Show FAMOUS SONGS OF PRAISE Hymns that Have Been Sung by Christian Worshipers for many Centuries Whatever may be charged against the i Roman Catholic Church it can not beI I gainsaid that she has ever been the friend of the arts of painting sculpture and music and that without her cherish ing care much that we have as glorious relics of early art would have been de stroyed and lost This is especially true of music The highest and grandest con tributions to the musical art have been inspired by the Catholic Church and are the work of her votaries In the music that will be sung in the churches today some of the hymns are eight hundred years old coining to us out of what we are pleased to term the darkness of the I middle ages The Gregorian chant or tones a name given to certain choral melodies gets its name from Pope Gregory the Great who was a musician and taught at the Lateran palace so that this form of music comes to us from about 590600 This ecclesias tical chant is the chant of the Catholic Church all over the world Int we have all l that the priest sings at the mass and it is in general use by choirs of ecclesias tics In the course of time abuses ot one kind or another crept into church music for the reason that there was no estab lished form until the time of Pope Mar cellus II about 1555 In his time music had so degenerated that he thought to throw it out of the church altogether Be fore proceeding to the extreme step however how-ever a consultation was held with Pales trini a great musician lie promised the pope to introduce music that would not be chargeable with the grossness and uncouthness of that which it was to supersede lie composed the work known as the Messa di Papa Marcello the mass of Pope Marcellns which was so thoroughly a success that the Pope accepted ac-cepted him and gave him full powers togo to-go on and recast and remodel as he chose The mass of Pope Marcellus is a magnificent mag-nificent work It was given at the recent plenary council at Baltimore This style of music is that which forms the basis of that made known by the Cecilian society which is now widely spread over the United States with the intent of encouraging encour-aging good classical church music This Pale trina music is the style used in the Sistine chapel where the Pope celebrates Easter The celebrated Misereres for which the Sistine chapel is famous in Holy week composed by Baini Mustapha andothers are sung in that music and to hear them during the week just closed people flocked to the chapel from all parts of the world The grandest musical achievements of the masters of the past one hundred years have been in church music and the names of Beethoven Meyerbeer Haydn Handel Mozart I Mendelsshon and later Rossini and Gounod are attached to numerous so called themes Gounod who is still living has composed a beautiful Ave Ave Maria Mercadante has composed a number of beautiful masses The masses most popular in Rome today are those of Mercadante Tirziana and De Pietro a Jesuit Rossinis Stabat Mater is always a favorite in Rome Of Palestrinas music it should be understood that it was never written by him but taught and is traditional Sb less a personage than the illustrious Charlemagne himself is the reputed author au-thor of the Veni Creator Spiritur who died at Aixlachapelle his crown upon his head and his story of the gospels upon his knees January 28 814 so that it is now at least 1074 years old The 0 Salutaris Hostia is a hymn sung during the office called benediction at the moment when the tabernacle is opened in order that the consecrated host may be removed and placed in the monstrance mon-strance prepared for its solemn exposition exposi-tion The custom of introducing this hymn at high mass is at least as old as the fifteenth century while the hymn itself it-self is probably much older This theme has been treated by many musical composers com-posers The Magnificat has been used as the vesper canticle of the church from time immemorial and the evening office has also been so constructed as to lead up to it as its chief point of interest The text of the Magnificat has been grandly grand-ly illustrated by Bach Mendelssohn and active composers of the modern school in the oratorio style with full orchestral accompaniments King Robert II of France who succeeded suc-ceeded to the throne of his father Hugh Capet in 997 is credited with the authorship author-ship of the Veni Sancte Spiritus hymn a hymn which is regarded as the loveliest of all the hymns in the whole circle of Latin sacred poetry The king was a saint a poet and a musician and his ability to compose this great hymn is not improbable The Stabat Mater is a Good Friday hymn Its author Jacobus de Bene dictus was born at Todi of the noble Italian house of Benedette and rose to distinction as a jurist About 1268 he lost his wife and brokenhearted re nounced the world to join the order of St Francis There are several English I translations of this great hymn The following fol-lowing is the opening stanza of a recent translation by no less celebrated a person than our countryman the late Gen John A Dix while minister plenipotentiary at Paris ParisNear Near the cross the Savior bearing Stood the mother lone despairing Bitter tears down failing fast Wearied was her heart with grieviug Worn her breast with sorrow heaving Through her soul the sword had passed Indianapolis Journal |