Alma Redemptoris Mater
"Alma Redemptoris Mater" is a Marian hymn, written in Latin hexameter, and one of four seasonal liturgical Marian antiphons sung at the end of the office of Compline.History
is said to have authored the hymn based on the writings of Saints Fulgentius, Epiphanius, and Irenaeus of Lyon. It is mentioned in The Prioress's Tale, one of Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Formerly it was recited at the end of the canonical hours only from the first Sunday in Advent until the Feast of the Purification. It was translated into English by John Henry Newman in "Tracts for the Times", No. 75.Text
Latin
Depending on the period, the following combinations of a versicle, response, and collect are added. From the first Sunday of Advent until Christmas Eve, the collect from the Fourth Sunday of Advent is used, and thereafter until the Feast of the Presentation, the collect from Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, is used.
The first collect is notably also used in Masses during Advent, and is exactly the same prayer that concludes the Angelus.From the first Sunday of Advent until Christmas Eve
English translation
From the first Sunday of Advent until Christmas Eve
From First Vespers of Christmas until the Presentation
Musical settings
, 2 settings, Alma Redemptoris Mater H 21, for 2 voices and bc, Alma Redemptoris Mater H 44, for soloists, chorus, 2 violins and bc.
