Christ is Here, Emmanuel!

Fresco by Geburt Christi Pescoller (Sr) - Courtesy of Wikipedia

Christ is Here, Emmanuel! is written by the Benedictine Nuns of Stanbrook Abbey. In the Divine Office (1974) it is sung during Christmastide before Epiphany. The recommended tune in the Office is Ravenshaw. That tune's hymn meter of 66.66 unfortunately does not match the text of Christ is Here, Emmanuel! An alternative tune that can be used in it's place is the plainchant melody featured in the following video.


Alternative Tune: Plainchant (Mary Crowned with Living Light)

Bright as Fire in Darkness

Leadpoint on Wood by Girolamo dai Libri - Courtesy of Wikipedia

Bright as Fire in Darkness is written by the Benedictine Nuns of Stanbrook Abbey. In the Divine Office (1974) it is sung with the Office of Readings. The recommended musical setting is Gott Ein Vater by Friedrich Silcher (1789-1860). An alternative tune that can also be used is Quietude (Green), as featured in the following video.

Alternative Tune: Quietude (Green)

Spirit of God On the Waste and the Darkness

Dome of Santa Maria Maddalena, Rome - Courtesy of Wikipedia

Spirit of God On the Waste and the Darkness is written by the Benedictine Nuns of Stanbrook Abbey. In the Divine Office (1974) it is one of the hymns selected for use during Eastertide after Ascension Day. It is set to Liebster Immanuel, a melody from the Himmels-Lust of 1679, adapted and harmonized by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). An alternative tune that can also be used is Morning Star, as featured in the following video.


Alternative Tune: Morning Star

When Time Began, God Walked With Man

Facade of the Basilica of St. John Lateran, Rome - Courtesy of Wikipedia

When Time Began, God Walked With Man is written by the Benedictine Nuns of Stanbrook Abbey. In the Divine Office (1974) it is sung at Morning Prayer in the Common of the Dedication of a Church. For it's musical setting, the Office recommends the 1861 hymn tune: Melita by the Anglican clergyman and hymnist, John Bacchus Dykes (1823-1876).


Tune: Melita

When Jesus Comes to be Baptized

Mural in St. John the Baptism Church, Qasr al-Yahud - Courtesy Wikipedia

When Jesus Comes to be Baptized is written by the Benedictine Nuns of Stanbrook Abbey. In the Divine Office (1974) it is sung on the Sunday after January 6th, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. It is set to the tune: Winchester New by Bartholomäus Crasselius (1667-1724), first published in the Mu­si­kal­isch­es Hand­buch of 1690.


Tune: Winchester New

We Bless You, Father, Lord of Life

Painting by Max Fürst - Courtesy of Wikipedia

We Bless You, Father, Lord of Life is written by the Benedictine Nuns of Stanbrook Abbey. In the Divine Office (1974) it is sung at Friday Morning Prayer (Weeks 1 and 3). For it's musical setting, the Office recommends the hymn tune: Saxony. An alternative tune that can also be used is Wareham, as featured in the following video.

Alternative Tune: Wareham

The Love of God was Shown to Man

Embroidery by Henri Van Severen - Courtesy of Wikipedia

The Love of God was Shown to Man is written by the Benedictine Nuns of Stanbrook Abbey. In the Divine Office (1974) it is sung at Morning Prayer on the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart. For it's musical setting the Office recommends the 1874 hymn tune: Abends by the English composer and musician, Herbert Stanley Oakeley (1830-1903).

Tune: Abends

The Lord Goes Up With Shouts of Joy

Folio from Trés Riches Heures - Courtesy of Wikipedia

The Lord Goes Up With Shouts of Joy is written by the Benedictine Nuns of Stanbrook Abbey. In the Divine Office (1974) it is sung for both Evening I and at Evening Prayer II on the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord. It is set to the 1793 tune: Duke Street, by John Warrington Hatton (c.1710-1793).


Tune: Duke Street

The Father's Holy Ones, the Blest

Orthodox Icon - Courtesy of Wikipedia

The Father's Holy Ones, the Blest is written by the Benedictine Nuns of Stanbrook Abbey. In the Divine Office (1974) it is sung at Morning Prayer on November 1st, the Solemnity of All Saints. The Office recommends the hymn tune: Auctoritate Saeculi as it's musical setting. An alternative tune that can also be used is Duke Street, as featured in the following video.


Alternative Tune: Duke Street

The Ark Which God Has Sanctified

Etching by Francesco Bartolozzi - Courtesy Wikipedia

The Ark Which God Has Sanctified is written by the Benedictine Nuns of Stanbrook Abbey. In the Divine Office (1974) it is sung with Morning Prayer on August 15th, the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is set to the 1836 tune: St Peter (Reinagle) by Alexander Robert Reinagle (1799-1877).


Tune: St Peter (Reinagle)

Proclaim His Triumph, Heaven and Earth

1558 Painting - Courtesy of Wikipedia 

Proclaim His Triumph, Heaven and Earth is written by the Benedictine Nuns of Stanbrook Abbey. In the Divine Office (1974) it is included among the optional hymns for Eastertide sung up until Ascension Day. It is set to the 1628 tune: Eisenach by the early Baroque composer, Johann Hermann Schein (1586-1630). An accomplished and innovative composer of both secular and sacred music, the relatively small number of hymns which he composed were mostly written on the occasions of the deaths of friends or family, which included the loss of seven children and his first wife.


Tune: Eisenach

O Light Serene of God the Father's Glory

Evening Star, at Hour of Sunset

O Light Serene of God the Father's Glory is written by the Benedictine Nuns of Stanbrook Abbey. In the Divine Office (1974) it is used for Sunday Evening Prayer I (Week 1) and for Sunday Evening Prayer I (Week 3). The Divine Office does not recommend any tune for this hymn, which is written in the rarely used meter of 11.6.11.4. Likewise, I too have not been unable to locate any tune that I could suggest as an alternative.

O God, Creator of Us All

From Whom We Come, To Whom We Go

O God, Creator of Us All is written by the Benedictine Nuns of Stanbrook Abbey. In the Divine Office (1974) it is one of the optional hymns used during Lent. The recommended tune in the Divine Office is Severn View. An alternative tune that can also be used is the Old Hundredth, as featured in the following video.

Alternative Tune: Old 100th

O Peter, Who Were Named by Christ

Painting by Carlo Crivelli - Courtesy Wikipedia

O Peter, Who Were Named by Christ is written by the Benedictine Nuns of Stanbrook Abbey. In the Divine Office (1974) it is sung on February 22, the Feast of the See of Saint Peter. It is set to the 1918 tune: Gonfalon Royal, by Percy Carter Buck (1871-1947).

Tune: Gonfalon Royal

O Fathers of Our Ancient Faith

Fresco by Johann Georg Unruhe - Courtesy of Wikipedia

O Fathers of Our Ancient Faith is written by the Benedictine Nuns of Stanbrook Abbey. In the Divine Office (1974) it is sung at Morning Prayer in the Common of Apostles. It is set to the anonymous tune associated with the 7th century Latin hymn: Creator Alme Siderum, as featured in the following video.


Tune: Creator Alme Siderum

O Christ the Light of Heaven

You Come in All Your Radiance

O Christ the Light of Heaven is written by the Benedictine Nuns of Stanbrook Abbey. In the Divine Office (1974) it is sung at Tuesday (Week 1) Morning Prayer. The recommended musical setting in the Divine Office is the tune: Narenza, first published in the Hymnologium of 1584 . An alternative tune that can also be used is Christus Der Ist Mein Leben, as featured in the following video.


Alternative Tune: Christus Der Ist Mein Leben (with introduction)

O Blessèd Lord, Creator God

You are the Light of Endless Days

O Blessèd Lord, Creator God (p. 148) is written by the Benedictine Nuns of Stanbrook Abbey. In the Divine Office (1974) it is sung at Sunday Daytime Prayer (Week 1). The Divine Office recommends the tune: O Mensch Sieh, first published in the Bohemian Brethren's Kirchengesänge of 1566. An alternative tune that can also be used is Holy Sepulchre (Thorne), as featured in the following video.


Alternative Tune: Holy Sepulchre (Thorne)

More Ancient than the Primal World

Painting by Carl Bloch - Courtesy of Wikipedia

More Ancient than the Primal World is written by the Benedictine Nuns of Stanbrook Abbey. In the Divine Office (1974) it is sung at Morning Prayer on the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, August 6th. It is set to the anonymous tune associated with the 7th century Latin hymn: Creator Alme Siderum, as featured in the following video.


Tune: Creator Alme Siderum

Lord God, Your Light Which Dims the Stars

All that Springs to Life in You, Your Glory Sings

Lord God, Your Light Which Dims the Stars is written by the Benedictine Nuns of Stanbrook Abbey. In the Divine Office (1974), it is sung at Wednesday Morning Prayer (Week 1). The suggested musical setting in the Divine Office is the hymn tune: Providence. I have not been able to locate any alternative tune that I can recommend.

In the Beginning God Created Heaven

His Spirit Moved Across the Sombre Waters

In the Beginning God Created Heaven is written by the Benedictine Nuns of Stanbrook Abbey. In the Divine Office (1974), In the Beginning God Created Heaven is used as an alternative hymn for Sunday (Week 1) Evening Prayer II. It is written using the rarely used hymn metre of 11.6.11.6.. The Divine Office does not recommend a specific tune for this hymn; likewise, I have not been able to locate any alternative musical setting that I can suggest.