Hymn: Longest Night of Earthly Vigil

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/longest-night-of-earthly-vigil

Text:

1. Longest night of earthly vigil,
'fore the rock now keeps the Bride.
Taken from the bloody sigil
In the Tomb He'll e'er abide.

R: Christ the Lord to earth descended,
O black earth, release Him now!

2.  Rank on rank the hosts of heaven
Took their leave so silently.
Hast Thou lost that holy leaven
Which would raise Thee gloriously?

3. Moon and stars of night are fading
And the sun no more will rise.
Yet, departing, some faint shading
In the darkness piques our eyes.

4. All the night we've kept in sorrow,
Yet the dark has just begun.
Return shall we on the morrow
And each night till time has run.

5. On the morrow we anoint Thee
If the rock will bend away.
For myrrh makes the dead smell sweetly
But can God redeem death's prey?

6. Farewell, O our Friend and Master!
Now we take our bitter leave!
Farewell, O our wolf-maimed Pastor!
At the blood of dawn, we grieve!

Lyrics ©2023 Brandon P. Otto.  Licensed via CC BY-NC.  Feel free to redistribute non-commercially, as long as credit is given to the lyricist.

Hymn: When Time Had Come for Christ to Die

In a blog post from 2014, reflecting on Good Friday, I included a hymn I had written, to be set to the tune JESU DULCIS MEMORIA.  Almost ten years later, I have finally prepared this musical setting:

Scribd mirror: https://www.scribd.com/document/706718005/When-Time-Had-Come-for-Christ-to-Die

 

The bare text of the hymn is here:

 

When time had come for Christ to die,

and Judas had betrayed Him by

a twisted kiss for silver's gain,

the sky did not hold back its rain.

His Blood upon the ground did fall

as guards brought Him the bitter gall.

The sun did darken in that hour

for sorrow did it overpower.

In two spots did blood run that day,

from the betrayer, from betrayed,

in Akeldama's soiled field,

on Golgotha where thunder pealed.

Sixth hour passed when He was nailed,

Ninth hour now the One who's hailed

as He Who comes in the Lord's name

will die the death of the infame.

One thief to Heaven, one to Hell:

the Psalm is now the Lord's death knell.

And letting out His final breath,

the Christ has fin'lly come to death.

Silence now reigns upon the earth,

soaked by the blood of countless worth.

In sorrow is now sealed the Tomb,

of glorious birth the second womb.

 

Hymn Text ©2014 Brandon P. Otto.  Licensed via CC BY-NC.  Feel free to redistribute non-commercially, as long as credit is given to the author.

O Heart of Jesus, Save the World: Hymn of the Society of the Sacred Heart

 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 "is bowed to You."  I just couldn't get myself to remove that "-ee" sound from the chorus.  That meant, though, that, for consistency's sake, the rest of the hymn had to be translated with Thee-Thy-Thou pronouns rather than You-Yours-You.  I have also given myself a little leeway in translation and in matching the text to music: specifically, there are many bars in the verses where a pair of notes might cover either two syllables or one, depending on the verse.  I think I will claim the looseness of folk music as my sanction for this.  A few times, as well, I added an additional word or two because a strict word-for-word translation left far too few syllables for a line.

 

O Heart of Jesus, Save the ... by Brandon P. Otto

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Translation

O Heart of Jesus, save the world,
may th'universe be bowed to Thee, be bowed to Thee.
In Thee alone our hope is founded!
O Lord, O Lord, this promise we've from Thee.

1. This Thou hast said: Thy faithful promise
Shall be our hope, our joyful part:
"Thus I shall bless in my tenderness
All the children of My Sacred Heart!"

2. This Thou hast said: O faithful Savior,
Thus has Thy Love to us revealed:
"My burning Heart shall console
The heart hat burns for Me with zeal!"

3. This Thou hast said: our mortal weakness
Shall find in Thee its Protector
And in Thy Love be ever ceaseless,
O Jesus our only Redeemer!

4. This Thou hast said: the living blazings
Of grace and love conquering the dark
Shall give their aid in soul saving
To the apostles of Thy Sacred Heart! 

5. This Thou hast said: source of all graces,
Thy Love shall open widely,
Heaping with Your gifts efficacious
The fervent Heart which honors Thee!

6. This Thou hast said: when Your image
Brims o'er with honor, glory, lauds,
This, this alone shall be our gauge
Of the blessings of Thy Sacred Heart!

7. This Thou hast said: the heart that loves Me
May lay to rest upon Mine
All-peacefully until the ending
Of a day that lacks a midnight!

Final refrain:

What does it matter if a storm rage?
For our hearts are firm in Thee, are firm in Thee.
Jesus the world's King to the ages,
Reign, reign despite all of our enemies!

 

 French Original

Coeur de Jésus sauvez le monde,
Que l’univers vous soit soumis
En Vous seul notre espoir se fonde
Seigneur, Seigneur, Vous nous l’avez promis. 

1. Vous l’avez dit: Votre promesse
Fait notr’espoir, notre bonheur:
« Je bénirai dans ma tendresse
Les enfants de mon Sacré Coeur. 

2. Vous l’avez dit: Sauveur fidèle,
Votr’ amour nous l’a révélé:
« Le coeur brulant pour Moi de zèle
Par le Mien sera consolé ! » 

3. Vous l’avez dit: notre faiblesse
En Vous trouve son Protecteur,
Dans votr’amour soyez sans cesse
Jésus  notre Réparateur!

4. Vous l'avez dit: les vies flammes
De grace et de l'maour vain-queur
Aideront au salut des âmes,
Les apôtres de votre Coeur.

5. Vous l'avez dit: Source de grâces,
Votr'Amour se delatera,
Comblant de ses dons efficaces
Le Coeur qui vous honorera.

6. Vous l'avez dit: quand votr'image
Meuvra la gloire et l'honneur
Parmi nous ce sera le gage
Des bien-faits de votre grand Coeur.

7. Vous l'avez dit: le coeur qui M'aime
Sur le Mien pourra s'endormir
Dans la paiz, à l'instant suprème
D'un jour qui ne doit plus finir.

Final refrain:

Qu'importe si l'orage grande
Ça Vous nos coeurs sont affermis
Jésus, Vous êtes Roi du monde,
Régnez, malgré nos ennemis! 

 

Source: AASH (Associated Alumnae & Alumni of the Sacred Heart), "Coeur de Jésus," at https://aash.org/about-aash/sacred-heart-traditions/coeur-de-jesus (accessed February 4, 2024).

Translation ©2024 Brandon P. Otto.  Licensed via CC BY-NC.  Feel free to redistribute non-commercially, as long as credit is given to the translator.

Jesus Christ Is Born Today: Christmas Hymn

 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 endure, (Alleluia!)
Mother-Queen of heaven's court, (Alleluia!)
Godhead's boat's own human port! (Alleluia!)

3. Adam's flesh by sin was stained; (Alleluia!)
now all-cleansing grace is rained. (Alleluia!)
Hail the Second Adam's birth! (Alleluia!)
Greet the Saviour full of mirth! (Alleluia!)

4. Ox and ass, now come and play; (Alleluia!)
lamb and kid, come join the fray; (Alleluia!)
Men and angels, join and sing; (Alleluia!)
Earth and Heav'n, all praise your King! (Alleluia!)

Commentary

1. In the Byzantine tradition, Jesus was born in a cave, rather than a manger attached to a house.  In icons, the cave is usually seen on a mountain, away from town, though I've seen some commentators say that it could have been a cave with a house built nearby: the householders might have used the nearby cave as a pre-built stable or manger.  In this case, the Byzantine and Roman traditions could be reconciled.  The star that lights the cave could be the Star of Bethlehem, though most commentators say that the Star appeared later, over wherever the Holy Family was living at the time.  The argument is that, after Herod is deceived by the Magi, he orders the killing of all boys two and under: that would imply that the Magi came through Jerusalem sometime closer to the two-year point than to immediately after Jesus' birth.  The star in this hymn could also be a representation of the divine light, of the light of the angels, or of the light of the Holy Spirit.  "Bedlam" is an old English contraction of "Bethlehem," most commonly used to refer to the Bethlehem Royal Hospital in London, established in 1247 by the Bishop-elect of Bethlehem (a diocese there was erected during the Crusades).  A century or two after its founding, the hospital began to specialize in care for the mentally-ill, hence the term "Bedlam" for wildness, craziness, insanity, etc.  This is the origin of the pseudonym "Tom o' Bedlam" used by Edgar in Shakespeare's King Lear.

2. The Queen Mother was an important personage in the Old Testament (a notable example being Bathsheba's intercessory role in 1 Kings 2); the concept clearly applies to Mary, Queen of Heaven and Mother of Christ the King.  The Byzantine tradition also loves the image of Mary as a port or harbor for the storm-tossed: here, I have expanded on that image to make her the harbor for the boat of human flesh which carries the Godhead of the Son.

3. The Greek Fathers commonly described original sin as a stain on a mirror: our nature is meant to be a mirror of God (we being made in His image and likeness).  Through grace, that stain, that muck, that mire, is washed away.  The "Second Adam" language is Pauline.

Text ©2023 Brandon P. Otto.  Licensed via CC BY-NC.  Feel free to redistribute non-commercially, as long as credit is given to the author.

Ben Jonson: I Sing the Birth Was Borne to Night: Hymn

 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 Forrest, published in 1616).  The collection was arranged but left to languish until Jonson's death; it was first published in the posthumous Works of 1640-1641, edited by Jonson's friend Sir Kenelm Digby.  

For my setting, I replaced the title with the first line of the poem, as is common for hymns.  I have left the spelling unmodernized, in true 17th-century style.  Perhaps I might prepare a modernized version in the future.

Ben Jonson: I Sing the Birth Was Borne to Night by Brandon P. Otto on Scribd

Scribd link to the document embedded above: here.

Internet Archive mirror: https://archive.org/details/i-sing-the-birth-was-borne-to-night

Source: Ben Jonson, "A Hymne on the Nativitie of My Saviour," in The Complete Poetry of Ben Jonson, ed. Willliam B. Hunter, Jr. (New York: Norton, 1968), 120-121.

Melody ©2023 Brandon P. Otto.  Licensed via CC BY-NC.  Feel free to redistribute non-commercially, as long as credit is given to the composer.

"Is it possible, my life, that I caused you such evil?": A Spanish Lenten Hymn

Félix Lope de Vega was a famous poet and playwright of the Spanish Golden Age, most well-renowned for his sonnets.  Among his prolific works (Cervantes called him "Monster of Nature" for the sheer volume of them) are many religious poems.  Below is one such poem, which Spanish-speakers sometimes use as a Lenten hymn.

"Soliloquio - III -"

Manso Cordero ofendido, 

puesto en una cruz por mí, 

 que mil veces os vendí 

después que fuiste vendido. 

Dadme licencia, Señor, 

para que, deshecho en llanto, 

pueda en vuestro rostro santo 

llorar lágrimas de amor. 

¿Es posible, vida mía, 

que tanto mal os causé, 

que os dejé, que os olvidé, 

ya que vuestro amor sabía? 

 Tengo por dolor más fuerte 

que el veros muerto por mí 

el saber que os ofendí, 

cuando supe vuestra muerte. 

Yo os amo, Dios soberano, 

no como Vos merecéis, 

pero cuanto Vos sabéis 

que cabe en sentido humano. 

Toda el alma de Vos llena 

me saca de mí, Señor. 

¡Dejadme llorar de amor 

como otras veces de pena! 

Amén. 

"Soliloquy - III -" 

Meek Lamb offended,

placed on a cross for me,

Whom I sold a thousand times,

after You were sold.

Give me leave, Lord,

so that, undone in cries,

I can in Your holy countenance

cry tears of love.

Is it possible, my life,

that I caused You such evil,

that I left You, that I forgot You,

though I knew Your love?

I have as the greatest pain

the sight of You dead for me

knowing that I offended You,

when I knew Your death.

I love You, Sovereign God,

not as You deserve,

but as much as You know

human sense is capable of.

All of my soul that fills with You

takes as much of myself from me, Lord.

Let me cry for love

like so many times I have for pain!

Amen.

St. Ιακωβος Ζεβεδαιου (James, son of Zebedee / James the Greater), patron saint of Spain, pray for us!

Nota Bene: This hymn was taken from Cantad a Dios con salmos, himnos, y cánticos inspirados, published Magnificat Libros in 2010, pp. 823-824.  The translation is mine: if anyone has any corrections (especially for the first two lines of the last stanza), feel free to let me know.

 

Translation ©2012 Brandon P. Otto.  Licensed via CC BY-NC.  Feel free to redistribute non-commercially, as long as credit is given to the author.