Saturday, April 07, 2007

Holy Week: Saturday (Lent 40)

Ave Verum Corpus (Hail, True Body)

Text: 14th c., attr. to Innocent VI (d. 1362)

Tune/Choral Settings: Various composers, notably Byrd, Mozart, and Elgar


Ave verum corpus, natum
De Maria Virgine,
Vere passum, immolatum
In cruce pro homine,
Cujus latus perforatum
Unda fluxit et sanguine,
Esto nobis praegustatum
In mortis examine.


English Translation:
Hail, true Body,
Born of the Virgin Mary,
Who truly suffered, sacrificed
On the cross for humanity,
Whose pierced side
Flowed with water and blood,
Be for us a foretaste
Of death's trial.

1 comment:

zorra said...

I dearly love Mozart's setting of this--it is one of my very favorite pieces to sing.