• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

  • Donate
  • Our Team
    • Our Editorial Policy
    • Who We Are
    • How To Contact Us
    • Sainte Marie Bulletin Articles
    • Jeff’s Mom Joins Fundraiser
  • Pew Resources
    • Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal
    • Jogues Illuminated Missal
    • KYRIALE • Saint Antoine Daniel
    • Campion Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Repository • “Spanish Music”
    • Ordinary Form Feasts (Sainte-Marie)
  • MUSICAL WEBSITES
    • René Goupil Gregorian Chant
    • Noël Chabanel Psalms
    • Nova Organi Harmonia (2,279 pages)
    • Roman Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Catechism of Gregorian Rhythm
    • Father Enemond Massé Manuscripts
    • Lalemant Polyphonic
  • Miscellaneous
    • Site Map
    • Secrets of the Conscientious Choirmaster
    • “Wedding March” for lazy organists
    • Emporium Kevin Allen
    • Saint Jean de Lalande Library
    • Sacred Music Symposium 2023
    • The Eight Gregorian Modes
    • Gradual by Pothier’s Protégé
    • Seven (7) Considerations
Views from the Choir Loft

PDF Download • “O Sacred Head Surrounded” … placed into Gregorian Chant!

Jeff Ostrowski · February 17, 2021

HE GREAT Fulton J. Sheen gave excellent advice to teachers: “tear up your notes at the end of each semester.” That is: never stop learning. When I served as a member of the committee producing the Brébeuf hymnal, we learned something incredible: nobody has ever taken the trouble to name the Gregorian hymn melodies! (Somebody should write a dissertation addressing this problem.) We have spoken quite a bit about a certain ancient hymn which has no name. It could legitimately be called:

(1) Jam Christus Astra Ascenderat;
(2) Aurora Lucis Rutilat;
(3) Ad Coenam Agni Providi;
(4) Lucis Creator Optime;
(5) Vexilla Regis Inclyta;
(6) Te Lucis Ante Terminum;
(7) Te Saeculorum Principem;
(8) Sermone Blando Angelus;

…And so forth 1 and so on.

Whatever you call it, the melody for this Lenten hymn is quite ancient:

*  PDF Download • ORGAN ACCOMPANIMENT
—This organ accompaniment was written by Jeff Ostrowski.

*  PDF Download • SINGER’S SCORE
—“Jam Christe Sol Justitiæ” (changed in 1631AD to “O Sol Salutis Intimis”).

O Sacred Head Surrounded

So “Jam Christe Sol Justitiæ” is an ancient Catholic hymn, and (above) it has been set to an ancient Catholic hymn melody which has no name. However, “O Sacred Head Surrounded”—O Caput Cruentatum—is a much more recent Catholic hymn. The history is rather complicated, so if you’re interested please consult the Brébeuf hymnal. The melody was originally a secular Waltz tune in 3/4 until it was adopted for Christian services. A Benedictine monk named Father Beatus Reiser published a plainsong arrangement in his 1940 publication: Laudes festivae: Lectionarium et Cantarium pro diversitate temporum et festorum. We will be singing this during Lent without accompaniment:

*  PDF Download • O SACRED HEAD SURROUNDED (Latin)
—Edition: Father Beatus Reiser, Benedictine College of Sant’Anselmo (Rome).

*  Mp3 Download • * Live Recording
—Recorded live at Saint Vitus Church (FSSP) in Los Angeles.

*  Mp3 Download • Version with Females
—Recorded live at Saint Vitus Church (FSSP) in Los Angeles.

1. O Caput cruentátum, Spinárum ácie
Conspútum, verberátum, Orbátum spécie:
Fac meam serta spissa Cervícem quátiant,
Ut húmiles de missa Jam sensus nútriant.

2. O caro trita nodis Immánis mílitis:
Ignára licet fraudis Pungéndi fómitis:
Fac mea, labe tersa, Quæ sordent fúgiat,
Ac sánguine conspérsa Quæ nitent sápiat.

3. O pulchræ clavis palmæ Præfíxæ stípiti,
Dispensatríces almæ Amóris ínclyti:
Confígite me cruci Ut mihi móriar
Et mundo vivens luci Supérna lárgiar.

4. O Pedes perforáti Furóre nímio,
Per vias fatigáti In pacis núntio,
Fons scatens nostros pedes Ad opus fóveat,
Labórum tot hærédes Nos zelus úrgeat.

5. O cor transverberátum Longíni cúspide,
Quin flammæ conquassátum Ardóre válidæ,
In te da penetráre Cor meum pénitus
Tuósque respiráre Per sacros hálitus.

Father Beatus Reiser famously wrote to Pope Pius XI asking about instruments in Church, and he got an answer from the pontiff.

If you desire more Lenten hymns, please check out my 2018 article:

*  2018 • Rare Lenten Hymns You’ve Not Sung


NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   The special booklet given to the participants of the 2019 Sacred Music Symposium contained many pages explaining all those different hymn tune names, plus many more!

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

Follow the Discussion on Facebook

Filed Under: Articles, PDF Download Tagged With: Ad Coenam Agni Providi, Aurora Lucis Rutilat, Jam Christe Sol Justitiae, Jam Christus Astra Ascenderat, Lucis Creator Optime, O Sol Salutis Intimis, Sacred Head Surrounded, Salve caput cruentatum, Te Lucis Ante Terminum, Te Saeculorum Principem, Vexilla Regis Inclyta Last Updated: June 6, 2021

Subscribe

It greatly helps us if you subscribe to our mailing list!

* indicates required

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 Michigan. —(Read full biography).

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “Music List” • 19th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time (10 August 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    This Sunday’s Communion Antiphon
    This coming Sunday—10 August 2025—is the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). The COMMUNION ANTIPHON is really gorgeous, and two of its features are worth mentioning. First of all, the Gospel reading assigned is from Saint Luke, whereas the the antiphon—although it matches the account—comes from Saint Matthew. (If anyone can point to a similar example, please notify me.) Furthermore, if you look at the authentic Gregorian Chant version posted on the feasts website, you’ll notice that it’s MODE III but ends on the ‘wrong’ note. A comparable instance of such a ‘transposed’ chant would be KYRIE IV.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Using “Ye” Vs. “You” Correctly
    Using “Ye” vs. “You” is rather tricky, because it depends upon which era one is trying to recreate—if that makes any sense. In other words, the rules haven’t always been the same for these two. Nevertheless, Father Philip George Caraman (the legendary Jesuit scholar) gives us a masterclass using Saint Luke’s Gospel. Father Caraman was close friends with Monsignor Ronald Knox, Evelyn Waugh, and Sir Alec Guinness.
    —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

“In the 17th century came the crushing blow which destroyed the beauty of all Breviary hymns. Pope Urban VIII (d. 1644) was a Humanist. In a fatal moment he saw that the hymns do not all conform to the rules of classical prosody.”

— Fr. Adrian Fortescue (d. 1923)

Recent Posts

  • Is this what the new “Youth Mass” looks like?
  • “Music List” • 19th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • This Sunday’s Communion Antiphon
  • Using “Ye” Vs. “You” Correctly
  • Installment #3 • “Serious Problems with the Lectionary Translation”

Subscribe

Subscribe

* indicates required

Copyright © 2025 Corpus Christi Watershed · Isaac Jogues on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.