September 25 is the historical feast date of Blessed Herman the Cripple (born Feb 18, 1013) in the old calendar. He was born a cripple, afflicted with both cerebral palsy and spina bifida. Even though Herman struggled to learn to read and write, he was so highly intellectual that at the age of seven, his parents consigned him to the learned Abbot Berno, on the island of Reichenau. Herman became a monk in 1043 and his brilliance enabled him to master the subjects of theology, mathematics, astronomy, music, and the Latin, Greek, and Arabic tongues. He was as virtuous as he was brilliant, attracting students from far and wide. Blessed Herman wrote the history of the important events dating from the life of Christ to his day, a chronicle which still exists today. Widely attributed to Blessed Herman is the authorship of both the Salve Regina and the Alma Redemtoris Mater hymns.
Source: Catholic Encyclpedia
To listen to the Salve Regina, click here. (Thanks Tom, for finding this for me!)
Salve, Regina, mater misericordiae;
vita, dulcedo et spes nostra, salve.
Ad te clamamus, exsules filii Hevae.
Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes
in hac lacrimarum valle.
Eia ergo, advocata nostra,
illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte.
Et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui,
nobis post hoc exsilium ostende.
O clemens, o pia, o dulcis Virgo Maria.
Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy,
hail, our life, our sweetness, and our hope.
To you we cry, the children of Eve;
to you we send up our sighs,
mourning and weeping in this land of exile.
Turn, then, most gracious advocate,
your eyes of mercy toward us;
lead us home at last
and show us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus:
O clement, O loving, O sweet virgin Mary.
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3 comments:
Beautiful! I think Tom should open an on-line Sacred Music store; he always finds such amazing music. What sayeth ye, Tom?
Shirley-
I wish I could devote myself to tracking down GOOD and well played sacred works, that way individuals like us could have it to listen to and share with other people.
I will say this, Shirley, the vast majority of the sacred music in my personal inventory cannot be found on YouTube or any place else. That's why I was telling PG that I'm looking into making my own videos so I can post the songs with accompanying, appropriate imagery. I'm exploring the software that is out there right now to make this possible.
PG-
I learned something new today. I was unaware that Blessed Herman was credited with writing the Salve Regina so commonly used today. And even though the origins of Gregorian Chant predate it, to think that it's still around after close to a thousand years is unbelievable!
Well, I just got out of school, it’s late, and I feel I’m writing this from Lala land. LOL!
The Dominican friars have sung the Salve Regina each evening for just shy of 800 years. Here are two recordings of the Dominican Salve Regina, with sheet music (modern and square notation).
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