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 Most of the medieval Lenten songs are
translations or adaptations of Latin hymns used in the
Divine Office. The poem of Saint Gregory the Great (604),
Audi benige conditor (Kind Maker of the World, O Hear),
is recited during Vespers in Lent. It inspired many
popular Lenten songs during the Middle Ages. In the
English language alone, more than twenty translations are
known.
Another hymn ascribed to Saint Gregory is Clarum decus jejunii (The Sacred Time of Lenten Fast). An English translation, with a melody by Johann Sebastian Bach (1750) may be found in the Protestant Episcopal hymnal. Other Latin hymns include Ex more docti mystico (By Mystical Tradition Taught), which is recited daily at the Office of the Matins; its authorship is also ascribed to Saint Gregory. O sol salutis (O Jesus, Saving Sun of Grace), by an unknown author of the seventh or eighth century, is used at the Lauds during Lent. A favorite modern Lenten hymn is the poem by Claudia F. Hernaman (1898), "Lord, who throughout these forty days for us didst fast and pray...," which was first published in her "Child's Book of Praise" in England, 1878. |
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