Undusted Texts

Here is another Lenten hymn, to pair with my recent setting of my old hymn text "When Time Had Come for Christ to Die."   Whereas that hymn is fitting for commemorating Christ's death on Good Friday, this hymn is a hymn of the myrrh-bearers, who came to anoint Christ's tomb.  It is a hymn of abandonment, a hymn of Holy Saturday.  I first wrote it almost a decade ago, with some adjustments throughout the years, and I'm happy to finally share it. The tune is "Picardy," a French carol tune.  It is best-known through Ralph Vaughan Williams' arrangement of "Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence."  That is certainly the inspiration for my use of it here, as the text of that hymn is used as the Cherubikon for Holy Saturday. Have a blessed Fast. Longest Night of Earthly Vigil by Brandon P. Otto on Scribd Scribd link: https://www.scribd.com/document/706723610/Longest-Night-of-Earthly-Vigil Internet Archive mirror: https://archive.org/details/longes...

  Introduction As an alumnus of a Sacred Heart school, I have fond memories of the anonymous French hymn, "Coeur de Jésus, sauvez le monde," one of the anthems of Sacred Heart schools.  When the song popped into my head recently--particularly the bit in the chorus where "vous soit soumis" is repeated--I decided to look up the text and provide my own translation.   The melody in the version below is based on the four-part transcription by Laura Becker (found at https://aash.org/files/resource/attachment/coeur_de_jesus.pdf ).  However, my memory--which, being decades old at this point, might be faulty--included a dotted eighth note rhythm in the antepenultimate bar of the verse, where Becker's transcription has strict eighth notes (as in the final two bars of the verse).  Thus I've adjusted my rendition to match my memory. For purposes of sonic pleasure, I translated that "vous soit soumis" repetition as "is bowed to Thee" rather than ...

  Introduction Christ is born!  Glorify Him! Today I have a Christmas hymn I wrote years ago, though I did some adjustments to the text today.  The inspiration, of course, is the famous Paschal hymn, "Jesus Christ Is Risen Today": originally, my first verse was simply a Christmas-themed rewrite of that hymn's first verse.  With further work, though, my hymn drifted away from a strict "parody" of the Paschal hymn.  Like it, though, my hymn is set to the tune "Lyra Davidica," taken from the 1708 hymn collection of the same name. Jesus Christ is Born Today by Brandon P. Otto on Scribd   Scribd link for the above document: here . Internet Archive mirror: https://archive.org/details/jesus-christ-is-born-today Text   1. Jesus Christ is born today, (Alleluia!) in a starlit earthen cave, (Alleluia!) When He once in Bedlam town (Alleluia!) Donned our flesh and doffed His crown! (Alleluia!) 2. Born of Mary, virgin pure, (Alleluia!) who was virgin did e...

 Christ is born!  Glorify Him! As a supplement to my typical translations, I am beginning to post music as well.  Some of it includes simple transcriptions of hymns (such as my recent transcription of the chant Humani Generis Cessent Suspiria ); others will be translations of hymns set to old melodies.  Some may be original poems of mine set to old melodies; still others will be poems (my own or others') set to music I have composed.  I have no delusions of grandeur regarding my own musical ability, but I think some of the choices of texts, at least, might warrant my meager attempts.  The hymn included here is an example. The poem set here is by Ben Jonson (1572-1637), one of the most important poets and playwrights of the English Renaissance.  This poem--originally entitled "A Hymne on the Nativitie of My Saviour"--was included by Jonson in a proposed collection of verse entitled Under-wood (the title being a sequel to an earlier collection, The Forr...

  Introduction The Oratory of Jesus was founded by Cardinal Pierre de Bérulle (1575-1629). Famous members include St. John Eudes (1601-1680)--before forming his own congregation--and Jean-Jacques Olier (1608-1657). The French school of spirituality, founded by Bérulle and perpetuated by the Oratory, was a major force in the spiritual formation of St. Louis Marie de Montfort (1673-1716). The Oratory is a society of priests, not a traditional religious order, and their emphasis is on Jesus and His humility in the Incarnation.  Their liturgical calendar has a few peculiar feasts, most notably the Solemnity of Jesus (January 28), as well as a special commemoration of the Incarnation on the 25th of every month.  However, the hymn transcribed here is simply a special sequence for the Feast of the Annunciation, taken from a book of hymns for the use of the Oratory. I posted a translation of this sequence to my old website, "Undusted Texts," back in 2017.  What I've done he...