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Petrus beatus catenarum laqueos–a hymn for the Feast of the Chair of Peter
Here is a translation of the office hymn Petrus beatus, which appears in the Liturgy of the Hours for the Feast of the Chair of Peter, February 22.
The original, below, is in a meter not often used nowadays (12.12.12.12.12.), so I’ve rendered it in a parish-friendly 8.7.8.7. D. Matching tunes include Hyfrydol, Ode to Joy, and Nettleton. Most congregations could sing this text to one of those tunes on sight–though the word “wonderfully” in verse 1, line 1, works best with Ode to Joy. Besides that, I think they would all sound ok.
The striking imagery of starlight in verse 2 is in the original.
There are polyphonic settings of this text, so please consider those as well.
Blessed Peter, at Christ’s order, wonderfully breaks our chains,
Shattering the snares that bind us till no slavery remains.
Gate of sheepfold, Church’s teacher, and good shepherd of the sheep,
Savage wolves will never harm us, in the flock you safely keep.
For whatever bonds you tighten here upon the earth below,
Are held bound in heav’nly orbits, high within the starry glow,
And all things you loose in this world, they are loosed above the skies.
You shall judge the endless ages when the age of this world dies.
Glory be to God the Father through the great eternity.
And to You, born of the Virgin, may all praise and kingship be.
Pow’r and honor to the Spirit. To the Triune, ever-One,
Through the everlasting ages may unending praise be done.
Petrus beatus catenarum laqueos Christo iubente rupit mirabiliter; custos ovilis et doctor Ecclesiæ, pastorque gregis, conservator ovium arcet luporum truculentam rabiem.
Quodcumque vinclis super terram strinxeris, erit in astris religatum fortiter, et quod resolvis in terris arbitrio, erit solutum super coeli radium; in fine mundi iudex eris sæculi.
Gloria Patri per immensa sæcula, sit tibi, Nate, decus et imperium, honor, potestas Sanctoque Spiritui; sit Trinitati salus individua per infinita sæculorum sæcula.
The USCCB List for the Resignation and Election of the Pope
The USCCB has put out a document of music resources for the resignation and election of the Pope. There’s a big drum roll here but once you get to the resources you get…a bunch of song/hymns, stuff you encounter in most mainline parishes every week. As Daniel Page summarizes: “The list of music in this document is profoundly disappointing and unworthy of the sacred liturgy.”
I really do wish that the USCCB would get with the times and stop pretending to ignore the radical changes that have been pushed by Benedict XVI. History will come around. The USCCB can lead or follow.
The England-Rome Reapproachment Continues
Charles Cole’s schola spent some time in Rome singing with the St. Peter’s schola. And next Sunday
Next Sunday (24 February) at St Peter’s, Rome, The Schola Cantorum of the London Oratory School will join the Basilica’s own choir, the Cappella Giulia, to sing Capitular Mass and Vespers. 2013 marks the 500th anniversary of the Cappella Giulia’s foundation and during the course of the year, this venerable choir will be joined by others from around the world to sing at St Peter’s. Next Sunday is the first such collaboration. At Mass, the Ordinary will be sung by both choirs and the Propers will be sung by the Cappella Giulia. The Motets, by Spanish renaissance composer Cristobal de Morales and the English Tudor composer William Byrd, will be sung by the Schola Cantorum. At the end of Mass, both choirs, situated opposite each other in the two transepts of the Altar of the Chair, will sing the sublime double-choir motet Adoramus te, Christe by the late renaissance Slovenian composer Jacob Handl.
At Vespers, the Hymn, Psalms and Magnificat will be sung to Gregorian Chant with polyphonic alternatims by Ingegneri, Cima and Lassus. At the close of Vespers, the Schola will sing Ave Maria by the English Tudor composer Robert Parsons. The full music list is as follows:
Another Papal Hymn
Some of our readers have probably been tasked with programming hymns for the Feast of the Chair of Peter this coming Friday, or for another celebration honoring Pope Benedict or praying for guidance for the upcoming conclave. Since this text came to my mind, I thought I would offer it, in case it’s more useful than, say, Pescador de Hombres.
Verse 3 focuses on a relatively neglected scripture reference for the Petrine ministry. We all know “Tu es Petrus,” but this other expression, the mission of “confirming the brethren,” is also very important. Peter is responsible for strengthening the faith of his brother bishops.
Verse 4 paraphrases a Gospel dialogue between Jesus and Peter, quite relevant to the willing sacrifices made by Pope Benedict.
Please feel free to use this during the coming weeks. I would recommend the tune Iste Confessor.
Saint Peter lives! The gatekeeper of heaven,
Once young and free, once bound for crucifixion,
Now crowned in splendor, prince among the elders.
Pray for your people.
Saint Peter lives! The binding and the loosing,
Bridging the earth unto the highest heavens,
Servant of servants, bishop of that city
Where Peter witnessed.
Hell shall not win. The Church will stand forever.
“Peter, I prayed that your faith will not fail you.
And when the time comes, and you have converted,
Strengthen your brethren.”
All those who give up fam’ly or possessions,
They shall inherit, in that endless Kingdom,
And in the present, many times the blessings
With persecution.
Praise to the Father who sent us Christ Jesus.
Praise to the Son, who came as the Messiah.
Praise to the Spirit, Guardian of the teaching,
Trinity blessed.
Three Hymns for the Transition
In hymnody as in iconography, Sts. Peter and Paul usually appear together. This is true of the three hymns provided below for use in the papal transition and/or to honor the Petrine ministry of Pope Benedict.
The first two are my translations of office hymns from the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul. Both may be sung to any Long Meter or iambic 8.8.8.8. melody.
Aurea luce, from the 8th or 9th century, calls St. Peter the “janitor”–the keeper of the keys–and St. Paul is as always the teacher of the whole world. The hymn plays continually upon the idea of doubling. These two great saints are both like, and equal, and yet unlike. They are equal in dignity, irreducible to one another, and always “at work” together for the good of the Church.
O light of dawn, O rosy glow,
O Light from Light, all ages show
Your beauty, and the martyrs fame,
That gain us pardon from our blame.
The heavens’ porter, and earth’s sage,
The world’s bright lights who judge the age.
One wins by cross, and one by sword,
And life on high is their reward.
These are your princes, happy Rome!
Their precious blood clothes you, their home.
We praise not you, but praise their worth,
Beyond all beauty of the earth.
One love, one faith, twin olive trees,
One great strong hope filled both of these.
Full fonts, in your matched charity,
Pray that we may in heaven be.
Give glory to the Trinity
And honor to the Unity,
And joy and pow’r, for their reign stays
Today and through all endless days.
Apostolorum passio is usually attributed to St. Ambrose of Milan, though we are not entirely sure that he wrote it. It is certainly a rich, theologically dense poem. Like Aurea luce above, it attributes the dignity of Rome to these two saints, pre-eminently in their martyrs’ blood.
Blest day by suff’ring sanctified:
Christ’s chosen high apostles died.
Today St. Peter wins renown.
Today St. Paul accepts the crown.
Christ’s chosen high apostles died.
Today St. Peter wins renown.
Today St. Paul accepts the crown.
Together, equally, they bled:
Together: the victorious dead.
They followed God and sacrificed
And now their faith is crowned by Christ.
St. Peter holds the highest place,
Yet Paul is not the less by grace.
An equal faith was giv’n to Paul:
The chosen vessel of God’s call.
St. Peter, downward crucified—
To honor God in how he died—
Securely tied, he sees unfold
The death his Shepherd once foretold.
On such foundations Rome may claim
The highest service of God’s name.
His noble blood has dignified
The city where this prophet died.
Let all the world, then, run to Rome.
Let families of nations come!
The head of nations teaches there
Beside the nations’ teacher’s chair.
O Lord, we ask that we may be
In their exalted company,
And with our princes sing Your praise
Forever, to unending days.
And last let me offer a hymn published by CanticaNOVA Publications and printed here with their kind permission to be used by anyone during this special time of papal transition. It was sung as below at the CMAA Colloquium this past year on the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, and this setting may be found on page 151 of the Colloquium music packet. The outstanding organist is Jonathan Ryan.
The Son of Man has come to save
The lost and dark of mind.
All men and women bound in chains
In Him their freedom find.
In Him the blind shall come to see,
The deaf shall understand,
For Jesus guides the erring soul
With His redeeming hand.
So Peter learned to call Him Christ,
And Paul to call Him Lord;
So Peter died upon a cross,
And Paul beneath a sword.
And on their martyrs’ witness grows
The Church of endless days.
Its rock no more denies the Lord
Its foe now leads His praise.
The Son of Man has come to serve
To seek and save the lost.
Blest be the Lord whose saints reveal
The triumph of His Cross.
The Many Faces of Jeffrey Ostrowski
Jeffrey Ostrowski, president of Corpus Christi Watershed, and editor of the Vatican II Hymnal and the St. Edmund Campion Missal & Hymnal for the Traditional Latin Mass, is not a new presence at the CMAA’s Sacred Music Colloquium. In years past he’s made movies of the goings on, taught chant on different levels, and given some of the most popular breakout lectures in the Colloquium’s twenty-three year history. What’s next for this sacred music dynamo? This year the closing Mass of the June conference will highlight a newly-composed Ordinary setting by Jeffrey Ostrowski. His Mass of the English Martys has received rave reviews, and is already considered staple repertoire in parishes and Cathedrals around the country. I am also very pleased to announce that Mr. Ostrowski will be on hand at the Colloquium to conduct the combined choirs in singing his Mass. Matt Curtis over at Choral Tracks has joined forces with Mr. Ostrowski to produce practice recordings of all the Mass’s movements, like this Gloria, dedicated to St. Ralph Sherwin: More videos are linked here.