The Hymnus Eucharisticus is a traditional hymn sung by the choir of boy choristers and academical clerks of Magdalen College, Oxford in England, supported by professional stipendary clerks. The choristers are boys from Magdalen College School and the academical clerks are students from Magdalen College at the University. The hymn is best known for its role in the events of May Morning, a 500-year-old tradition[citation needed] where the choir sings the hymn from Magdalen Tower at 6 a.m. each year on 1 May. This initiates the annual May Morning celebrations in Oxford. Large crowds gather in the High Street and on Magdalen Bridge to listen. The sound is very faint, although more recently amplification has been used. The crowds then disperse for other celebratory activities such as Morris Dancing. The hymn is also sung from the gallery of the college's Great Hall (the dining room) during important college occasions.
The music was composed by Benjamin Rogers, "Doctor of Musique of the University of Oxon, 1685", and is entered on a folio bearing the date 1673, indicating that it may have been written prior to that date. The lyrics were alleged to have been written by Nathaniel Ingelo, to be sung "at the civic feast at Guildhall on the 5th July, 1660, while the king and the other royal personages were at dinner"; however, the words of Ingelo's hymn differ significantly.[1]
Magdalen College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It has the highest total assets of any Oxford college, with £977 million as of 2022, and is one of the strongest academically, setting the record for the highest Norrington Score in 2010 and topping the table twice since then. It is home to several of the university's distinguished chairs, including the Agnelli-Serena Professorship, the Sherardian Professorship, and the four Waynflete Professorships.
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College was one of the first colleges in the university to admit and tutor undergraduate students.
Nine Lessons and Carols, also known as the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols and Service of Nine Lessons and Carols, is a service of Christian worship traditionally celebrated on or near Christmas Eve. The story of the fall of humanity, the promise of the Messiah, and the birth of Jesus is told in nine short Bible readings or lessons from Genesis, the prophetic books and the Gospels, interspersed with the singing of Christmas carols, hymns and choir anthems.
Sir John Stainer was an English composer and organist whose music, though seldom performed today, was very popular during his lifetime. His work as choir trainer and organist set standards for Anglican church music that are still influential. He was also active as an academic, becoming Heather Professor of Music at Oxford.
John Sheppard was an English composer of the Renaissance.
Anglican church music is music that is written for Christian worship in Anglican religious services, forming part of the liturgy. It mostly consists of pieces written to be sung by a church choir, which may sing a cappella or accompanied by an organ.
Magdalen College School (MCS) is a public school in Oxford, England, for boys aged seven to eighteen and for girls in the sixth form. It was founded by William Waynflete about 1480 as part of Magdalen College, Oxford.
Bernard William George Rose, OBE, Doctor in Music, Fellow of the Royal College of Organists, was a British organist, soldier, composer, and academic.
A lay clerk, also known as a lay vicar, song man or a vicar choral, is a professional adult singer in an Anglican cathedral and often Roman Catholic Cathedrals in the UK, or (occasionally) collegiate choir in Britain and Ireland. The vicars choral were substitutes for the canons. They are not in holy orders; the term "vicar" is derived from the Latin adjective vicarius ("substituted") and in this context simply means a deputy. The majority of lay clerks are male; however, female altos are nowadays becoming increasingly common.
May Morning is an annual event in Oxford, United Kingdom, on May Day.
The Choir of King's College, Cambridge is an English Anglican choir. It is considered one of today's most accomplished and renowned representatives of the great English choral tradition. It was created by King Henry VI, who founded King's College, Cambridge, in 1441, to provide daily singing in his Chapel, which remains the main task of the choir to this day.
Magdalen Tower, completed in 1509, is a bell tower that forms part of Magdalen College, Oxford. It is a central focus for the celebrations in Oxford on May Morning.
Christ Church Cathedral is the cathedral of the Anglican diocese of Oxford, which consists of the counties of Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire. It is also the chapel of Christ Church, a college of the University of Oxford. This dual role as cathedral and college chapel is unique in the Church of England. This gives the Dean of Christ Church a distinctive role as both head of Christ Church, Oxford as well as having the ecclesiastical function of an Anglican Dean.
The Choir of St John's College, Cambridge is considered to be one of the finest collegiate choirs in the world. It is part of the English cathedral tradition, having been founded to sing the daily liturgy in the College Chapel, though it is set apart from other English choirs of this tradition by the frequent inclusion of Continental works in its repertoire and its emphasis on polyphonic interpretations. Alongside the choir of King's College, Cambridge, it is one of the two most famous collegiate choirs in Cambridge, having had over 90 recordings published.
The Choir of Leeds Minster is the choir of Leeds Minster, Leeds, England, which became a Minster in September 2012. The choir was founded by vicar, Richard Fawcett probably as early as 1815, and was certainly in existence by 1818. The church's choir - boys and men - was, from its origins, a charge on the church rate; and, in what was then a largely non-conformist town, a none-too-popular one. By the 1830s, the choir's resourcing had been taken over by a list of voluntary subscribers. On arrival as Vicar of Leeds in 1837, Walter Farquhar Hook said he found "the surplices in rags and the books in tatters". Additional to its extensive commitment in the provision of choral services, the choir is known to a wide public through many recitals, recordings and broadcasts and by its regular choir tours - the first tour was held in July 1968 and the 40th anniversary tour, from 22 to 27 July 2008, included singing in Ely Cathedral, King's College, Cambridge, the National Musicians' Church St Sepulchre-without-Newgate in the City of London, All Saints Pastoral Centre London Colney and the Chapel of the Royal Hospital Chelsea.
John Rouse Bloxam (1807–1891) was an English academic and clergyman, the historian of Magdalen College, Oxford.
Evensong is a church service traditionally held near sunset focused on singing psalms and other biblical canticles. It is loosely based on the canonical hours of vespers and compline. Old English speakers translated the Latin word vesperas as æfensang, which became 'evensong' in modern English. Typically used in reference to the Anglican daily office's evening liturgy, it can also refer to the pre-Reformation form of vespers or services of evening prayer from other denominations, particularly within the Anglican Use of the Catholic Church.
Osbert Parsley was an English Renaissance composer and chorister. Few details of his life are known, but he evidently married in 1558, and lived for a period in the parish of St Saviour's Church, Norwich. A boy chorister at Norwich Cathedral, Parsley worked there throughout his musical career. He was first mentioned as a lay clerk, was appointed a "singing man" in c. 1534, and was probably the cathedral's unofficial organist for half a century. His career spanned the reigns of Henry VIII and all three of his children. After the Reformation of 1534, the lives of English church musicians changed according to the official policy of each monarch.
Benjamin Rogers was an English organist and composer, widely known in Europe in his time. Modern taste prefers his consort music, where his reputation in the 18th century was for liturgical music and anthems. His Hymnus Eucharisticus beginning Te O Patrem colimus is sung annually on Magdalen Tower on May day morning.
John Varley Roberts was an English choirmaster, organist and composer. He spent most of his career at Magdalen College, Oxford.
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