Saint Wenceslas Chorale ( cs, Svatováclavský chorál) or simply Saint Wenceslas is the church

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hy ...

and one of the oldest known

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

songs and Czech religious anthems. Its roots can be found in the 12th century and it belongs to the most popular religious songs also today, and to the oldest still used

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

an chants. The hymn is mentioned as "old and well-known" in the chronicle from the 13th century.The chronicles of Beneš Krabice of Veitmil
/ref> Also strophic structure, language and undulating melody and

harmonization In music, harmonization is the chordal accompaniment to a line or melody: "Using chords and melodies together, making harmony by stacking scale tones as triads". A harmonized scale can be created by using each note of a musical scale as a root ...

confirm that assumption. The text of the song had originally three

strophe A strophe () is a poetic term originally referring to the first part of the ode in Ancient Greek tragedy, followed by the antistrophe and epode. The term has been extended to also mean a structural division of a poem containing stanzas of varyi ...

s. To the chant, originally in Old Czech, some new strophes have been added and also removed from over the centuries. Its final form becomes from the turn 18th and 19th century and in that version is still used today. The content of the anthem is a

prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified ...

Saint Wenceslas Wenceslaus I ( cs, Václav ; c. 907 – 28 September 935 or 929), Wenceslas I or ''Václav the Good'' was the Duke ('' kníže'') of Bohemia from 921 until his death, probably in 935. According to the legend, he was assassinated by his younger ...

, Duke of Bohemia and the Czech patron saint to intercede for his nation in God to help from injustice and ensure the salvation. The hymn is regularly sung today, usually at the end of a Sunday

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...

or a major Christian holidays. In 1918, in the beginnings of the Czechoslovak state, the song was discussed as a possible candidate for the

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and Europea ...

Modifications of the song

Saint Wenceslas Chorale inspired some of Czech composers to the creation of variations on the theme. As well known examples can be mentioned: * Josef Suk: ''Meditation on St.Wenceslas chorale, op. 35a'' * Vítězslav Novák: ''Svatováclavský triptych •

toccata Toccata (from Italian ''toccare'', literally, "to touch", with "toccata" being the action of touching) is a virtuoso piece of music typically for a keyboard or plucked string instrument featuring fast-moving, lightly fingered or otherwise virtu ...

, ciacona and fugue, op. 70'' *

Pavel Haas Pavel Haas (21 June 189917 October 1944) was a Czech composer who was murdered during the Holocaust. He was an exponent of Leoš Janáček's school of composition, and also utilized elements of folk music and jazz. Although his output was not la ...

: ''Suite for

Oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. ...

and

Piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

, Op. 17''

References

Czech songs Czech anthems Czech Christian hymns Czech music Czech folklore Czech early music 12th-century hymns Songwriter unknown Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia {{Czech-stub