O sanctissima
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"O sanctissima" (O most holy) is a
Similar Latin lyrics have been set to entirely different tunes since the 1500s, by notable composers and arrangers including
).Latin lyric and English translation
Below is a common version of the text; many other versions exist.
O sanctissima, o piissima, |
O most holy, o most loving, |
The first lines of the Latin text are similar to the final line of the 12th-century prayer
Widening circulation
"O sanctissima" was published as "The Prayer of the Sicilian Mariners", with text and music for voice and harp, in
O, how joyfully; O, how merrily
Christmas comes with its grace divine.
Grace again is beaming; Christ the world redeeming.
Hail, ye Christians, hail the joyous Christmas time!
Or, in another English-language rendition:
O thou happy, O thou holy,
Glorious peace bringing Christmas time.
Angel throngs to meet thee; on Thy birth we greet Thee:
Hail to Christ, the Son of God, our newborn king!
In the 20th century, a group of textual variants commonly known as "O Thou Joyful" became popular in the United States. Although most of these texts are anonymous, one has been attributed to William Glass.[11]
By 1835, the tune (with its first half repeated) also came to be used for the English
References
- ^ European Magazine and London Review. 22 (5): 342, 385–386. Retrieved 25 October 2016.. European Magazine and London Review. 36 (4): 219–220.
Travellers all agree in their account of the effects of the simple air called 'The Virgin's Hymn,' sung in unison by the whole crew of the Sicilian seamen on board their ships when the sun sets, or when it is the twenty-fourth hour of Italy.
The editor identified the article's author in his obituary: Reed, Isaac, ed. (October 1799). "William Seward, Esq"William Seward... amused himself with collecting the materials for what he called Drossiana in the present Magazine; which he began in October 1789, and continued without intermission to the end of his life.
- ^ Grimm, Ferdinand Philipp "Lothar", ed. (1820). "Das redende Marienbild zu Speier". Volkssagen und Märchen der Deutschen und Ausländer. p. 90. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
- ^ Lehmann, Christoph (1698) [1612]. Chronica Der Freyen Reichs-Stadt Speier. pp. 438–440. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
- OCLC 829406125.
- ^ Ellis, Tecwyn (1959). "Jones, Edward". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
- ^ Shaw, Robert, ed. (May 1794). "Prayer of the Sicilian Mariners". The Gentleman's Amusement: 25. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
- ^ Herder, Johann Gottfried (1807). "An die Jungfrau Maria: Ein sizilianisches Schifferlied". Stimmen der Völker in Liedern. pp. 175–176. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
- ^ "Franz Josef Haydn Catalogue: XXIII". Musique et Musiciens. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
- ^ "Ludwig van Beethoven Catalogue: WoO". Musique et Musiciens. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
- ISBN 9783525503256. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
- ^ Crump, William D., ed. (2013). "O Sanctissima". The Christmas Encyclopedia (3rd ed.). McFarland & Co. p. 328.
- ^ Mason, Lowell; Mason, Timothy B., eds. (1835). The Sacred Harp or Eclectic Harmony. p. 131. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
- ^ Brink, Emily; Polman, Bert, eds. (1988). The Psalter Hymnal Handbook. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
- ^ Wallechinsky, David; Wallace, Irving, eds. (1978). The People's Almanac #2. pp. 806–809. Archived from the original on 25 February 2015.
- ISBN 9781442236035. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
External links
- Media related to O sanctissima at Wikimedia Commons
- "O Sanctissima" on YouTube, The Cathedral Singers, Richard Proulx