Here is a lovely little song. The music is by Italian composerGiovanni Battista Pergolesi (4 January 1710 – 16 March 1736). My translation is mostly literal. So, please do not expect a beautiful poem. I wanted to translate the words. This song is a very simple pastoral.
Why am I not the fern/ Where, towards the end of a beautiful day,/ My shepherdess rests/ And love watches over her?/ Why am I not the gentle breeze,/ That refreshes her charms,/ The air her mouth breathes,/ The flower born under her steps.
Que ne suis-je l’onde pure
Qui la reçoit dans son sein ?
Que ne suis-je la parure
Qui la couvre après le bain ?
Que ne suis-je cette glace,
Où son minois répété
Offre à nos yeux une grâce
Qui sourit à la beauté ?
Why am I not the pure mist/ That receives her into its bosom/ Why am I not the ornament/ That covers her after her bath?/ Why am I not that mirror,/ Where her sweet little face repeats itself/ Offeringto our gaze a grace/ That smiles at beauty?
Why am I not, as in a dream,/ Holding her heart bewitched?/ And why can I not from a lie/ Go on to the truth?/ The gods who gave me life/ Made me too ambitious,/ For I would like to be/ All that pleases her eyes!
Archetypal Gothic Lady of Sorrows from a triptych by the Master of the Stauffenberg Altarpiece, Alsace c. 1455, Musée d’Unterlinden, Colmar. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I wish all of you a very Happy Easter. Let it be musical. The new Marian antiphon is the “Regina Cæli.” Michel-Richard Delalande (or de Lalande) , whose “Regina Cæli” I selected, was the finest composer of French
The authorship of the Regina Cæli is unknown. It was composed in the twelfth century and was in Franciscan use after Compline a century later. According to Wikipedia, “legend has it that St Gregory the Great heard angels chanting the first three lines one Easter morning in Rome, while following barefoot in a great religious procession of the icon of the Virgin painted by Luke the Evangelist. He was thereupon inspired to add the fourth line.” (See Regina Cæli, Wikipedia.)
The Regina Cæli is one of the four Antiphons or Antiphonies (Anthems in the Anglican Church) dedicated to Mary. It is sung during the Easter season.
Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia.
For He whom you deserved to bear in your womb, alleluia.
Has risen, as He promised, alleluia.
Pray for us to God, alleluia.
V. Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia.
R. For the Lord has truly risen, alleluia.
Michel-Richard Delalande (15 December 1657 – 18 June 1726)
Regina Cæli
composer: Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (4 January 1710 – 16 March 1736)
piece: “Quando Corpus Morietur”
performers: Margaret Marshall, Soprano and Lucia Valentini Terrani, Contralto
orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra (1985)
conductor: Claudio Abbado
Detail of the Stauffenberg Altarpiece(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Stabat Mater is a hymn expressing the sorrow of Mary as her son, Jesus of Nazareth, is being crucified and then taken down from the Crucifix, the descent.
The Stabat Mater is associated with the Magnificat, one of several canticles sung at Vespers. We are therefore moving from antiphons (antiennes) to canticles(cantiques). Moreover, with the Magnificat, we are travelling back to the earliest days of Marian hymnology. The Magnificat is an ancient canticle.
From Antiphons to Canticles
Canticles are hymns sung during the Canonical Hours.Seven find their origin in the Old Testament and are sung at Lauds. Three, however are contained in the Gospel according to Luke. I will list the three borrowing from Wikipedia. We have
at Lauds, the “Canticle of Zachary” (Luke 1:68-79), commonly referred to as the “Benedictus” (from its first word);
at Vespers, the “Canticle of the Bl. Mary Virgin” (Luke 1:46-55), commonly known as the “Magnificat” (from its first word);
at Compline, the “Canticle of Simeon” (Luke 2:29-32), commonly referred to as the “Nunc dimittis” (from the opening words).
At Notre-Dame de Paris the Magnificat is sung every day before the four Marian antiphons and after the Ave Maria (Hail Mary) and the Angelus.
The Magnificat is Mary’s song of praise upon learning that her cousin Elizabeth, Zachary’s wife, is with child. She will be the mother of St John the Baptist. This event is recorded as The Visitation. As for Mary, she has been visited by the archangel Gabriel and knows she is bearing the Saviour: The Annunciation.
In fact, all three New Testament canticles tell the story of the birth of John the Baptist and that of Jesus. Zachary is the father of John the Baptist and at the moment of the Presentation of Jesus to the Temple, Simeon recognizes the Saviour in the baby Jesus. But, combined with the Stabat Mater, the Canticles also tell a story of death and rebirth. The two are juxtaposed as they express the perpetual cycle of birth and death, a cycle akin to that of the Four Seasons, spring eternal, celebrated by composer Antonio Vivaldi (1678 – 1741).
Handel’s Messiah: the Cycle
Also expressing the link between the Nativity, starting with the Annunciation, and Easter is Handel‘s Messiah, an oratorio. It is performed at Christmas and at Easter, the latter feast being, to my knowledge the more important of the two. I will not discuss the Messiah in this post. Basically, we are dealing with songs, albeit liturgical songs, the exception being JS Bach’s Magnificat, a substantial work.
In an earlier blog, I wrote about Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (4 January 1710 – 16 March 1736). Pergolesi composed a beautiful Magnificat and a masterful Stabat Mater, as well as other liturgical pieces. Although he died at the age of 26, he had already written several masterpieces. The above link, his name, takes the reader to my post, but for information on the composer, organist and violinist, I would suggest you click on Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (Wikipedia). It is not insignicant that among his compositions, there should be both a Magnificat, a canticle, and the Stabat Mater.
With respect to the Marian hymns, to view the complete list, antiphons, canticles and other hymns, please click on Hymns to Mary. The words Marian hymnology constitute an ‘umbrella’ term encompassing all the music dedicated to the Blessed Virgin.
For the text of the Stabat Mater, Latin and English, click on Stabat Mater. To read the English text of the Magnificat, click on Magnificat.
You will find below several pieces of Marian sacred music. There is little for me to add, the language of tones being more expressive than national languages. So I will leave you to listen and perhaps to marvel at the place given Mary in the arts and in music. You will hear canticles, psalms, parts of the Mass, etc. Moreover, I have listed, at the bottom of the page, all my posts on the subject of Marian hymnology in sacred music.