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Views from the Choir Loft

The Christmas Sequence: Laetabundus

Daniel Tucker · December 21, 2022

THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE AGES, the musical tradition of the Church accumulated hundreds of Sequences, Latin hymns that were chanted just before the Gospel reading and were proper to the particular liturgical day or season. With the liturgical reforms of Pope Pius V in 1570, though, the Church’s collection of Sequences in the Roman rite was reduced to just four:
1) Victimae paschale laudes (11th c.) at Easter
2) Veni Sancte Spiritus (12th c.) at Pentecost
3) Lauda Sion Salvatorem (c. 1264) at Corpus Christi
4) Dies Irae (13th c.) for All Souls Day and Masses for the Dead 1

In 1727, the number of Sequences in the Roman rite was expanded to five with the restoration of the Stabat Mater dolorosa (13th c.) for the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows.

One may wonder why the Feast of the Nativity of the Lord was left off of Pope Pius V’s list, given that major feasts of similar status, such as Easter and Pentecost, had their Sequences included. There is, in fact, a Sequence for Christmas which, although left out of the Roman rite, has been preserved in the Dominican rite. This Sequence, called Laetabundus (Joy abounding…), is sung by the Dominicans at Christmas, Epiphany, and Candlemas.

Dominican friars Fr. Stefan Ansinger, OP and Fr. Alexandre Frezzato, OP have produced this lovely recording of the Sequence as part of their work for the YouTube channel OPChant:

The English translation reads:

Let the choir of all the faithful exult in their joy. Alleluia.
The Virgin’s womb hath given us the King of Kings! O wonderful mystery!
The Angel of the great Counsel is born of the Virgin, the Sun is born of a Star!
The Sun knows no setting; the Star is ever shining, ever bright.
As a star gives forth its ray, so does the Virgin her Child.
The star loses naught of its purity by the ray it yields, so neither does the Virgin by her Child.
The lofty cedar of Libanus comes down into our valley, making itself little as the hyssop.
He that is the Word of the Most High God deigns to take a body unto himself; he assumes our flesh.
Isaias had foretold all this; and the Jews, though they knew the prophecy by heart, see not its accomplishment in this mystery.
If they will not believe their Prophets, let them believe the Sybils, who thus sang:
‘Unhappy people, delay not, believe, at least, the ancient oracles! Why wilt thou be cast off, O chosen nation?
This is the Child of whom thy books tell thee: he is the Son of a Virgin-Mother.’ Alleluia.

As Advent draws to a close, let us mark well and with joyful expectation the coming of “the Son of a Virgin-Mother,” and with her let us long for him “with love beyond all telling”! 2

Auguste Le Guennant (d. 1972) published an organ accompaniment for the “Lætabundus” sequence. It can be downloaded in the Saint Jean de Lalande online library.

NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1  Four hundred years later, the liturgical reforms of Pope Paul VI in 1970 removed the Dies Irae from the Requiem Mass and transferred it to the Liturgy of the Hours for the 34th Sunday in Ordinary Time. 

2  From the Preface from December 17 until Christmas Eve.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Sequence for Christmas Last Updated: February 11, 2023

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About Daniel Tucker

Daniel Tucker is choirmaster at the Cathedral of St. Matthew in South Bend, IN. He holds degrees from Western Michigan University and Yale University. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. However, on the feasts website, the chants have been posted for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C), which is this coming Sunday: 6 July 2025.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    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

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

Thus the priest-celebrant, putting on the person of Christ, alone offers sacrifice, and not the people, nor clerics, nor even priests who reverently assist. All, however, can and should take an active part in the Sacrifice. “The Christian people, though participating in the Eucharistic Sacrifice, do not thereby possess a priestly power,” We stated in the Encyclical Mediator Dei (AAS, vol 39, 1947, p. 553).

— Pope Pius XII (2 November 1954)

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  • Now Available! • “Hymns of Cardinal Newman: Kevin Allen’s Legendary Choral Settings”
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