“Gaudete”.
Sung By: Steeleye Span and Maddy Prior.
Available on YouTube at
Gaudete, gaudete, Christus est natus
Ex Maria virgine, gaudete
Gaudete, gaudete, Christus est natus
Ex Maria virgine, gaudete
Tempus adest gratiæ, hoc quod optabamus
Carmina lætitiæ devote redamus
Gaudete, gaudete, Christus est natus
Ex Maria virgine, gaudete
Gaudete, gaudete, Christus est natus
Ex Maria virgine, gaudete
Deus homo factus est natura mirante
Mundus renovatus est a Christo regnante
Gaudete, gaudete, Christus est natus
Ex Maria virgine, gaudete
Gaudete, gaudete, Christus est natus
Ex Maria virgine, gaudete
Ezechielis porta clausa per transitur
Unde lux est orta salus invenitur
Gaudete, gaudete, Christus est natus
Ex Maria virgine, gaudete.
Gaudete, gaudete, Christus est natus
Ex Maria virgine, gaudete.
English: The first page of Gaudete in the original version of the Piae Cantiones.
Suomi: Gaudete-kappaleen ensimmäinen sivu
alkuperäisessä Piae Cantiones-laitoksessa.
Date 1582.
Source: English: Cropped from [1], part of Piae cantiones ecclesiasticae et scholasticae veterum episcoporum in incluto Regno Sueciae passim usurpate, nu per studio cuiusdam Reverendis:se Ecclesia Dei et Schola Aboensi in Finlandia optime meriti accurate à mendis correctae et nunc typis commissae opera Henri Theodorici Nylandesis.
Digitalised by Finnish National Library.
Author: Henricus Theodoricus Nylandensis.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Gaudete (English: /ˈɡaʊdeɪteɪ/ GOW-day-tay, Ecclesiastical Latin: [ɡau̯ˈdete]; "rejoice [ye]" in Latin)[a] is a Sacred Christmas Carol, thought to have been composed in the 16th-Century. It was published in Piae Cantiones, a collection of Finnish/Swedish Sacred Songs published in 1581. No music is given for the Verses, but the standard tune comes from older Liturgical Books.
The Latin Text is a typical Mediæval 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 Yuletide themes.
The complete Text of “Gaudete”, including the Refrain:
Gaudete, gaudete !
Christus est natus
Ex Maria virgine,
gaudete !
Gaudete, gaudete !
Christus est natus
Ex Maria virgine,
gaudete !
Rejoice, rejoice !
Christ is born
Of The Virgin Mary –
Rejoice !
Tempus adest gratiæ
Hoc quod optabamus,
Carmina lætitiæ
Devote reddamus.
The time of Grace has come —
What we have wished for;
Songs of joy
Let us give back faithfully.
Deus homo factus est
Natura mirante,
Mundus renovatus est
A Christo regnante.
God has become man,
With nature marvelling,
The World has been renewed
By the reigning Christ.
Ezechielis porta
Clausa pertransitur,
Unde lux est orta
Salus invenitur.
The closed gate of Ezekiel
Is passed through,
Whence The Light is risen;
Salvation has been found.
Ergo nostra cantio
Psallat iam in lustro;
Benedicat Domino:
Salus Regi nostro.
Therefore, let our preaching
Now sing in brightness
Let it Bless The Lord:
Greeting to our King.
British Folk Rock Group, Steeleye Span, had a hit in 1973 (No. 14, UK Singles Chart) with an “a cappella” recording of the song. Guitarist Bob Johnson had heard the song when he attended a Folk-Carol Service in Cambridge, and brought it to the attention of the rest of The Band.
This Single is one of only three Top 50 British hits to be sung fully in Latin (the others were both recordings of “Pie Jesu” from Andrew Lloyd Webber's “Requiem”; firstly by Sarah Brightman and Paul Miles-Kingston in 1986, secondly as a minor hit by the 12-year-old Charlotte Church in 1998).
This Single is one of only three Top 50 British hits to be sung fully in Latin (the others were both recordings of “Pie Jesu” from Andrew Lloyd Webber's “Requiem”; firstly by Sarah Brightman and Paul Miles-Kingston in 1986, secondly as a minor hit by the 12-year-old Charlotte Church in 1998).
In 1975, Mike Oldfield had a Top 10 hit with “In Dulci Jubilo”, but this Latin song was performed as an instrumental. “Oh. What a Circus”, from the 1976 musical “Evita”, and a hit Single performed by David Essex, includes a Choral Chant in Latin, based on the Catholic Marian Anthem “Salve Regina”.
“Gaudete” is also one of only a handful of “a cappella” performances to become hit Singles. (Other notable examples are “Only You”, sung by The Flying Pickets, “After The Gold Rush”, sung by Prelude, “Don't Worry, Be Happy”, by Bobby McFerrin, and “Caravan Of Love”, sung by The Housemartins.)
“Gaudete” is also one of only a handful of “a cappella” performances to become hit Singles. (Other notable examples are “Only You”, sung by The Flying Pickets, “After The Gold Rush”, sung by Prelude, “Don't Worry, Be Happy”, by Bobby McFerrin, and “Caravan Of Love”, sung by The Housemartins.)
![[1]](http://s1.doria.fi/helmi/bk/rv/fem19990004/35.jpg){kind=link}