Hail Queen of Heaven, Beyond Compare / Ave Regina Caelorum

To Whom the Angels, Homage Pay

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.

Hymns and Marian Antiphons from the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Alphabetical index of all hymns and Marian Antiphons included in the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1988) , by the Catholic Book Publishing Company. The Little Office is a variation of the Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Liturgy of the Hours and is prayed in addition to the Divine Office. Rather than the 4 week cycle of the Breviary, it follows a simpler 1 week cycle. For those interested in the Divine Office but are unsure about the cost of a Breviary and it's complexity, the Little Office of the B.V.M. provides new comers an easy to use and affordable alternative. The earliest recorded use of the devotion was in the 8th century at the Benedictine Monastery of Monte Cassino when the practice received approval from Pope Zachary (679-752). From there it spread to other Monastic communities, often with considerable variation, and eventually became popular with secular clergy, Third Orders, and devout Laity. It was standardized by St. Pius V (1504-1572) in 1585 and revised by St. Pius X (1835-1914) in 1910. The reforms of Vatican II recommended the use of the Liturgy of the Hours in place of the Little Office, and consequently did not revise it. None the less, Religious Orders and publishers have produced new versions approved for private or community devotions. As well, Benedict XVI's 2007 Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum made it again possible for the approved use of the 1961 Latin text of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Related Post: Index of Marian Hymns and Antiphons.

Alma Redemptoris Mater
Ave Maria
Ave Regina Caelorum
Breathe On Me, Breath of God
Firmly I Believe and Truly
From All That Dwell Below the Skies
Hail, Holy Queen
Hail, Queen of Heaven, the Ocean Star
Help Us, O Lord
Lord God and Maker of All Things
Lord of All Hopefulness
Mary, Crowned with Living Light
Mary Immaculate, Star of the Morning
Mary the Dawn
O Christ, You are the Light and Day
O Mary, of All Women
Praise to Mary, Heaven's Gate
Regina Caeli
Salve Regina
The God Whom Earth and Sea and Sky
Virgin-Born, We Bow Before You
What Child is This
Ye Who Own the Faith of Jesus

Queen of Heaven, Rejoice / Regina Caeli

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 / Alma Redemptoris Mater

Gate of Heaven

Mother of Christ, Hear Thou Thy People's Cry is a translation by of the 11th century Latin hymn, Alma Redemptoris Mater composed by the Benedictine Abbot, St. Hermann Contractus of Reichenau (1013-1054). 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 excelled, becoming an expert scholar, composer, music theorist, mathematician, and astronomer. Alma Redemptoris Mater was traditionally sung after Compline in the Roman Breviary and used from the First Sunday of Advent to the Feast of Purification (Feb. 2). In 1849 it was translated into English as Mother of Christ, Hear Thou Thy People's Cry by Fr. Edward Caswall and included in his collection, the Lyra Catholica.

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 / Salve Regina

Mother of Mercy

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) is an 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.


Gregorian

Ave Maria

Gratia Plena

Ave Maria, the Latin text of the Hail Mary, has been set to music numerous times and by many of the world's most famous composers including Mozart, Bach, Schubert, Brahms, Rossini, and Gounod. The first half of the prayer is composed of the Angel Gabriel's salutation and St. Elizabeth's Divinely inspired  greeting from Luke 1, with the names of Mary and Jesus added for clarity during the Middle Ages; while the second half (the petition) followed later. The first complete text of the prayer did not appear in print until 1495, when it was published in Girolamo Savonarola's "Esposizione sopra l’Ave Maria." There are many settings of the Latin text in Gregorian Chant. Among the most widely used is the Mode I version, as sung in the following video. In the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Ave Maria is used during Wednesday Evening Prayer.



Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum
benedicta tu in mulieribus
et benedictus fructus ventris tuis, Jesu

Sancta Maria, Mater dei,
ora pro nobis peccatoribus
Nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.

Ye Who Own the Faith of Jesus

Hail Mary, Full of Grace

Ye Who Own the Faith of Jesus was written by the Anglican Priest and educator, Vincent Stuckey Stratton Coles (1845-1929). It was one of three contributions he made to the English Hymnal of 1906. It is set to the tune, Den das Vaters Sinn Geboren by the Lutheran Pastor, Johann Anastasius Freylinghausen (1670-1739). In the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin May, Ye Who Own the Faith of Jesus is used in the Office of Readings.