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May God bless you all during the coming week and through Eastertide.
It is hard to imagine that once upon a time, the most powerful man in Europe invited scholars and divines from a thousand miles roundabout to come to his imperial capital, and begin, in a careful and deliberate and yet culture-changing way, to bring back arts and letters and scholarship to a world where they had fallen in abeyance. But that is what Charlemagne did. No doubt the man was ambitious. When he was crowned emperor in Rome, on Christmas day in 800, it’s not clear whether the Pope placed the crown on his head, or Charlemagne took it from him and crowned himself, but both the energetic ambition and the piety were genuine.
So the year is 810, and Theodulph, bishop of Orleans, and one of the few men in the west at that time who could and did translate works from Greek and Hebrew into Latin, has written a poem for use in church, at Palm Sunday. Theodulph was a prolific and talented poet, who favored the old classical meters, one of which he used this time — elegiac couplets, whereof the jovial and often rakish Ovid was the master. But never were such couplets put to more joyous use. Let me give you the first two lines, capitalizing the “long” syllables you’re supposed to stress, and inserting a long space in the second line, where you’re supposed to pause:
GLOria, LAUS, et hoNOR tibi SIT REX CHRISte ReDEMPTOR, CUI puerIle deCUS PROMPsit hoSANna piUM.
That’s brilliantly translated into English by the great John Mason Neale, as the refrain of the best Palm Sunday hymn ever, our Hymn of the Week, which I’m sure many of our readers have sung:
All glory, laud and honor to thee, Redeemer King, To whom the lips of children made sweet Hosannas ring!
But here’s the thing about how they actually performed the hymn that I find most moving. Theodulph wrote that first couplet, the refrain, referring to the beautiful voices of children. So we can easily assume that children sang the refrain: the boys in the chantry, that is. Meanwhile, imagine the scene outside, because this is how the hymn used to be rendered, well into the last century, and perhaps at some churches it still is so. The choir — in our case, the people — sing the verses in procession, while the boys inside the church sing the refrain every time it is called for. The doors are shut, till the boys finish the refrain for the last time, and the subdeacon strikes the doors with the Cross, at which the hymn ends, the doors are opened, and everyone enters the church.
If we think about that day when Jesus entered Jerusalem in triumph, as the people strewed his way with palm branches, it is impossible to suppose that children were not among them — for celebrations are what children of all ages love best. The treasons, stratagems, and spoils we can leave to people grown old in sin, who have no holy music in their souls. So we don’t want the children to join us. We want to join the children, “for of such is the kingdom of God.”
Refrain: All glory, laud, and honor To Thee, Redeemer, King! To Whom the lips of children Made sweet Hosannas ring. Thou art the King of Israel Thou David's Royal Son, Who in the Lord's name comest, The King and Blessèd One. Refrain. The company of Angels Is praising Thee on high, And mortal men, and all things Created make reply. Refrain. The people of the Hebrews With palms before Thee went; Our praise and prayers and anthems Before Thee we present. Refrain. To Thee before Thy Passion They sang their hymns of praise; To Thee now high exalted Our melody we raise. Refrain. Thou didst accept their praises; Accept the praise we bring, Who in all good delightest, Thou good and gracious King. Refrain.
Word & Song by Anthony Esolen is an online magazine devoted to reclaiming the good, the beautiful, and the true. We publish six essays each week, on words, classic hymns, poems, films, and popular songs, as well a weekly podcast, alternately Poetry Aloud or Anthony Esolen Speaks. To support this project, please join us as a free or paid subscriber. Learn more about our subscription tiers by clicking the button below.
Agree entirely. Our parish actually still sings. ONE hymn per season, which is the dumbest thing any young, highly-trained organist could come up with. Apparently he believes we can't sing...
I love the Liturgical music (we're Latin Mass) but this is progress?
Congregational singing...well said.