The Hymns at the Lesser Hours: Prime II

This is the second post on the topic of the hymns at Prime; see Part I here, which describes the Office of Prime in a general way.

The following are the hymns listed for Prime, in  Hymn melodies for the whole year, from the Sarum service-books:

Daily throughout the year :-

Jam lucis orto sidere

    (1) On Sundays in Advent ... ... ... ... 24

(2) On all Ferias except in Paschal-tide ... ... 1

(3) On Xmas Day, Feasts of the  B.V. M.,  Dedication of a Church, Nativity of S. John Bapt, SS. Peter and Paul, Translation of S. Thomas, Abp., Feast of' Relics, S. Gregory, & S. Ambrose, (if they fall before Passion-tide), S. Augustin of England, if celebrated out of Paschal-tide, S. Augustin of Hippo, S. Michael & all Angels, S. Jerome, & Translation of S. Edward, K. Conf.  ... ... ... ... 3

(4) On the Feast of S. Stephen & the three days following, & on the Feasts of the Circumcision & of S. Vincent ... 27

(5) On the 6th day in the 8ve of Xmas & daily till the Vigil of Epiphany, and on the Vigil, (if it be a Sunday), & on all Feasts, except those of the lowest class, from the 8ve of Spiphany until the Purification of the B. V. M. ... ... ... ...26

(6) On the Vigils of Christmas & Epiphany (not being a Sunday), & on all Ferias & Vigils from Low Sunday to Ascension Day, & on the Vigil of Pentecost, & on all Simple Feasts of the lowest class throughout the year, & during 8ves. ... ... ... ...2

(7) On the Feast of Epiphany, the Sunday within the 8ve, & on the 8ve day ... ... ... ... ... ... 28

(8) On the remaining days of the 8ve ... ... ... 29

(9) On all Sundays from the 8ve of Epiphany until the 1st  Sunday in Lent, when the Service is of the Sunday ... ... 21

(10) On the 1st & 2пd Sundays in Lent ... ...  ... ...30

(11) On the 3d & 4th Sundays in Lent ... ...  ... ...33

(12) On Passion & Palm Sundays, & on Feasts of the Holy Cross  ... ...   ... ... 35

(13) On all Sundays from Low Sunday until Ascension Day, when the Service is of the Sunday ... ... ... ... 37

(14) On Ascension Day & daily until the Vigil of Pentecost, & on the Feast of Corpus Christi ... ... ... ... 41

(15) On Whitsun Day & daily until Trinity Sunday ...  ... ...42

(16) On Trinity Sunday & all following Sundays until Advent, when the Service is of the Sunday ... ... ... ... 43

(17) During the 8ve of the Dedication of a Church, & on all Feasts, except those of the lowest class, from the Purification of the B.V. M.. until Passiontide, & from Trinity until Advent ... ... ... 4

(18) On all Feasts of Apostles & Evangelists out of Xmas & Paschaltides, except SS. Peter & Paul  ... ... ... ...48

(19) During the 8ves of the Assumption & Nativity of the B.V.M.  ... ... ... ... 63

(20) On all Feasts of Saints occurring between Low Sunday & Ascension Day, except the Annunciation of our Lady ...  ... ...39

(21) On the Feast of All Saints  ... ... ... ...3 or 26

[At Christmas-tide (York) : Agnoscat omne seculum ... ... 55]

Iam lucis orto sidere is the one and only hymn prescribed for use at Prime; there are over twenty different melodies in the list above, though!  The melodies used for  Iam lucis orto sidere vary by feast and season - Sundays are counted this way too;  the hymn simply takes on one of the melodies associated with the season or holy day in which it's sung.  (As you can see from the note above, Agnoscat omne seculum was used only in Christmastide at York; I'll go over that one just briefly at the end.)

This is TPL's entry for Iam lucis orto sidere; it's noted that "This 6th century hymn is used in the Roman Breviary at the Office of Prime. In the Liturgia Horarum it is found at Thursday Lauds for the second and fourth weeks of the Psalter during Ordinary time."   These are the words from that page, in Latin and English (translation by Alan G. McDougall (1895-1964)).

IAM lucis orto sidere,
Deum precemur supplices,
ut in diurnis actibus
nos servet a nocentibus.    

Linguam refrenans temperet,
ne litis horror insonet,
visum fovendo contegat,
ne vanitates hauriat.    

Sint pura cordis intima,
absistat et vecordia:
carnis terat superbiam
potus cibique parcitas.    

Ut cum dies abscesserit,
noctemque sors reduxerit,
mundi per abstinentiam
ipsi canamus gloriam.    

Deo Patri sit gloria,
eiusque soli Filio,
cum Spiritu Paraclito,
nunc et per omne saeculum.
Amen.    

NOW in the sun's new dawning ray,
lowly of heart, our God we pray
that He from harm may keep us free
in all the deeds this day shall see.

May fear of Him our tongues restrain,
lest strife unguarded speech should stain:
His favoring care our guardian be,
lest our eyes feed on vanity.

May every heart be pure from sin,
and folly find no place therein:
scant meed of food, excess denied,
wear down in us the body's pride

That when the light of day is gone,
and night in course shall follow on,
we, free from cares the world affords,
may chant the praises that is our Lord's.

All laud to God the Father be,
all praise, Eternal Son, to Thee;
|all glory, as is ever meet,
to God the Holy Paraclete.
Amen.

Here's the chant score for melody #24, used for Iam lucis orto sidere "On Sundays in Advent":

That's the melody use for Verbum supernum prodiens and Vox clara ecce intonat, the Advent hymns for Matins and Lauds, respectively.   Here's how the tune sounds, sung as High Word of God (mp3) (Verbum supernum prodiens) by the Lutheran Liturgical Prayer Brotherhood.


We haven't, though, seen melody #1 before; this is the tune used for Iam lucis orto sidere "On all Ferias except in Paschal-tide":

I have not found audio for this melody - or for melodies #2, #3, or #4, all Sarum tunes used at Prime and nowhere else - anywhere online.  However, I've found at least three other different hymn tunes used for Iam lucis orto sidere out there, and I'll post them now; why not use one of these instead, if you sing Prime?

First, here's the entry for this hymn at The Liber Hynarius Wiki (click the download arrow to open the sound file):

Iam lucis orto sidere (saec. VIII ?)
Meter: 8.8.8.8
Melody: e c d f ef g f e

•   H.IV, p. 233

Giovanni Vianini offers this Ambrosian version of the hymn,


As well as this one, sung to the melody from the Liber Usualis.




Here's the chant score for another of the new tunes, melody #3, used for Iam lucis orto sidere "On Xmas Day, Feasts of the  B.V. M.,  Dedication of a Church, Nativity of S. John Bapt, SS. Peter and Paul, Translation of S. Thomas, Abp., Feast of' Relics, S. Gregory, & S. Ambrose, (if they fall before Passion-tide), S. Augustin of England, if celebrated out of Paschal-tide, S.  Augustin  of Hippo, S. Michael & all Angels, S. Jerome, & Translation of S. Edward, K. Conf. "

You can use one of the alternates cited above, if you wish, instead of  using this tune.



Here's the score to Hymn 27, used for Iam lucis orto sidere  "On the Feast of S. Stephen & the three days following, & on the Feasts of the Circumcision & of S. Vincent":

This is the same tune as used for A solis ortus cardine, the Lauds & 2nd Evensong hymn in Christmastide.  Here the LLPB sings that hymn as  "From East to West, from shore to shore" (mp3).



Here's the score to Hymn 26, used for Iam lucis orto sidere  "On the 6th day in the 8ve of Xmas & daily till the Vigil of Epiphany, and on the Vigil, (if it be a Sunday), & on all Feasts, except those of the lowest class, from the 8ve of Spiphany until the Purification of the B. V. M."

This is the melody used for the Christmastide Matins hymn, Christe, Redemptor omnium.   LLPB provides an mp3 that matches this tune; it's called "Jesus, the Father's Only Son," and is listed as a "Hymn for the first Vespers of the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord."



Melody #2 is another new one, used for  Iam lucis orto sidere  "On the Vigils of Christmas & Epiphany (not  being a Sunday), & on all Ferias & Vigils from Low Sunday to Ascension Day, & on the Vigil of Pentecost, & on all Simple Feasts of the lowest class throughout the year, & during 8ves."

Again, no sound file for this one; certainly use one of the alternates cited above instead.


Here's a peek-in to the SSM Breviary entry for Prime: