Notre Dame de Rouen. The façade of the Gothic Church in France. Photographer: Hippo1947. Licence: SHUTTERSTOCK.

Monday 25 September 2017

"Gaudete". "Rejoice". Steeleye Span.



"Gaudete".
Sung by: Steeleye Span.
Available on YouTube at

The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.

Gaudete (English: /ˈɡaʊdeɪteɪ/; Ecclesiastical Latin: [gawˈdetɛ] "rejoice" in Latin) is a Sacred Christmas Carol, which is thought to have been composed in the 16th-Century, but could easily have existed as a monophonic Hymn in the Late-Medieval period, with polyphonic Alto, Tenor, and Bass parts added during the 15th-Century, particularly due to its Mediaeval Latin lyrics. 


The song was published in Piae Cantiones, a collection of Finnish/Swedish Sacred Songs published in 1582. No music is given for the Verses, but the standard tune comes from older Liturgical Books.

The Latin Text is a typical Mediaeval Song of Praise, which follows the standard pattern for the time – a uniform series of four-line stanzas, each preceded by a two-line refrain (in the Early-English Carol this was known as the Burden). Carols could be on any subject, but typically they were about The Virgin Mary, The Saints or Christmastide themes.

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