Over the last 70 years, ST VENANTIUS has fallen out of favor. One reason might be that many harmonizations of it are “chunky.” I was pleased to see the Brébeuf Hymnal adopted the harmonization by Dom Gregory Murray (probably the finest ever created for ST VENANTIUS). This morning, I created this pipe organ recording. The Christmas & Epiphany hymns by Bishop Venantius Fortunatus—who lived in the sixth century—are both alphabetical acrostics. Monsignor Ronald Knox, when he translated those hymns, created a dazzling alphabetical acrostic using English! In the NEW WESTMINSTER HYMNAL, Bishop Venantius’ hymns are paired with this melody.
Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.
