Ave verum corpus
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Ave verum corpus is a short Eucharistic hymn that has been set to music by various composers. It dates from the 14th century and has been attributed to Popes Innocent III, Innocent IV[1] and Innocent VI.[2]
During the Middle Ages it was sung at the elevation of the host during the consecration. It was also used frequently during Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.
The hymn's title means "Hail, true body", and is based on a poem deriving from a 14th-century manuscript from the Abbey of Reichenau, Lake Constance.[citation needed] The poem is a meditation on the Catholic belief in Jesus's Real Presence in the sacrament of the Eucharist, and ties it to the Catholic conception of the redemptive meaning of suffering in the life of all believers.
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[edit] Text
The text is in Latin, and reads:
- Ave verum corpus, natum
- de Maria Virgine,[3]
- vere passum, immolatum
- in cruce pro homine,
- cuius latus perforatum
- fluxit aqua et sanguine:[4]
- esto nobis praegustatum
- in mortis examine.[5]
- O Iesu dulcis, O Iesu pie, O Iesu, fili Mariae.
- Miserere mei. Amen.
A translation into English is:
- Hail, true Body, born
- of the Virgin Mary,
- who having truly suffered, was sacrificed
- on the cross for mankind,
- whose pierced side
- flowed with water and blood:
- May it be for us a foretaste [of the Heavenly banquet]
- in the trial of death.
- Oh sweet Jesus, Oh pious Jesus, Oh Jesus, son of Mary,
- have mercy on me. Amen.
[edit] Musical settings
Musical settings include Mozart's Ave verum corpus (K. 618),[6] as well as settings by William Byrd and Sir Edward Elgar. There is a version by Franz Liszt [Searle 44], and also ones by Camille Saint-Saëns, Orlande de Lassus, Imant Raminsh,[7] Alexandre Guilmant and Colin Mawby.[8] Liszt also composed a fantasy on Mozart's work, preceded by a version of Allegri's celebrated 'Miserere', under the title 'À la Chapelle Sixtine' [Searle 461 – two versions]. Versions of this fantasy for orchestra [Searle 360] and piano four-hands [Searle 633] follow closely the 2nd version for piano. The is also a version for organ [Searle 658] with the title 'Evocation à la Chapelle Sixtine' The text is even used in an opera, Francis Poulenc's Dialogues of the Carmelites. Mozart's version, with instruments only, was adapted by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky as one of the sections of his Mozartiana, a tribute to Mozart. The Vienna Boys' Choir (Wiener Sangerknaben) made some notable recordings of Mozart's Ave Verum Corpus in the 20th century. A simple version in Gregorian chant can be seen here [1].
A recent version of this piece was recorded by the girl choristers that make up the group "All Angels"; the words set to the music from the ITV series Brideshead Revisited by Geoffrey Burgon.
[edit] References
- ^ p. 191, Green (2002) Jonathan D. Lanham, Maryland A Conductor's Guide to Choral-orchestral Works, Classical Period: Haydn and Mozart Rowman & Littlefield
- ^ p. 56, Rubin (1992) Miri. Cambridge Corpus Christi: The Eucharist in Late Medieval Culture Cambridge University Press
- ^ Other versions have ex Maria Virgine.
- ^ Other versions have unda fluxit et sanguine.
- ^ Other versions have mortis in examine.
- ^ p. 351, Heartz (2009) Daniel. New York. Mozart, Haydn and Early Beethoven: 1781–1802 W. W. Norton & Co.
- ^ "Raminsh-Ave-URegina Chamber Singers.m4v". YouTube. 2011-04-13. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ofm2nmFjYM. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
- ^ "BYU Singers - Ave Verum Corpus (Mawby)". YouTube. 2010-07-28. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NONFhcQVlYs. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
[edit] External links
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Latin Wikisource has original text related to this article: |
- Mozart's Ave verum corpus on ChoralWiki.
- Elgar's Ave Verum on ChoralWiki.
- William Byrd's Ave verum corpus on ChoralWiki.
- William Byrd's Ave Verum Corpus as interactive hypermedia at the BinAural Collaborative Hypertext
- Ave verum corpus: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project.
