Attende laudis canticum

I stumbled upon a wonderful thing while browsing around at the wonderful Musica Sacra site: Hymns of the Breviary – a book of the traditional sacred songs for use with the Hours translated into English.

Though the book is a compilation of many people’s work & does not explicitly list an author that I could see, the writer of the Preface gives credit to a Fr. Britt for the current edition. It was first published in 1922 & was in its 3^rd printing by 1936. It has a wonderful introductory material on the history of the Office & its hymns, of musical meter, & much more. The original Latin texts are given next to lovely English translations, missal-style.

I wanted to share a beautiful hymn for Friday Matins called “Tu, Trinitas Unitas,” from it’s opening line in Latin.

O Three in One, and One in Three,

Who rulest all things mightily:

Bow down to hear the songs of praise

Which, freed from bonds of sleep, we raise.

While lingers yet the peace of night,

We rouse us from our slumbers light:

That might of instant prayer may win

The healing balm for wounds of sin.

If, by wiles of Satan caught,

This night-time we have sinned in aught,

That sin Thy glorious power to-day,

From heaven descending, cleanse away.

Let naught impure our bodies stain,

No laggard sloth our souls detain,

No taint of sin our spirits know,

To chill the fervor of their glow.

Wherefore, Redeemer, grant that we

Fulfilled with Thine own light may be:

That, in our course, from day to day,

By no misdeed we fall away.

Grant this, O Father ever One

With Christ, Thy sole-begotten Son,

And Holy Ghost, whom all adore,

Reigning and blest forevermore.

I can picture these men yawning as they rise from sleep in their cells, rubbing their eyes as they make their way down cold stone halls towards the choir to sing their earliest Hour. I love the phrase urging God to “bow down to hear the songs of praise” (attende laudis canticum), which reminds me of the upcoming haunting Introit chant Incline, Domine, aurem tuam ad me (“Incline, O Lord, your ear to me”).

Note that the world of slumber is a place that we don’t want to leave; perhaps it is heavenly, but it is also an illusion – merely a dream. Returning to the real world, we wake up in cold darkness where an enemy lurks to ensnare us. The Devil? Surely; but also our own failures & lingering resentments, anguish over words spoken or choices made, maybe yesterday or maybe thirty years ago. But we pray to remain strong in the face of such temptation to despair; the One who loves us will come to our rescue. In our struggle, we must keep our eyes on the source of our light & warmth: the God in whom there is no darkness, but everlasting day – the God who makes all things new.

A note attributes the Latin original of this Iambic dimeter hymn to Pope St. Gregory the Great (d.604), translated by G.H. Palmer & J.W. Chadwick.