Twelve Latin Chants Every Catholic Should Know

Part 2

by Arlene Oost-Zinner and Jeffrey Tucker

This article first appeared in the April 2003 issue of CRISIS Magazine. It is reprinted here with permission.

In the first part, the authors propose that Gregorian chant can be returned to its "pride of place" in the liturgy once the people know and appreciate some common hymns. They offer twelve examples; the second half of these are presented here.

7. Asperges – [found in CNP Booklet of Chant, Volume 3 (Marian/General)]

"Thou shalt sprinkle me, Lord, with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed."
The text is based, in part, on Psalm 50 [51], the great psalm of repentance. The chant line, probably of 13th-century origin, is sung by a choir and the people during the sprinkling rite outside the season of Easter. Though complex and long enough to be sung through the entire rite, with unusual periods of long notes combined with several notes on individual syllables, the faithful can learn it in time. Its pacing traditionally allows for a great deal of interpretation.

The reference to hyssop might at first seem odd until we realize that before Christianity, in both Jewish and Greek traditions, it was frequently used for cleansing holy spaces, in a symbolic invocation of the healing properties of the herb itself. In earlier centuries, the hyssop branches were used for thise rite, which is of tenth century origin. In church consecrations they still are. In the new Roman Rite, the sprinkling rite takes the place of the penitential rite.

8. Ubi caritas – [found in CNP Booklet of Chant, Volume 3 (Marian/General)]

"Where charity and love are, there is God."
This is one of the oldest texts, according to some scholars, dating from the earliest Christian gathering of prayer and psalm singing — the agape — before the Mass was formalized. The text is too beautiful for even the debunkers of chant to discard, so it has been set again and again, even in contemporary ritual music. But there's no improving on the original hymn — which is variously dated between the fourth and tenth centuries — with its haunting, steady refrain: Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est.

For those not used to the meter of old Latin hymnody, the placing of notes with their proper syllables might at first seem counterintuitive. But for this reason, it is an excellent chant to start with in the process of deprogramming our musical sense away from commercial meters to the sacred space and length of chant. Repetition here is the key. The chant begins to take shape and makes sense on its own terms, truly expressing the themes of love and community. The Ubi caritas is usually sung during Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament but can be sung anytime the faithful gather in love and charity.

9. Attende Domine – [found in CNP Booklet of Chant, Volume 2 (Lent/Easter)]

"Hear our entreaties, Lord, and show thy mercy."
The melody line of this tenth-century text partakes of a Gregorian sensibility, again from earlier centuries, but the current version in use is sometimes dated as late as 1824. It is included among the chant repertoire because of its overwhelming popularity. Its refrain includes a rapid interval shift from the tonic (Qui-) to the fifth (-a) and down to the second note of the scale (pe-), a change that one must hear again and again to follow and reproduce with the total phrase: Quia peccavimus tibi. But it becomes intuitive in time.

The remaining verse of this hymn are only three phrases long, and each phrase should be internally connected, producing a beautiful arch with an understood swell in the middle of the phrase. It is usually sung during Lent but can be used during Communion or as a prelude during any season of the liturgical year.

10. Veni Creator Spiritus – [found in CNP Booklet of Chant, Volume 3 (Marian/General)]

"Come, Holy Spirit, creator blessed, and in our souls take up thy rest."
The text belongs to Rabanus Maurus (776-856) and the plainchant the ninth century. Once the most famous of all chant hymns, it became the very sound of Pentecost until it fell into disuse in the 1970s and following. It is still sung for the election of popes, the consecration of bishops, the dedication of churches, the ordination of priests, and during other devotions.

The melodic line achieves something nearing a floating effect that perfectly matches the thematic material. It begins on the fifth note of the scale and travels upwards to the tonic, rises higher in the second phrase, and settles back down in the fourth phrase to a graceful ending on the low tonic of the scale. Matching words and music requires something of an investment of time, but after it is done, it will be your conviction that Pentecost should not come and go without it.

11. Jesu dulcis memoria – [planned for CNP Booklet of Chant, Volume 5 (Miscellaneous)]

"Jesus, the very thought of thee, fills my heart with sweetness."
The words come from a long poem written by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (1091-1153), and ranging anywhere from a few to as many as 53 stanzas. The chant line lends itself to repetition, with its distinctive opening of four identical tones on each syllable of Je-su dul-cis, continuing with its four well-proportioned phrases of great sweetness and simplicity. From the experience of our schola, this particular chant is among the most immediate and affecting in the entire repertoire.

12. Salve Regina – [found in CNP Booklet of Chant, Volume 3 (Marian/General)]

Of all the Latin hymns on our list, perhaps this one stands the greatest chance of being somewhat known. The last lines, in any case, might have the slight ring of familiarity — O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria — if only because they so closely echo the same lines in English. Legend has it that Saint Bernard of Clairvaux was so moved by these lines that he genuflected three times. Plates of brass were laid down in the pavement of the church where his knee is said to have touched the ground.

The text itself is probably that of Aimor, bishop of Le Puy, eleventh century. At the end of Poulenc's opera, Dialogue of the Carmelites (1957), the sisters sing the Salve Regina as they march to their deaths. It was once a common recessional for the whole congregation to sing. When it happens, the effect is moving and spectacular — leaving everyone with the assurance that Mary has indeed turned her eyes of mercy toward us.

Style of Singing

To revive chant in one's life or parish, it is not enough to have music in hand or merely to know the pitches and words. Any of these chants can be botched by importing popular stylings and inflections to them. A steady, prayerful quality is required. Chants should be sung without a rush and with plenty of time between phrases and verses. They must be sung with love but without overt displays of emotion. Vibrato should be eliminated if possible.

Chant ought to be sung with minimal accompaniment, if any at all, and a cappella if possible, by one voice or thousands. Insisting on the voice alone imparts a sense of responsibility to those singing the words and leads to greater participation. The chant speaks for itself, and even with small beginnings, it can in time begin to take "pride of place" in the process of becoming the work of the people again.

Copyright © 2003 CRISIS Magazine
Used with permission.

Arlene Oost-Zinner and Jeffrey Tucker are, respectively, president and director of the Saint Cecilia Schola Cantorum in Auburn, Alabama, which has recorded two CDs, Pange Lingua: Chants for Parish Life and Attende Domine: Chants for Parish Life.