Tempi Madonna by Raffaello Sanzio - Alte Pinakothek - Munich - Germany 2017

"Alma Redemptoris Mater" (; "Loving Mother of our Redeemer") is a

Marian hymn Marian hymns are Christian songs focused on Mary, mother of Jesus. They are used in both devotional and liturgical services, particularly by the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran churches. They are often used in the mont ...

, written in Latin

hexameter Hexameter is a metrical line of verses consisting of six feet (a "foot" here is the pulse, or major accent, of words in an English line of poetry; in Greek and Latin a "foot" is not an accent, but describes various combinations of syllables). It w ...

, and one of four seasonal liturgical

Marian antiphons Marian hymns are Christian songs focused on Mary, mother of Jesus. They are used in both devotional and liturgical services, particularly by the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran churches. They are often used in the mont ...

sung at the end of the

office An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific ...

Compline Compline ( ), also known as Complin, Night Prayer, or the Prayers at the End of the Day, is the final prayer service (or office) of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours, which are prayed at fixed prayer times. The English ...

(the other three being ''

Ave Regina Caelorum "Ave Regina caelorum" is one of the Marian antiphons said or sung in the Liturgy of the Hours at the close of compline. In the Roman Breviary as revised by Pope Pius V in 1569 it was assigned for this use from compline of 2 February until compl ...

'', ''

Regina Caeli "Regina caeli" (; Queen of Heaven) is a musical antiphon addressed to the Blessed Virgin Mary that is used in the liturgy of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church during the Easter season, from Easter Sunday until Pentecost. During this season ...

'' and ''

Salve Regina The "Salve Regina" (, ; meaning 'Hail Queen'), also known as the "Hail Holy Queen", is a Marian hymn and one of four Marian antiphons sung at different seasons within the Christian liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church. The Salve Regina ...

'').

History

Hermannus Contractus Blessed Hermann of Reichenau (18 July 1013– 24 September 1054), also known by other names, was an 11th-century Benedictine monk and scholar. He composed works on history, music theory, mathematics, and astronomy, as well as many hymn ...

(also called Herman the Cripple; 1013–1054) is said to have authored the hymn based on the writings of Saints

Fulgentius Fulgentius is a Latin male given name which means "bright, brilliant". It may refer to: *Fabius Planciades Fulgentius (5th–6th century), Latin grammarian *Saint Fulgentius of Ruspe (5th–6th century), bishop of Ruspe, North Africa, possib ...

, Epiphanius, and

Irenaeus Irenaeus (; grc-gre, Εἰρηναῖος ''Eirēnaios''; c. 130 – c. 202 AD) was a Greek bishop noted for his role in guiding and expanding Christian communities in the southern regions of present-day France and, more widely, for the de ...

of Lyon. It is mentioned in ''

The Prioress's Tale "The Prioress's Tale" ( enm, The Prioresses Tale) follows "The Shipman's Tale" in Geoffrey Chaucer's '' The Canterbury Tales''. Because of fragmentation of the manuscripts, it is impossible to tell where it comes in ordinal sequence, but it is se ...

'', one of

Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for '' The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...

's ''

Canterbury Tales ''The Canterbury Tales'' ( enm, Tales of Caunterbury) is a collection of twenty-four stories that runs to over 17,000 lines written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. It is widely regarded as Chaucer's '' magnum opu ...

''. Formerly it was recited at the end of the canonical hours only from the first Sunday in

Advent Advent is a Christian season of preparation for the Nativity of Christ at Christmas. It is the beginning of the liturgical year in Western Christianity. The name was adopted from Latin "coming; arrival", translating Greek '' parousia''. ...

until the

Feast of the Purification Candlemas (also spelled Candlemass), also known as the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus Christ, the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or the Feast of the Holy Encounter, is a Christian holiday commemorating the presentat ...

(2 February). It was translated into English by

John Henry Newman John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English theologian, academic, intellectual, philosopher, polymath, historian, writer, scholar and poet, first as an Anglican priest and later as a Catholic priest and ...

in "Tracts for the Times", No. 75 (Kindly Mother of the Redeemer).

Text

Latin

Depending on the period, the following combinations of a

versicle In Christian liturgical worship, preces ( ; ), also known in the Anglican prayer book tradition as the suffrages, are short petitions that are said or sung as versicles and responses by the officiant and congregation respectively. It is one of th ...

, response, and

collect The collect ( ) is a short general prayer of a particular structure used in Christian liturgy. Collects appear in the liturgies of Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Anglican, Methodist, Lutheran, and Presbyterian churches, among othe ...

are added. From the first Sunday of Advent until Christmas Eve, the collect from the Fourth Sunday of Advent is used, and thereafter until the Feast of the Presentation, the collect from

Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God The Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God is a feast day of the Blessed Virgin Mary under the aspect of her motherhood of Jesus Christ, whom she had circumcised on the eighth day after his birth according to Levitical Law. Christians see him ...

, is used. The first collect (“''Grátiam tuam quáesumus...''”) is notably also used in Masses during Advent, and is exactly the same prayer that concludes the

Angelus The Angelus (; Latin for "angel") is a Catholic devotion commemorating the Incarnation of Christ. As with many Catholic prayers, the name ''Angelus'' is derived from its incipit—the first few words of the text: ("The Angel of the Lord ...

(another Marian devotion focused on

the Incarnation Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It refers to the conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or the appearance of a god as a human. If capitalized, it is the union of divinit ...

From the first Sunday of Advent until Christmas Eve

From First
Vespers Vespers is a service of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic (both Latin and Eastern), Lutheran, and Anglican liturgies. The word for this fixed prayer time comes from the Latin , mea ...
of
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
until the
Presentation A presentation conveys information from a speaker to an audience. Presentations are typically demonstrations, introduction, lecture, or speech meant to inform, persuade, inspire, motivate, build goodwill, or present a new idea/product. Presenta ...

English translation

From the first Sunday of Advent until Christmas Eve

From First Vespers of Christmas until the Presentation

American Liturgy of the Hours translation

Church Music Association of America translation

Translation of Edward Caswall (1814-1878)

In ''The Divine Office'' (1974) this is hymn number 118 and it recommends singing it to the tune SONG I, by Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625).''The Divine Office'' is a book for celebrations of the Liturgy of the Hours in the Catholic Church’s Roman Rite. It is published by Collins (London and Glasgow) and The Talbot Press (Dublin). There are three volumes. In Volume I the hymn is on page 621* and the recommended tune on page 632*. In ''A Shorter Morning and Evening Prayer'', Collins, 1983, ISBN 0005997348, the hymn is on page 315. The hymn was published in 1851 in ''Lyra Catholica'', published by E. Dunigan, page 84. This tune has a metre 10.10.10.10.10.10. Since the last line of the text has 12 syllables the tune will need to be modified.

Musical settings

Marc-Antoine Charpentier Marc-Antoine Charpentier (; 1643 – 24 February 1704) was a French Baroque composer during the reign of Louis XIV. One of his most famous works is the main theme from the prelude of his ''Te Deum'', ''Marche en rondeau''. This theme is still us ...

, 2 settings, ''Alma Redemptoris Mater'' H.21 (1675), for 2 voices and bc, ''Alma Redemptoris Mater'' H.44 (16 ?), for soloists, chorus, 2 violins and bc.

References

{{Virgin Mary Marian devotions Roman Catholic prayers Marian antiphons Latin-language Christian hymns Latin religious words and phrases