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Show "THE AflESTE FIDELES." As the "Adeste Fideles' is sung until Candlemas Candle-mas day, Feb. '2, this word about its origin will be interesting: Individual authorship the "Adeste Fideles'' may not have had. The atmosphere of the monastic scriptorum breathes, however, through its melodious melo-dious strophes. It is in many respects unique in Christian hymnology. More than any other church 1 songs-it blends prophecy, history, prayer, exultation exulta-tion and praise. If it were printed side by side with the Nicene creed, it would be found an astonishing aston-ishing versification of that august prose. Every line of the "Adeste" is a casket of faith and love. Upon its cadences many hours must have been spent for the crystallization of sublime truth into crisp and dazzling syllables. "Adeste," approach; "fideles," ye faithful; "laeti," joyful; "triumphantes," victorious; "venite," come; "ado-remus," "ado-remus," let us adore; "Dominum," the Lord. The hymn was sung on the continent in the Latin form, which was so musical that it is memorized mem-orized almost without effort. It is found continuously continu-ously from the middle of the seventeenth century. It is believed that in many centers of devotion it was made also a recitation as if in oratorio. Plays drawn from Holy Writ were in vogue during the seme period, and the "Adeste Fideles"' would have been a congruous incident in either a passion play, a miracle play or a Madonna play. It was usual in these plays to introduce the folk melodies which in every countrty have become the basis of the national na-tional music. As these plays were gradually prohibited pro-hibited by the church on account of violations of strict decorum which insensibly crept in, oratorio succeeded to the vacated place, and many of the melodies disappeared or were framed into new settings. |