O magnum mystery
O Magnum Mysterium ( lat . O great secret ) is the fourth responsory from Matins at Christmas In Nativitate Domini , named after its incipit .
The text of the responsory
Latin text
O magnum mysterium
et admirabile sacramentum
ut animalia viderent Dominum natum
jacentem in praesepio.
Beata Virgo, cujus viscera meruerunt
portare Dominum Christum.
Alleluia.
German text
O great mystery
and wonderful sanctuary
that animals saw the born Lord
lying in the manger.
Blessed is the virgin whose body was worthy
to bear Christ the Lord.
Alleluia.
Biblical references
The picture of ox and donkey standing next to the manger can be found in Isaiah ( Isa 1,3 EU ) and is traditionally related to the manger scene at the birth of Jesus . In Luke ( Lk 2,7 EU ) not the animals, but a manger be mentioned. In the apocryphal pseudo-Matthew Gospel , both animals are specifically named - at the time of its creation they were already part of nativity scenes. With its inclusion in the Legenda Aurea , the image spread even further from the 13th century. It became the most popular symbol for the mystery of the self-humiliation of the Son of God in his incarnation ( Phil 2: 6-7 EU ).
The second part of the responsory ties in with the words with which Elizabeth greeted Mary during her visit ( Lk 1.42–43 EU ).
Settings
The text has been set to music by numerous composers over the centuries. Noteworthy are u. a. the early compositions of Nicolas Gombert , Cristóbal de Morales , Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina , William Byrd , Tomás Luis de Victoria , Johann Stadlmayr or Giovanni Gabrieli . Also noteworthy is the worldwide variety of arrangements from modern times, e.g. B. by Francis Poulenc , Pierre Villette , John Harbison , Frank La Rocca , Jaakko Mäntyjärvi , Javier Busto , Alexina Louie , Vytautas Miškinis , Ivo Antognini , Ola Gjeilo , Jan Wilke and Morten Lauridsen .
literature
- The American Organist , Volume 40. American Guild of Organists, 2006. (p. 75)
Web links
- Website of the Bonn Abbey Choir with audio samples
- Free scores of O Magnum Mysterium in the Choral Public Domain Library - ChoralWiki (English)
- Text and sources of the responsory on the website of the Académie de chant grégorien
Individual evidence
- ↑ In Habakkuk ( Hab 3,2 LXX ) only in the Septuagint is the passage “between two living beings (ἐν μέσῳ δύο ζῴων) you are recognized”, in all other translations it says “between the years you become known”.
- ↑ Barbara Beuys: Where do ox and donkeys come from? Zeit online, December 25, 1992 (accessed November 24, 2016)
- ↑ Nadja Podbregar: Christmas: Where do ox and donkeys come from? image of science, December 23, 2015 (accessed November 24, 2016)
- ↑ to Lauridsen: Thesis at Syracuse University ( Memento of the original from November 27, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
