely love and believe the Catholic Faith. You don’t get that everywhere, even in Church circles. And your humility is what then makes that shine even brighter. It is super inspiring! God is working through you probably way more than you know.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Symposium Draft Schedule Released!
    Those who head over to the Symposium Website will notice the tentative schedule for 2023 has been released. This is all very exciting! Very soon, we will begin accepting applications, so please make sure you have subscribed to our mailing list. If you are subscribed, that means you'll hear announcements before anyone else. (It’s incredibly easy to subscribe to our mailing list; just scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.)
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Good Friday Polyphony by L. Senfl
    The editor of the Sacred Music Magazine recently made available to the public this splendid article by our own Charles Weaver. It includes an edition of polyphony for the GOOD FRIDAY “Reproaches.” Renaissance composers often set the various offices of Holy Week; e.g. readers will probably be familiar with the beautiful TENEBRAE setting by Father Tomás Luis de Victoria (d. 1611). From what I can tell, Ludwig Senfl (d. 1543) was originally a Catholic priest, but eventually was seduced by Luther and ended up abandoning the sacred priesthood.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

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“In older times we referred to humans as the human race, but according to this foundation we are being classed with the animals on the farm, the cow, the horse, the mule […] According to this foundation, I have no right to be born, for I am the youngest of 16 children, and God bless my mother for every one of them!”

— Archbishop Schrembs (d. 1945) vs. a foundation promoting artificial contraception

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