Cantique de Jean Racine (Fauré)

Cantique de Jean Racine (Op. 11) is a work for mixed chorus and piano or organ by Gabriel Fauré. Written by the nineteen year old composer in 1864-5, the piece won Fauré the first prize when he graduated from the École Niedermeyer and was first performed the following year on August 4, 1866, with accompaniment of strings and organ. It was first published around 1875 or 1876 (Schoen, Paris, as part of the series Echo des Maîtrises) and appeared in a version for orchestra (possibly by the composer) in 1906. The accompaniment has also been arranged for strings and harp by John Rutter.

The text, "Verbe égal au Très-Haut", is a paraphrase by Jean Racine (Hymnes traduites du Bréviaire romain, 1688) of the pseudo-ambrosian hymn for Tuesday matins, Consors paterni luminis.

Verbe égal au Très-Haut, notre unique espérance,
Jour éternel de la terre et des cieux,
De la paisible nuit nous rompons le silence:
Divin sauveur, jette sur nous les yeux.

Répands sur nous le feu de ta grâce puissante;
Que tout l'enfer fuie au son de ta voix;
Dissipe ce sommeil d'une âme languissante
Qui la conduit à l'oubli de tes lois!

Ô Christ ! sois favorable à ce peuple fidèle,
Pour te bénir maintenant assemblé;
Reçois les chants qu'il offre à ta gloire immortelle,
Et de tes dons qu'il retourne comblé.

Here is the original Latin text:

Consors paterni luminis,
Lux ipse lucis et dies,
Noctem canendo rumpimus:
Assiste postulantibus.

Aufer tenebras mentium,
Fuga catervas dæmonum,
Expelle somnolentiam
Ne pigritantes obruat.

Sic, Christe, nobis omnibus
Indulgeas credentibus,
Ut prosit exorantibus
Quod præcinentes psallimus.

Sit, Christe, rex piissime,
Tibi Patrique gloria
Cum Spiritu Paraclito
In sempiterna sæcula.
Amen.

The last verse (or doxology) has a variant:

Praesta, Pater Piissime,
Patrique, compar Unice,
Cum Spiritu Paraclito
Regnans per omne saeculum.
Amen.

External links

• Program notes by John Bawden, director of the Fareham Philhamonic Choir
• Free scores of Cantique de Jean Racine in French, with English translation in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)
• Cantique de Jean Racine: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project.
• Background and links in French
• Consors paterni luminis
• Cantique de Jean Racine Conductor: Tiago Tengan