Rosa vernans
  • mjballoumjballou
    Posts: 993
    I found this charming piece by accident in the 1952 Chants of the Church (helpfully available on musicsacra.com). While the chant is prefaced with an Alleluia, I'm not sure where it came from and a rapid Google search wasn't very helpful. Is it a responsory? It appears to have seasonal versicle/respond pairings. And the text rhymes.

    Inquiring minds want to know.
  • Maureen
    Posts: 675
    Googling... it looks like back in period it was some sort of verse for graduals, in some cases, and a breviary hymn in others.

    In either case, it looks like people were changing the one bit about being a rose of martyrdom to be a star named X for various saints.

    "stella Simplicianus"
    "stella fulgens Ludovicus"

    Alternately, you get people changing the next line for your virgin martyrs to be a lily named X:
    "liliis candens Emerentiam"

    There also seems to be a certain amount of shortening and lengthening going on, to customize the words to the saint and the function.

    Shrug. I got nothin'. But the customizability could be useful.
  • Maureen
    Posts: 675
    I found something: http://www.cantionova.de/cantlit/Gesamt_view.php?editid1=209

    It seems to be saying that the basic Marian version is something you can sing on any Marian feast.
  • mjballoumjballou
    Posts: 993
    Thanks, Maureen. It's always a little odd to me that the monks didn't bother to "locate" the chants that they published in these collections. My guess is that they assumed anyone using the book would already know.
  • Patricia Cecilia
    Posts: 397
    MJ, I found it last autumn in the Crown Hymnal (also downloadable here at MS) and then found a video of it sung by the Benedictines of Saint-Benoît-du-Lac, Quebec:

    http://castroller.com/podcasts/TheVirtualGramophone4/350291

    Because two of the priests for whom my schola sings have a great Marian devotion, I'm always on the lookout for new Marian chants. This one has become a favorite. I'm in the process of transcribing (as best I can) the Fontgombault-style accompaniment from this video, and have also tinkered with simple counterpoint, but am not yet satisfied with it.
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