Tantum ergo
{{Short description|Christian devotional hymn}}
{{listen|filename=Tantum Ergo I Gregorian.ogg|title=Tantum Ergo sung in Latin|description=The Latin text of "Tantum Ergo" sung to its traditional melody, which is a mode I Gregorian chant.}}
"Tantum ergo" is the incipit of the last two verses of Pange lingua, a Medieval Latin hymn composed by St Thomas Aquinas circa A.D. 1264. The "Genitori genitoque" and "Procedenti ab utroque" portions are adapted from Adam of Saint Victor's sequence for Pentecost.Jeffers, Ron. Translations and Annotations of Choral Repertoire.Corvallis: Earthsongs. 1988. The hymn's Latin incipit literally translates to "Therefore so great".
The singing of the Tantum ergo occurs during adoration and benediction of the Blessed Sacrament in the Catholic Church and other denominations that have this devotion.See, e.g., benediction in English at St. John's Episcopal Church of Detroit, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfTTtlDOFcg Benediction @ St. John's Church, Detroit - Part 2], at about 1:30, for an example of benediction in the Episcopal Church USA. For an example in the Roman Catholic Church, in Latin, see [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwH_mxqnoHE&t=18m26s Benediction May 2, 2010: Fr. Miguel Marie]. It is usually sung, though solemn recitation is sometimes done, and permitted.{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14445b.htm|title=Tantum Ergo|encyclopedia=Catholic Encyclopedia}} This citation refers only to the practice of the Catholic Church prior to the liturgical changes of Vatican II.
== Tantum ergo lyrics ==
=== Latin ===
:
| Tantum ergo sacramentum Veneremur cernui, et antiquum documentum novo cedat ritui. Præstet fides supplementum sensuum defectui. |
| Genitori genitoque laus et jubilatio, Salus, honor, virtus quoque sit et benedictio! Procedenti ab utroque compar sit laudatio! Amen. |
:℣. Panem de cælisThe word "cælis", not "cælo", is used in Finnegan, Sean. The Book of Catholic Prayer. 2000: Loyola Press. p. 521. The book prints the entire text of the prayer. However, "cælo" (and "cœlo") are common variations. The distinction here is that the forms ending in "is" are plural ("skies"), and the forms ending in "o" are singular ("sky"). This is a distinction without a difference as "bread from the sky" or "bread from the skies" clearly means "bread from heaven." Moreover, in a common pronunciation of Church Latin, "æ" and "œ" are pronounced the same. See a pronunciation table [https://www.ewtn.com/expert/answers/ecclesiastical_latin.htm here]. præstitisti eis (in Paschaltide and on Corpus Christi, 'Alleluia' is added).The word "Alleluia" is appended during Eastertide. See [http://www.preces-latinae.org/thesaurus/Euch/Tantum.html the Thesaurus Precum Latinarum entry.] The abbreviation "P.T." stands for "Paschaltide," another word for "Eastertide."
:℟. Omne delectamentum in se habentem[Wis 16:20] (in Paschaltide and on Corpus Christi, 'Alleluia' is added).
:℣. Oremus: Deus, qui nobis sub sacramento mirabili passionis tuæ memoriam reliquisti: tribue, quæsumus, ita nos corporis et sanguinis tui sacra mysteria venerari, ut redemptionis tuæ fructum in nobis jugiter sentiamus. Qui vivis et regnas in saecula saeculorum.
:℟. Amen.
= Literal translation =
:Therefore, so great a Sacrament
:Let us venerate with heads bowed [cernui]
:And let the old practice [documentum]
:Give way to the new rite;
:Let faith provide a supplement
:For the failure of the senses.
:To the Begetter and the Begotten [both masculine gender],
:Be praise and jubilation,
:Hail,"Salus." The verb associated with "salus" is "sit" in the following line. The Lewis & Short Latin dictionary at [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0059%3Aentry%3Dsalus Perseus] provides the most appropriate meaning for "salus" under definition number I.B.: "a wish for one's welfare (expressed by word of mouth or in writing), a greeting, salute, salutation." There is no word in modern English that captures the sense used here exactly, but it is similar to the archaic "hail" as in "Hail to the Chief." The Lewis & Short Dictionary gives another example of the same usage of "salus" from the comedy writer Plautus: "Non ego sum salutis dignus?" Literally, "Am I not worthy of your good wishes?" or "Am I not worthy of your hail"? honour, virtueFor other examples of Latin use of the word "virtus" by St. Thomas Aquinas, here translated "virtue", see the Latin of the Summa Theologica, e.g. [https://books.google.com/books?id=WrEHAAAAQAAJ]. For a discussion of the translation of the triplet "salus, honor, virtus" as the "three good wishes" customarily given to rulers, see e.g. robdick's comments at [https://web.archive.org/web/20120305155121/http://forum.catholic.org/viewtopic.php?f=136&t=4060&p=111638]. also,
:And blessing too:
:To the One proceeding from Both
:Let there be equal praise.
:Amen.
:℣. You have provided them bread from heaven.
:℟. Having in itself [in se] all delight [delectamentum].
:℣. Let us pray: O God, who to us in this wonderful Sacrament, bequeathed a memorial of Your Passion: grant, we beseech, that we, in worshipping [venerari; in addition to simple worship, may also mean worshipping in order to receive favour] the Holy Mysteries of Your Body and Blood, may within ourselves continually [iugiter], sensibly perceive [sentiamus] the fruit of Your redemption. You who live and reign into ages of ages.
:℟. Amen.
= English translation =
A century-old translation,Ambrose St. John (1857), [https://books.google.com/books?id=1qtVAAAAcAAJ&dq=salus+honor+virtus+translation&pg=PA126 The Raccolta; Or Collection of Indulgenced Prayers], p. 126; see also Edward Caswall (1873), [https://books.google.com/books?id=gLoMAAAAIAAJ Hymns and Poems, Original and Translated], pp. 63-64 still used in Catholic churches liturgically,See e.g.{{cite web |url=http://www.diogh.org/cocathedral/dedication/life/CathedralNotes-05.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2009-05-02 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100928140008/http://diogh.org/cocathedral/dedication/life/CathedralNotes-05.pdf |archive-date=2010-09-28 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.archmil.org/ourfaith/prayoccassion.asp |title=Archdiocese of Milwaukee - Our Faith: Occasional Prayers |access-date=2009-05-02 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090508192422/http://www.archmil.org/ourfaith/prayoccassion.asp |archive-date=2009-05-08 }}, accessed May 2, 2009 renders the hymn in a form which can be sung to the same tune as the Latin:
:Down in adoration falling,
:Lo! the Sacred Host we hail,
:Lo! o'er ancient forms departing
:Newer rites of grace prevail;
:Faith for all defects supplying,
:Where the feeble senses fail.
:To the Everlasting Father,
:And the Son Who reigns on high
:With the Holy Ghost proceeding
:Forth from Each eternally,
:Be salvation, honour, blessing,
:Might, and endless majesty.
:Amen.
:℣. Thou hast given them bread from heaven.
:℟. Having within it all sweetness.
:℣. Let us pray: O God, who in this wonderful Sacrament left us a memorial of Thy Passion: grant, we implore Thee, that we may so venerate the Sacred Mysteries of Thy Body and Blood, as always to be conscious of the fruit of Thy Redemption. Thou who livest and reignest forever and ever.
:℟. Amen.
Other, more modern, English translations exist and are also used in Catholic churches liturgically.
Theological aspects
The words "procedenti ab utroque / compar sit laudatio"—literally, "May equal praise be to the One proceeding from both"—refer to the Holy Spirit, which according to version of the Nicene Creed used in Western Christianity proceeds from both the Father and the Son.
A partial indulgence is granted to the faithful who devoutly recite the Tantum ergo. But a plenary indulgence is granted on Holy Thursday and on the feast of Corpus Christi, if it is recited in a solemn manner.Sacred Apostolic Penitentiary, Enchiridion Indulgentiarum, 2nd ed., 1968; EI 2004 conc. 7 § 1, 2°; § 2, 2°
{{Main|Pange Lingua#Indulgence}}
Musical settings
The basic text has been set by numerous composers: from the Classical period John Francis Wade,{{cite web | url=https://hymnary.org/tune/st_thomas_wade | title=Tune: ST. THOMAS (Wade) }} the Renaissance (Palestrina), the Romantic period (Anton Bruckner, Hector Berlioz (H142), Gabriel Fauré, Franz Schubert, Louis Vierne), and modern composers (Maurice Duruflé, David Conte, Crys Armbrust).
Déodat de Séverac composed a motet set to the text.
Bruckner wrote eight settings of the text: WAB 32, WAB 43, WAB 41 (Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4), WAB 42, and WAB 44. Fauré wrote two settings: Op. 55, and Op. 62 No. 2. Schubert wrote six settings: D. 460, D. 461, D. 730, D. 739 (Op. 45), D. 750, and D. 962. Vierne's treatment of it is his Opus 2. Duruflé's setting is contained as No. 4 of his Op. 10, Quatre Motets sur des thèmes grégoriens, published in 1960,Kaye, Nicholas. "Duruflé, Maurice." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed June 29, 2015, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/08407. and uses the plainchant melody.
Samuel Webbe composed a motet in 87 87 meter, widely used in the English and American Catholic churches.{{Cite web|title=Tantum ergo (Samuel Webbe) - ChoralWiki|url=https://www.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php/Tantum_ergo_(Samuel_Webbe)|access-date=2021-03-23|website=www.cpdl.org|language=en}}
= Philippine use =
The Church in the Philippines uses [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRXBaYlu7T4 a separate hymn tune] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXHP5_uwABA [another video
|last1=Siniculus
|title=Filipino hymn to the Most Blessed Sacrament
|url=http://deipraesidiofultus.blogspot.com/2013/06/filipino-hymn-to-most-blessed-sacrament.html
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160924044618/http://deipraesidiofultus.blogspot.com/2013/06/filipino-hymn-to-most-blessed-sacrament.html
|archive-date=24 September 2016
|website=Dei Præsidio Fultus|access-date=3 October 2016
|language=en, es, la
|format=Blog
|quote=The Tantum Ergo Sacramentum that is used in the Philippines is of Spanish origin. In old prayer books that were used in the Philippines prior to the advent of hand missals, and in old hymn books, the composer is usually credited as J. Carreras.... It is usually sung either in quadruple time, which apparently is the case in Luzon, or first in quadruple time and then in triple time, which is the case in the Visayas. None of these is in agreement with the original published time signature, which is 3/4 all throughout.}}
== Let Us Raise Our Voice ==
This tune is also used to sing "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AsDjipdvV4 Let Us Raise Our Voice]", a loose English adaptation of the Tantum ergo. The hymn, whose lyrics paraphrase the first two forms of the Memorial Acclamation of the Mass, is sung during the Wednesday Novena Service to Our Lady of Perpetual Help and Benediction at Baclaran Church (the icon's principal shrine in the country).
:Let us raise our voice to proclaim our Faith:
:Christ the Lord, for us has died;
:Dying, He destroyed our death,
:Rising, He restored our life.
:O Lord Jesus, we await
:Your last return in glory.
:When we eat the bread and we drink the cup
:In the blessed Eucharist
:We meet You, our Risen Saviour,
:Giving life to us anew.
:Through life’s journey be with us,
:To strengthen us forever.
:Amen, Amen.
:℣. You have given them bread from heaven [Alleluia].
:℟. The source of all happiness [Alleluia].
:℣. Let us pray: Lord God, by the Paschal Mystery of the Death and Resurrection of Your only Son, You accomplish the work of man’s redemption. Full of trust, we proclaim the Paschal Mystery in the sacramental signs of the Eucharist. Help us to see ever growing in us the fruits of Your saving work; through Christ Our Lord.
:℟. Amen.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{wikisourcelang-inline|la|Tantum Ergo}}
- {{cite web | url = https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%22tantum+ergo%22Duruflé's |title = Musical executions of the Tantum Ergo |website = Youtube}}
{{Catholic Prayers}}
Category:Eucharistic devotions