Hymn for the feast of St. Peter & Paul (in English)
  • Aga
    Posts: 38
    I would like to find some beautiful, orthodox and not so difficult hymn for the feast of St. Peter and Paul.
    Its text should be in English. Could you give me some suggestions?

    Any suggestion will be appreciated.
    Aga
  • Heath
    Posts: 966
    I know Kathy Pluth has done one or more . . . should be on her site somewhere:

    http://hymnographyunbound.blogspot.com/
  • Kathy
    Posts: 5,510
    I almost forgot this one, which is the Lauds hymn proper to the feast itself, St. Ambrose's Apostolorum Passio. Like those in the CanticaNOVA article, it's in Ambrosian meter, 8888 (LM) iambic. Jesu dulcis memoria is a well-known chant tune that would work well, although to my ears, this one sounds best to Deo Gratias.

    Blest day by suff’ring sanctified:
    Christ’s chosen high apostles died.
    Today St. Peter wins renown.
    Today St. Paul accepts the crown.

    Together, equally, they bled:
    Together: the victorious dead.
    They followed God and sacrificed
    And now their faith is crowned by Christ.

    St. Peter holds the highest place,
    Yet Paul is not the less by grace.
    An equal faith was giv’n to Paul:
    The chosen vessel of God’s call.

    St. Peter, downward crucified—
    To honor God in how he died—
    Securely tied, he sees unfold
    The death his Shepherd once foretold.

    On such foundations Rome may claim
    The highest service of God’s name.
    His noble blood has dignified
    The city where this prophet died.

    Let all the world, then, run to Rome.
    Let families of nations come!
    The head of nations teaches there
    Beside the nations’ teacher's chair.

    O Lord, we ask that we may be
    In their exalted company,
    And with our princes sing Your praise
    Forever, to unending days.

    Apostolorum passio
    diem sacravit sæculi,
    Petri triumphum nobilem,
    Pauli coronam pæferens.

    Coniunxit æquales viros
    cruor triumphalis necis;
    Deum secutos præsulem
    Christi coronavit fides.

    Primus Petrus apostolus;
    nec Paulus inpar gratia,
    electionis vas sacræ,
    Petri adæquavit fidem.

    Verso crucis vestigio
    Simon, honorem dans Deo,
    suspensus ascendit, dati
    non inmemor oraculi.

    Hinc Roma celsum verticem
    devotionis extulit,
    fundata tali sanguine
    et vate tanto nobilis.

    Huc ire quis mundum putet,
    concurrere plebem poli:
    electa gentium caput,
    sedes magistri gentium.

    Horum, Redemptor, quæsumus,
    ut principum consortio
    iungas precantes servulos
    in sempterna sæcula.
  • Aga
    Posts: 38
    Many thanks, this hymn is great!
  • Kathy
    Posts: 5,510
    (bumping for the feast)
  • Kathy
    Posts: 5,510
    This translation isn't as polished as I'd like, but anyone is welcome to use it Friday evening/ Saturday:

    Aurea luce
    Sts. Peter and Paul
    1st Vespers

    O light of dawn, O rosy glow,
    O Light from Light, all ages show
    Your beauty, and the martyrs fame,
    That gain us pardon from our blame.

    The heavens' porter, and earth’s sage,
    The world’s bright lights who judge the age.
    One wins by cross, and one by sword,
    And life on high is their reward.

    These are your princes, happy Rome!
    Their precious blood clothes you, their home.
    We praise not you, but praise their worth,
    Beyond all beauty of the earth.

    One love, one faith, twin olive trees,
    One great strong hope filled both of these.
    Full fonts, in your matched charity,
    Pray that we may in heaven be.

    Give glory to the Trinity
    And honor to the Unity,
    And joy and pow’r, for their reign stays
    Today and through all endless days.

  • Adam WoodAdam Wood
    Posts: 6,482
    O Light from Light, all ages show
    Your beauty, and the martyrs fame,

    Love it. Not enough writers are willing to let grammar structures span, hemiola-like, the metrical framework. And too many that do, do it poorly. Something about just this one little moment here I really appreciate.


    The heavens' porter, and earth’s sage,


    how about "earth's own sage" to get the accent on the right syllable?
    (Although that looses "and" which makes it sound like two titles for one person.

    Anyway- something must be done here, I think.)

    Perhaps there's a better word for "porter." I know what you're getting at (and, I assume, what the original is getting at), as heaven's "doorkeeper," but I suspect that the remaining few English speakers who actually know the word associate it primarily with the carrying of objects or the assistance of passengers.

    One wins by cross, and one by sword,

    love it.

    Full fonts, in your matched charity,

    Very mouthy.
    I have no suggestion, because I'm not sure what these words are getting at.

    Pray that we may in heaven be.

    I do not know why, and there's nothing wrong with this as it is, but for some reason I would personally prefer:
    "Pray that in heaven we may be."

    And joy and pow’r, for their reign stays
    Today and through all endless days.

    Something in the rhythm not quite working for me. I think because even though "pow'r" is theoretically one syllable, its quite a long syllable and butts into the next syllable, which pushes back, being a Phat consonant.
    What about transposing- "pow'r and joy" ? Having a vowel after "pow'r" fixes it (for my ears at least).

    -------------------------
    It's lovely.
    Thanked by 1Kathy
  • PaixGioiaAmorPaixGioiaAmor
    Posts: 1,473
    When I worked at a church whose patron was St. Peter, we used a text from the St. Basil hymnal: "O Sing the Great Apostle." It was to some weird tune in the hymnal, but we sang it to ELLACOMBE.
  • Kathy
    Posts: 5,510
    Bumping for the feast.
    Thanked by 1CHGiffen
  • The "Blest Day by Suffering" (the first set of text in this thread) sounds good to "Deus Tuorum Militum". That would be good for us to use some time if we ever get the chance to celebrate the feast.
  • Kathy
    Posts: 5,510
    (bump)
  • Kathy
    Posts: 5,510
    My goodness. My translation of Aurea luce seems to be all over the interwebs, unattributed, including an SSPX blog...
  • marajoymarajoy
    Posts: 783
    :-(
    sorry to hear that, Kathy. (yes, this is a timely bump.)
    Thanked by 1eft94530
  • eft94530eft94530
    Posts: 1,577
    ** I will update this post to specify likely movement timestamps **

    Paulus (Opus 78) (1903)
    Sechs Stimmungsbilder für die Orgel
    [Six mood-pictures for the organ]
    by
    Otto Malling (1845-1915)

    Online Score
    http://imslp.org/wiki/Paulus,_Op.78_(Malling,_Otto)

    Online Soundfiles
    1.
    Saulus raser mod Herrens Disciple
    [Saul rages against the disciples of the Lord]==5p==4:57
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlMnNSVLA4k
    2.
    Pa Vejen til Damaskus
    [On the road to Damascus]==4p==5:07
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzZXic02jTc
    3.
    Saulus bliver seende og omvender sig
    [Saul is seeing and repenting]==3p==4:43
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlSt4BcSQps
    4.
    Paulus forkynder Evangeliet og lider Forfolgelse (Acts 13:47-52)
    [Paul preaches the Gospel and suffers persecution]==4p==4:48
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lzl6WxUfQQ
    5.
    Folket holder Paulus for en Gud og ofrer til ham (Acts 14:11-18)
    [The people hold Paul as a god and sacrifice to him]==4p==4:36
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa5Qop07mU8
    6.
    Kjaerlighedens Gave (1 Cor 13:13)
    [The gift of love]==2p==3:56
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jErkY6KMc5A


    Several hymn tune fragments seem to be in these movements
    but they are not identified in the score.
    Further, any verses joined to these tunes would have been in Danish.
    I do not know if any are directly about Saint Paul.