Hymn of the Month: O Queen of the Holy Rosary
  • Don9of11Don9of11
    Posts: 898
    As we enter October, I wanted to share a deep-dive research piece I put together on the classic Marian hymn, "O Queen of the Holy Rosary".

    Written in 1882 by English convert and author Emily Mary Shapcote, the text first appeared in the 1885 St. Dominic’s Hymnal. What makes this particular hymn so fascinating from a repertory perspective is its incredible musical breadth: I’ve tracked down ten different historical melodies used for this text across various Catholic hymnals from the late 19th through the mid-20th centuries.

    The write-up covers:
    • The biography and background of the author, Emily Mary Shapcote.
    • Its inclusion across major historical American and English Catholic hymnals.
    • Detailed breakdowns of all 10 musical settings—including tunes by J. Hallett Sheppard, William Sewell, traditional sources like Ellacombe, Archbishop Joseph Schrembs, and more.
    • Links to archival scans and computer-generated audio files of the historic settings.


    You can read the full article and explore the scores here: O Queen of the Holy Rosary

    I would love to hear if any of your parish choirs still sing this hymn, or which of the historical tune settings you might be familiar with!
    Thanked by 1oldhymns
  • Brian Michael Page
    Posts: 160
    That's our recessional hymn on Oct. 11, using "Ellacombe" as the tune.
    BMP
    PS: Sorry, I'm one of those oddballs who doesn't write the tune name in all caps in written conversation. ;)
    Thanked by 1Don9of11
  • OMagnumMysterium
    Posts: 373
    We still sing it, at least once a year during October. We have old photocopies of the version from the 1918 St. Basil's hymnal, I guess that's ELLACOMBE. The director leaves a pile of the old photocopies by the entrance for the people in the pews to grab on their way in, and we sing the four part harmony as written from up in the loft (I'm guessing most people in the pews just sing melody, although they have all the parts blurrily notated).
    Thanked by 1Don9of11
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