Description
Welcome to my Kingdom Marketplace space! Here you can purchase digital downloads of my music and best help support me.
This listing is for a Digital Download of my album Sacred Hymns from the Medieval World. Drawing from the sacred hymns of the Divine Office, a book of psalms and prayers used by religious monks and nuns throughout history, this is a compilation of hymns of Gregorian Chant, sung by me from the heart!I really hope they bring you a bit of peace, wherever you are.
This digital download consists of a .zip folder containing ten MP3 files. Once you’ve downloaded the .zip file, you’ll need to right hand click on it and choose “extract to…” to save it to a new accessible folder on your computer.
The track listing is as follows:
1. Vexilla Regis (3:39)
2. Beata Nobis Gaudia (3:20)
3. Adesto Sancta Trinitas (3:26)
4. Lustra Sex Qui Jam Peregit (4:48)
5. Caelitum Joseph (2:34)
6. Invicte Martyr Unicum (1:57)
7. Fortem Virili Pectore (2:02)
8. Te Splendor (2:18)
9. Christe Sanctorum (2:37)
10. En Clara Vox (1:42)
These titles may sound like unpronounceable, strange Latin words, so let’s go through what they mean together:
All of these titles are taken from the first line of the hymn.
1. Vexilla Regis means “the Banners of the King”, and is a hymn traditionally sung in the week leading up to Good Friday, honouring Jesus as He undertook His Passion for our salvation. My favourite line from this hymn is O Crux, ave! spes unica, which means, “O Cross, hail, our only hope!”
2) Beata Nobis Gaudia means “blessed are our joys!” and is sung during Pentecost, celebrating the giving of the Holy Spirit to the first Apostles and to the whole church.
3) Adesto Sancte Trinitas means “Be present, Holy Trinity” and is a personal favourite of mine for its beautifully haunting tune.
4) Lustra Sex Qui Jam Peregit means “Thirty years which was now completed…” Lustra is an old custom of saying a period of “five years”, after the purification ceremony that was performed after a Roman census took place every five years. “Lustra Sex” means “Five lots of six”, which equals thirty, and refers to the thirty years of Jesus’ life before He began His public ministry that concluded with His sacrifice of His life for the human race. This hymn is sung during Passiontide, and commemorates the ultimate sacrifice He would make. The lyrics are profoundly beautiful, and my favourite verse honours the actual wood of the cross: Bow down thy branches, lofty tree! unstring thy sinews, soften thine inborn hardness, and gently welcome the Body of our almighty King! Sweet is the wood … Thou alone wast found worthy to bear the Victim of the world! Thou wast the ark that led this shipwrecked world into the haven of salvation! The sacred Blood that flowed from the Lamb covered and anointed thee. O Faithful Cross! thou noblest of all trees: No forest yields thy like, in leaf, or flower, or fruit. Sweet is the wood, that hath nails so sweet, and bears so sweet a weight!
5) Caelitum Joseph (decus) means “Joseph, glory of the heavens” and is a beautiful ode and prayer to Saint Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary, asking for his prayer and fatherly intercession for us, the brethren of the Lord, and therefore his spiritual foster children too!
6) Invicte Martyr Unicum means “O Unconquered martyr”, and congratulates any son or daughter of God who has gone before us and shed their blood for the love of Jesus. It asks them to look down from Heaven upon us and intercede for us that we may too have such courage, and brings all glory back to the Holy Trinity.
7) Fortem Virili Pectore (laudemus omnem feminam) means “Let us all praise this woman who has a strong and brave heart”. It is sung when commemorating a saintly woman who has gone before us and shone as a beautiful example of what it means to be a follower of Christ.
8) Te Splendor means “Your splendour” and the completion of the sentence is, “Your splendour and strength of the Father, You, Jesus, the life of the heart! We praise you among the angels, who from you draw their light and life. The hymn itself is sung on the feast day of Saint Michael the Archangel, and asks his protection against the evil one, the “prince of pride”.
9) Christe Sanctorum (decus Angelorum) means “O Christ of the Saints, glory of the angels” and is also a hymn sung when commemorating the angels, but always in light of the identity of Jesus and who He is, King of all.
10) En Clara Vox (redarguit) means “a clear voice now rebukes” referring to St John the Baptist preparing the way of the Lord. This hymn is traditionally sung in Advent, before the coming of the Lord Jesus at Christmas, and is seen as a wake-up call for all of us to reform our lives before Jesus comes again!
These are all such beautiful praises to God, and I’m really happy to be able to share them with you! My YouTube channel is here, where you can find links to each of the songs and the music notation and lyrics to go with them. I truly hope these hymns enrich your life and bring a bit of peace and beauty to your day! https://www.youtube.com/@likethehart
