The most beautiful Vexilla Regis that you’ve never heard

ServiamScores

Just what it says on the tin! I transcribed this directly from a 1732 manuscript in my collection. The melody is not in Gregobase (at least, not with this text).

https://psallitedomino.com/blog/vexilla-regis-1732

Demo: https://youtu.be/aJb9VZzsvf4?si=P84GRuekAnYlfbNv

Palestrina

The melody looks very familiar... I just can't remember where I've seen it before.

monasteryliturgist · Screenshot 2026-02-28 082314.png

The melody seems to be a variation from the Pentecost Melody for Compline

kevinf

Stunning. Wow!

probe

That's a keeper.

tomjaw

The melody is a variant of this, https://gregobase.selapa.net/chant.php?id=9947
The Dominican Hymnarium gives a XIII century date...

The global chant database has the Hymn O rex benigne Domlne as well as the Ad Cenam as a possible match,https://cantusindex.org/id/a00868
Manuscript link see 72r
https://www.manuscriptorium.com/hub/browser/default/detail?url=https:%2F%2Fcollectiones.manuscriptorium.com%2Fassorted%2FAIPDIG%2FNKCR__%2F4%2FAIPDIG-NKCR__XII_E_15C___0XHU8F4-cs%2F&lang=en&imageId=https:%2F%2Fimagines.manuscriptorium.com%2Floris%2FAIPDIG-NKCR__XII_E_15C___0XHU8F4-cs%2FID0072r

Melody is ST 229 or ST 245 is you have access to Bruno's book

The first manuscripts in the melody section are worth comparing,
https://cantusindex.org/id/008249

tomjaw

This is possibly the oldest example,
Einsiedeln · 11th / 12th century Codex 366(472)
https://www.e-codices.unifr.ch/en/sbe/0366/42/0/

ServiamScores

I’m grateful that you all have had more info on the melody. I’ll have to update the blog post when I get a chance. Interestingly, I like this corrupted variant better than the official versions that are still extant in the repertoire.

tomjaw

As it is the Feast of the Invention of the Holy Cross, we can bump this thread.

This version of the Vexilla Regis appears to have been used for today's feast, it has the section 'In Hoc Paschali...' that is used for this feast rather than the other words used for the Exaltation and a third set for Good Friday and Passiontide.

As for the melody, like many Office Hymns the melody changes to suit the season. So we have Vexilla Regis set to an Eastertide melody.

ServiamScores

I wondered about "in hoc paschali...". You've undoubtedly revealed the answer.

tomjaw · 6:42AM

Have just noticed the Manuscript itself also has the rubric just before the Hymn,

'In Festo Inventionis S. Crucis, Ad Vesperas, Hymnus'

So Hymn for Vespers for the Feast of the Invention (Finding) of the Holy Cross, this feast was celebrated on the 3rd May. I was removed in the 1957 calendar deformations.

It is interesting that this is the first piece in the Sanctoral section considering it began with the Feast of St Andrew.

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