Sacred Music & History

Many of the best-known Marian hymns and antiphons were originally composed as Gregorian chant, but have also inspired great composers down to the present day.

The Magnificat or Canticle of Mary is one of the most ancient Christian hymns. Taken directly from the text of Luke 1:46-55, Mary’s response to Elizabeth’s greeting at the Visitation, it is traditionally recited or sung as part of the Divine Office or Liturgy of the Hours during Vespers. Almost every Catholic composer of note has set the Magnificat – among the versions sung by the Holy Spirit choir (in addition to the simple Gregorian tone) are the four-part setting by the Netherlands composer Jacques Arcadelt (1507-1568), the great Spanish master T.L. Victoria’s late 16th century setting (here sung with the chant by Richard Proulx’s Cathedral Singers), and Franz Biebl’s lush six-part setting including the Angelus prayer.

A long-standing English tradition for Choral Vespers (or Evensong) pairs settings of the Magnificat and the Nunc Dimittis (the Song of Simeon, Luke 2:28-32), familiarly known to choir members as the “Mag and Nunc.”  Among the best known settings are those by Tallis, Purcell, Vaughan Williams, C. V. Stanford (who wrote one in every key) - Magnificat (B flat);  Nunc Dimittis (B flat);  and Herbert Howells.

There are many “Marian Antiphons,” some of great antiquity, but the term usually refers to the four seasonal hymns to Mary, sometimes called the Marian Office Hymns to distinguish them from a typical antiphon, which precedes one of the Psalms. Traditionally they are sung at the close of Compline, the final sung hour of the Divine Office. In 1239, Pope Gregory IX assigned each of the four to a liturgical season: “Alma Redemptoris Mater” (“Loving mother of our Saviour”) is sung from Advent through Candlemas; “Ave Regina Caelorum” (“Hail Queen of Heaven”) from Candlemas through Good Friday; “Regina Caeli” (“Queen of Heaven, rejoice”) in the Easter season not only at Compline but in place of the Angelus; and “Salve Regina” (“Hail Holy Queen”) from Trinity Sunday until Advent).
 
The author of “Ave Regina Caelorum” is unknown, but it dates to at least the twelfth century. Traditionally, Pope St. Gregory the Great heard angels chanting the first three lines of the “Regina Caeli” during a procession imploring the Blessed Virgin’s intercession in a time of plague in Rome; holding the icon of the Virgin painted by St. Luke, he responded with the fourth line, “Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia!” The plague, it is said, ceased from that hour. The “Alma Redemptoris” and “Salve Regina” were composed by Bl. Hermannus Contractus, or Hermann the Cripple (1013-1054), a monk of the Abbey of Reichenau on the Bodensee in Germany. Despite being afflicted from childhood with paralysis that made it impossible for him to move without assistance, he persevered to become a renowned historian, astronomer, theologian, poet, and gifted composer. His talents, his virtue, and his winning personality brought students to him from all over Europe.
 
In addition to the chant settings, the Holy Spirit sings the spirited “Alma Redemptoris” of Palestrina and settings of “Regina Caeli” by Gregor Aichinger (German, 1565-1628), Antonio Lotti (Venetian, 1667-1740), and Jean-François Lallouette (French, 1651-1728).