Alleluia, dulce carmen

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Alleluia, dulce carmen (Alleluia, song of gladness) is a medieval Latin hymn sung during the week before Septuagesima as a preparation for the dismissal of the "Alleluia" during Lent.

Contents

History

The earliest form of Alleluia, dulce carmen is found in manuscripts of the 11th century kept at the British Museum. [1]

It was traditionally sung in Gallican liturgies, such as the rite of Lyon, or English liturgies, such as the use of Sarum, in "clausula Alleluia", as a farewell to the Alleluia in the week before the Sunday of Septuagesima , until the first Vespers. [2]

Translations in English language of the Alleluia, dulce carmen include Alleluia! best and sweetest by John Chandler, written in 1837; [3] Alleluia! song of gladness by John Mason Neale, [4] written in 1851; and many more in the second half of the 19th century with close resemblance. [1]

Melody

While the original medieval manuscripts do not give a specific written melody, English translations of the 19th century relied on the transcriptions from the Gregorian repertoire of François de La Feillée, an 18th-century priest attached to the cathedral at Chartres who had promoted and gathered neo-Gallican chant outside of the strictly Roman liturgy. [5]

Various melodies are currently in use. Hymn tunes include Dulce Carmen by Michael Haydn, Alleluia, Dulce Carmen by Edward J. Hopkins, and Lauda Anima (Praise, My Soul) by John Goss. [4] Plainsong chants include Urbs Beata Jerusalem and Tibi Christus Splendor Patris. [4]

Lyrics

Alleluia, dulce carmen expresses mixed feelings of joy and bitterness. The setting, which refers to the Babylonian captivity [6] with elements linked to Psalm 134 and Psalm 135, is also the main theme of pre-Lenten celebrations in Eastern Orthodoxy Sundays of the Triodion. It is in contrast with the hymn Alleluia perenne used in the Mozarabic rite in the same liturgical context but which establishes the perpetuity of the alleluia in heaven, underscoring the hope of its gladsome return, and the security that there the Church never ceases to sing "Alleluia" throughout the year. [7]

Here is the lyric translation by Anglican cleric John Mason Neale, composed in 1851:

Related Research Articles

Plainsong or plainchant is a body of chants used in the liturgies of the Western Church. When referring to the term plainsong, it is those sacred pieces that are composed in Latin text. Plainsong was the exclusive form of Christian church music until the ninth century, and the introduction of polyphony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gregorian chant</span> Form of song

Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed mainly in western and central Europe during the 9th and 10th centuries, with later additions and redactions. Although popular legend credits Pope Gregory I with inventing Gregorian chant, scholars believe that it arose from a later Carolingian synthesis of the Old Roman chant and Gallican chant.

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Vespers is a liturgy of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Lutheran liturgies. The word for this prayer time comes from the Latin vesper, meaning "evening".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Septuagesima</span> Third Sunday before Ash Wednesday

Septuagesima is the ninth Sunday before Easter, the third before Ash Wednesday. The term is sometimes applied to the seventy days starting on Septuagesima Sunday and ending on the Saturday after Easter. Alternatively, the term is sometimes applied also to the period sometimes called pre-Lent that begins on this day and ends on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, when Lent begins.

Alleluia is a phrase in Christianity used to give praise to God. In Christian worship, Alleluia is used as a liturgical chant in which that word is combined with verses of scripture, usually from the Psalms. This chant is commonly used before the proclamation of the Gospel. In Western Christianity, congregations commonly cease using the word Alleluia during the period of Lent but restore it into their services at Easter. The form of praise "Alleluia" is used by Christians to thank and glorify God; it finds itself present in many prayers and hymns, especially those related to Eastertide, such as "Christ the Lord is Risen Today".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pre-Lent</span> Start of the preparation time for Easter

Pre-Lent begins the Christian time of preparation for Easter, in the three weeks before Lent. This period launches a campaign of catechesis, reflected in the liturgical readings. Its best-known feature is its concluding three-day festival, Carnival or Shrovetide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Mason Neale</span> Anglican priest and hymnwriter (1818–1866)

John Mason Neale was an English Anglican priest, scholar, and hymnwriter. He worked on and wrote on a wide range of holy Christian texts, including obscure medieval hymns, both Western and Eastern. Among his most famous hymns is the 1853 Good King Wenceslas, set on Boxing Day. An Anglo-Catholic, Neale's works have found positive reception in high-church Anglicanism and Western Rite Orthodoxy.

Ambrosian chant is the liturgical plainchant repertory of the Ambrosian rite of the Roman Catholic Church, related to but distinct from Gregorian chant. It is primarily associated with the Archdiocese of Milan, and named after St. Ambrose much as Gregorian chant is named after Gregory the Great. It is the only surviving plainchant tradition besides the Gregorian to maintain the official sanction of the Roman Catholic Church.

Mozarabic chant is the liturgical plainchant repertory of the Visigothic/Mozarabic rite of the Catholic Church, related to the Gregorian chant. It is primarily associated with Hispania under Visigothic rule and later with the Mozarabs and was replaced by the chant of the Roman rite following the Christian Reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula. Although its original medieval form is largely lost, a few chants have survived with readable musical notation, and the chanted rite was later revived in altered form and continues to be used in a few isolated locations in Spain, primarily in Toledo.

Old Roman chant is the liturgical plainchant repertory of the Roman rite of the early Christian Church. It was formerly performed in Rome, and, although it is closely related to Gregorian chant, the two are distinct. Unlike other chant traditions, Old Roman chant and Gregorian chant share essentially the same liturgy and the same texts. Many of their melodies are also closely related. Although primarily associated with the churches of Rome, the Old Roman chant was also performed in parts of central Italy, and it was possibly performed much more widely. Gregorian Chant gradually but completely supplanted Old Roman Chant between the 11th century and the 13th century AD.

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References

  1. 1 2 Julian, John (1892). A Dictionary of Hymnology: Setting Forth the Origin and History of Christian Hymns of All Ages and Nations, with Special Reference to Those Contained in the Hymn Books of English-speaking Countries, and Now in Common Use, Together with Biographical and Critical Notices of Their Authors and Translators, and Historical Articles on National and Denominational Hymnody, Breviaries, Missals, Primers, Psalters, Sequences. C. Scribner's Sons. p. 48.
  2. Headlam, Arthur Cayley (1884). The Church Quarterly Review. Spottiswoode. p. 241.
  3. "Alleluia, best and sweetest". Hymnary.
  4. 1 2 3 "Alleluia, song of gladness". Hymnary.
  5. Helmore, Thomas (1852). Accompanying Harmonies to the Hymnal Noted. J.A. Novello. p. 235.
  6. Langbroek, Erika; Roeleveld, Annelies; Quak, Arend; Vermeyden, Paula (2005). Amsterdamer Beiträge Zur Älteren Germanistik, Band 60 (2005) (in German). Rodopi. p. 78. ISBN   978-90-420-1697-2.
  7. Neale, J.M. (1863). Mediæval hymns and sequences.

Bibliography