O Salutaris Hostia

O Salutaris Hostia is one of the Eucharistic hymns composed by St. Thomas Aquinas. Another well known of his Eucharistic hymns is the Pange Lingua (which contains the Tantum Ergo).

O Salutaris Hostia is one of my favorite chants. There are many musical settings of it in addition to the Gregorian chant.  I recently learned an interesting fact about the hymn from a student here named Nathan who is majoring in Latin and Greek. He says the phrase da robur literally means "give me an oak" or "give me an oak tree." It's a Latin idiom which means "give me strength."

O salutaris Hostia,
Quae caeli pandis ostium:
Bella premunt hostilia,
Da robur, fer auxilium.

Uni trinoque Domino
Sit sempiterna gloria,
Qui vitam sine termino
Nobis donet in patria.

Here's a literal translation, which differs a bit from the verse translation one often sees.

O saving Victim
who openeth the gates of heaven
hostile wars press
give strength, bear aid.

To the one and threefold Lord
may there be everlasting glory
who life without end
may (he) grant to us in the Fatherland.

Here's a setting I really like, though the video quality is lacking, from a Solemn Mass in Notre Dame in Paris.

Buxtehude

Dieterich Buxtehude is one of the Baroque composers many people are not aware of. He lived in the early to middle Baroque era and was a master organist. J.S. Bach, when he was 20 years old, walked 250 miles to hear Buxtehude play. There is one piece by Buxtehude I really love. It's a passacaglia in d minor. It has a haunting and hypnotic line in the bass that repeats over and over throughout the piece. I would love to have this played at my funeral. Ha!

The first recording of this piece is on a 400 year old late Renaissance organ. The sound was recorded near the player, so unfortunately there is a bit of noise from the action of the organ. This would not be heard down in the pews.



The second recording, for purposes of comparison, is played on two harpsichords. This shows you how instrumentation can really change the feel of a piece of music!

Harpsichord!

I haven't posted any harpsichord videos lately, so tonight I have a little piece for you by the German Baroque composer J.S. Bach. It's a dance piece from the French Suites. The harpsichord is an original, too, meaning that it was built several hundred years ago and is not a modern copy.

Beautiful harpsichord

I usually post videos of Baroque music played on harpsichord. Here is a video of a modern improvisation played on a very beautiful German harpsichord.

Cristofori Piano

One thing I love so much about harpsichords as opposed to pianos is the harpsichord's light, delicate touch with a crisp, bright sound. The piano seems like a heavy beast in comparison. The harpsichord is like an olympic sprinter, while the piano is like an olympic weightlifter. Just watching someone playing the piano makes me hurt. They hit the keys so hard, and their whole bodies writhe. Harpsichord players don't need to use their back muscles to press down keys. Hell, they barely need to use their arm muscles. The harpsichord touch is so delicate that one only needs to use wrist and finger muscles. One time a piano player played my harpsichord, and after a few minutes several of the parts started coming loose because he was banging on the keys so hard. I've read that when J.S. Bach played the harpsichord his hand movements were so graceful, delicate, and fluid that observers could hardly tell that he was moving.

What does this have to do with the Cristofori piano? The piano was invented by a harpsichord maker named Bartolomeo Cristofori. Subsequently, the first pianos looked like harpsichords. They were light weight (no iron frames), and had a light, crisp touch like the harpsichord. I found a video of a man playing a piano after Cristofori and thought it was absolutely beautiful. Let me share it:

Poem of the Day: Dies Irae

Today is All Souls Day, the commemoration of all the souls departed. All Souls Day is the occasion of one of the Middle Ages' (and Western Civilization's) most famous poems, the Dies Irae. Subsequently it's also one of the most famous Gregorian chants. In the context of the All Souls Day Mass, it is sung as a sequence and comes in the Mass right before the Gospel. Here is a video with the text and music, and below that is the translation:



Day of wrath! O day of mourning!
See fulfilled the prophets' warning,
Heaven and earth in ashes burning!

Oh, what fear man's bosom rendeth,
when from heaven the Judge descendeth,
on whose sentence all dependeth.

Wondrous sound the trumpet flingeth;
through earth's sepulchers it ringeth;
all before the throne it bringeth.

Death is struck, and nature quaking,
all creation is awaking,
to its Judge an answer making.

Lo! the book, exactly worded,
wherein all hath been recorded:
thence shall judgment be awarded.

When the Judge his seat attaineth,
and each hidden deed arraigneth,
nothing unavenged remaineth.

What shall I, frail man, be pleading?
Who for me be interceding,
when the just are mercy needing?

King of Majesty tremendous,
who dost free salvation send us,
Fount of pity, then befriend us!

Think, good Jesus, my salvation
cost thy wondrous Incarnation;
leave me not to reprobation!

Faint and weary, thou hast sought me,
on the cross of suffering bought me.
shall such grace be vainly brought me?

Righteous Judge! for sin's pollution
grant thy gift of absolution,
ere the day of retribution.

Guilty, now I pour my moaning,
all my shame with anguish owning;
spare, O God, thy suppliant groaning!

Thou the sinful woman savedst;
thou the dying thief forgavest;
and to me a hope vouchsafest.

Worthless are my prayers and sighing,
yet, good Lord, in grace complying,
rescue me from fires undying!

With thy favored sheep O place me;
nor among the goats abase me;
but to thy right hand upraise me.

While the wicked are confounded,
doomed to flames of woe unbounded
call me with thy saints surrounded.

Low I kneel, with heart submission,
see, like ashes, my contrition;
help me in my last condition.

Ah! that day of tears and mourning!
From the dust of earth returning
man for judgment must prepare him;
Spare, O God, in mercy spare him!

Lord, all pitying, Jesus blest,
grant them thine eternal rest. Amen.

(This is a poetic translation. A literal one can be found here)