Joy Fill Your Heart, O Queen Most High was written by the Scottish Jesuit Priest, Fr. James Quinn (1919-2010). It is set to the tune Lasst Uns Erfreuen, first published in the Jesuit hymnal: Ausserlesene Catlwlische Geistliche Kirchengesänge of 1623. In the Divine Office (1974), Joy Fill Your Heart, O Queen Most High is sung after Night Prayer (Compline) as an antiphon - a final anthem to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
O Most Holy One is an anonymous translation of the traditional Latin hymn, O Sanctissima. First published in 1794, O Sanctissima is believed to have originated in Sicily. According to a story associated with the it, Sicilian seaman would close their day by singing in unison this hymn; hence, it is sometimes called the Sicilian Mariners Hymn or Mariners Hymn. The tune for O Sanctissima is also used for the popular German Christmas carol: O du Fröhliche.
Tune: O Sanctissima (Instrumental)
O MOST HOLY ONE - Anonymous translation by C.W.L. (Public Domain)
O most holy one,
O most lowly one,
Loving Virgin, Maria!
Mother, Maid of fairest love,
Lady, Queen of all above,
Ora, ora pro nobis!
Virgin ever fair,
Mother, hear our prayer,
Look upon us, Maria!
Bring to us your treasure,
Grace beyond all measure;
Ora, ora pro nobis!
Gregorian, Sung by the Cathedral Singers of Richard Proulx
O SANCTISSIMA - Anonymous (Public Domain)
O sanctíssima,O piíssima,
Dulcis Virgo María;
Mater amáta, intemeráta,
Ora, ora pro nobis.
Tota pulchra es, O María, et
Mácula non est inte;
Mater amáta, intemeráta,
Ora, ora por nobis.
In miséria, in angústia,
Ora, Virgo, pro nobis;
Pro nobis ora, in mortis hora,
Ora, ora pro nobis.
Tu solátium et refúgium,
Virgo Mater María;
Quidquid optámus perte sperámus,
Ora, ora pro nobis.
Hail Queen of Heaven, Beyond Compare is a translation by the Benedictine Nuns of Stanbrook Abbey of the 12th century Latin hymn, Ave Regina Caelorum which has been traditionally sung as a Marian Antiphon after Compline in the Roman Breviary; used from the Feast of the Presentation (Feb. 2) to the Wednesday of Holy Week. The Collect, or Prayer (included below) that is associated with the hymn was said by St. Jerome (c.347-420) to have originated with St. Ephrem the Syrian (c.306-373). The text to Hail Queen of Heaven, Beyond Compare can be found here (then scroll to the bottom of the linked page). In the Divine Office and the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Antiphon is sung or recited at the conclusion of Night Prayer.
Gregorian Chant
AVE, REGINA CAELORUM (Public Domain)
Ave, Regina Caelorum,
Ave, Domina Angelorum:
Salve, radix, salve, porta
Ex qua mundo lux est orta:
Gaude, Virgo gloriosa,
Super omnes speciosa,
Vale, o valde decora,
Et pro nobis Christum exora.
V. Dignare me laudare te, Virgo sacrata.
R. Da mihi virtutem contra hostes tuos.
Oremus: Concede, misericors Deus, fragilitati nostrae praesidium: ut, qui sanctae Dei Genitricis memoriam agimus; intercessionis eius auxilio, a nostris iniquitatibus resurgamus. Per eundem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.
Basilica of the Assumption, Covington KY - Courtesy of Wikipedia
Queen of Heaven, Rejoice is an anonymous translation of the 12th century Latin hymn: Regina Cæli which is traditionally sung as a Marian antiphon after Compline in the Roman Breviary from Easter till Pentecost. An ancient tradition relates how at Easter time in the year 596, as Rome suffered from a great pestilence, Pope St. Gregory the Great (c.540-604), barefoot and holding an icon of the Madonna said to have been painted by St. Luke, heard the first three lines of Regina Cæli sung by angels as he led a procession through the city at dawn to entreat deliverance. He answered them with: "Ora pro nobis Deum. Alleluia!", and saw a vision of an angel with sword, readied for battle. From that day, the pestilence is said to have ceased. In the Divine Office (1974), the Liturgy of the Hours (1975), and the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Regina Cœli is sung at the conclusion of Night Prayer. In the Divine Office (1974), Queen of Heaven, Rejoice is sung as a final anthem after Night Prayer.
Regina coeli laetare,
Alleluia,
Quia quem meruisti portare.
Alleluia,
Resurrexit,
Sicut dixit,
Alleluia.
Ora pro nobis Deum.
Alleluia.
MOTHER OF CHRIST, HEAR THOU THY PEOPLE'S CRY by Edward Caswall, 1849 (Public Domain)
Mother of Christ, hear thou thy people's cry
Star of the deep and Portal of the sky!
Mother of Him who thee made from nothing made.
Sinking we strive and call to thee for aid:
Oh, by what joy which Gabriel brought to thee,
Thou Virgin first and last, let us thy mercy see.
Alma Redemptoris Mater, quae pervia caeli
Porta manes, et stella maris, succurre cadenti,
Surgere qui curat, populo: tu quae genuisti,
Natura mirante, tuum sanctum Genitorem
Virgo prius ac posterius, Gabrielis ab ore
Sumens illud Ave, peccatorum miserere.
Hail, Our Queen and Mother Blest is a translation of the Latin hymn, Salve Regina. This translation, used as an Antiphon sung after Night Prayer in modern Divine Office is set to the tune, Gaudeamus Pariter (Ave Virgo Virginum) composed by Johann Roh (c.1495-1547) and adapted in 1584 by Johann Leisentrit (1527-1586). The lyrics can be found here, under the heading: "English hymns based on the Latin original". Salve Regina (see 2nd video) isan anonymous Latin hymn that dates back to the Middle Ages. It is one of four Marian antiphons traditionally sung after Compline in the Roman Breviary. Authorship is uncertain, but modern research suggests the Benedictine Abbot, St. Hermann of Reichenau (1013-1054) as the most likely composer. Crippled from birth and suffering from a paralytic condition, at the age of 7 he was placed in the care of the Benedictine monks on the Monastic Island of Reichenau. The Abbey was a center of arts and learning at the time. There he thrived, becoming an expert scholar, composer, music theorist, mathematician, and astronomer. He is also credited with the composition of another of the Marian antiphon's, Alma Redemptoris Mater. The text of Salve Regina in it's current form was set down at Cluny Abbey in the 12th century. In the Liturgy of the Hours and the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary it is sung or recited at the conclusion of Night Prayer. It is also included as an optional hymn for Monday Evening Prayer in the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Tune: Gaudeamus Pariter
SALVE REGINA
Salve Regina, Mater misericordiae,
Vita dulcedo et spes nostra salve.
Ad te clamamus exsules filii Hevae.
Ad te suspiramus gementes et flentes,
in hac lacrimarum valle.
Eja ergo advocata nostra,
illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte.
Et Jesum benedictum fructum ventris tui
nobis post hoc exsilium ostende.
O clemens, o pia, o dulcis Virgo Maria.
