The Hymn, “Te Lucis Ante Terminum”, as written out in a Spanish Manuscript
(circa 1625). The wording “ . . . pro tua clementia . . . ” (instead of “ . . .
solita clementia , , , ”) reflects the classicising revisions of Pope Urban VIII.
The original Latin version has been restored in the Post-Vatican II Texts. No known copyright restrictions. Please credit UBC Library as the image source.
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Photo: 15 April 2008.
Source: University of British Columbia Library
- Rare Books and Special Collections.
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Author: UBC Library Digitization Centre.
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This next Text is taken from THE SAINT LAWRENCE PRESS LTD
At Compline, on The 5th Sunday after Epiphany, “Te Lucis” is sung with the Melody and Doxology of The Incarnation.
The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia.
“Te Lucis Ante Terminum” (English: “To Thee Before The Close Of Day”) is an old Latin Hymn in Long Metre. It is the Hymn at Compline in The Roman Breviary.
The authorship of Ambrose of Milan, for which Pimont contends, is not admitted by the Benedictine editors or by Luigi Biraghi. The Hymn is found in a Hymnary in Irish script (described by Clemens Blume in his Cursus, etc.) of the 8th-Century A.D., or Early-9th Century A.D.; but the Classical Prosody of its two Stanzas (Solita in the third line of the original Text is the only exception) suggests a much earlier origin. In this Hymnary, it is assigned, together with the Hymn “Christe Qui Splendor Et Dies” (also known as “Christe Qui Lux Es Et Dies”), to Compline.
An earlier arrangement (as shown by The Rule of Cæsarius of Arles, circa 502 A.D.), coupled with the “Christe Qui Lux” the Hymn “Christe Precamur Adnue”, and assigned both to the “Twelfth Hour” of the Day for alternate recitation throughout the Year. The later introduction of the “Te Lucis suggests a later origin.
“Te Lucis Ante Terminum”.
Composed by:Thomas Tallis.
The Hymn at Compline.
Sung by: The Gesualdo Six,
at Ely Cathedral.
Available on YouTube at
The two Hymns “Te Lucis” and “Christe Qui Lux” did not maintain everywhere the same relative position; the latter was used in Winter, the former in Summer and on Festivals; while many Cathedrals and Monasteries replaced the “Te Lucis” by the “Christe Qui Lux” from The First Sunday of Lent to Passion Sunday or Holy Thursday, a custom followed by The Dominicans.
The old Breviary of The Carthusians used the “Christe Qui Lux” throughout the Year. The Roman Breviary assigns the “Te Lucis” daily throughout the Year, except from Holy Thursday to The Friday after Easter, inclusively. Merati, in his Notes on Galvanus's Thesaurus, says that it has always held, without variation, this place in The Roman Church. As it is sung daily, The Vatican Antiphonary gives it many Plainsong Settings for the varieties of Season and Rite.
The Text given below is the original version of the Hymn. It was altered by Pope Urban VIII (1623–1644). The 1974 Breviary of Pope Paul VI restores the earlier form of the first and last verse, but replaces the second verse with two additional verses. Pope Urban's version is still used by some, especially since the Motu Proprio “Summorum Pontificum” authorised continued use of The Roman Breviary in its 1962 form.
Most Monasteries adopted Pope Paul's form in the 1970s, meaning the original version is seldom sung in Monasteries. The following translation by J. M. Neale (1818–1866) is of the original Latin Text, rather than of Pope Urban VIII's revised version.
“Te Lucis Ante Terminum”.
Available on YouTube at
ORIGINAL LATIN TEXT.
Te lucis ante términum,
rerum Creátor, póscimus,
ut sólita cleméntia
sis præsul ad custódiam.
Procul recédant sómnia
et nóctium phantásmata;
hostémque nostrum cómprime,
ne polluántur córpora.
Præsta, Pater omnípotens,
per Iesum Christum Dóminum,
qui tecum in perpétuum
regnat cum Sancto Spíritu.
Amen.
REVISED LATIN TEXT
OF POPE URBAN VIII.
Te lucis ante términum,
rerum Creátor, póscimus,
ut pro tua cleméntia
sis præsul et custódia.
Procul recédant sómnia
et nóctium phantásmata;
hostémque nostrum cómprime,
ne polluántur córpora.
Præsta, Pater piíssime,
Patríque compar Unice,
cum Spíritu Paráclito
regnans per omne sǽculum.
Amen.
ENGLISH TRANSLATION (NEALE).
To Thee before the close of Day,
Creator of the World, we Pray
That, with Thy wonted favour, Thou
Wouldst be our guard and keeper now.
From all ill dreams defend our sight,
From fears and terrors of the Night;
Withhold from us our ghostly foe,
That spot of sin we may not know.
Oh, Father, that we ask be done,
Through Jesus Christ, Thine only Son,
Who, with The Holy Ghost and Thee,
Doth live and reign eternally.
Amen.
The Text of “Te Lucis Ante Terminum” has frequently been set to music. The earliest is the Plainsong version found in The Liber Usualis (used as the opening of Benjamin Britten's Curlew River); another, from The Sarum Rite, is much used in England.
Thomas Tallis composed a memorable Setting of the Text, among many others. Henry Balfour Gardiner composed the Anthem “Evening Hymn” on both the Latin Text and an English translation, for mixed Choir and Organ.
The “Te Deum”.
Another beautiful Latin Gregorian Chant is The “Te Deum”.
The “Te Deum” (from its incipit, “Te Deum Laudamus”, "Thee, O God, We Praise"), is a Latin Christian Hymn composed in the 4th-Century A.D. It is one of the core Hymns of The Ambrosian Hymnal, which spread throughout The Latin Church with The Milanese Rite in the 6th-Century A.D. to the 8th -Century A.D., and is sometimes known as “The Ambrosian Hymn”, even though authorship by Saint Ambrose is unlikely.
The term “Te Deum” can also refer to a short Religious Service, held to Bless an event or give thanks, which is based upon the Hymn.
The “Te Deum”.
5th-Century A.D. Monastic Chant (Solemn).
Sung by: The Monks of Clervaux Abbey, Luxembourg.
Available on YouTube at
