Second, notice the compositional maneuver of setting a low-pitched, limited-range verse followed by a soaring refrain. In some cases I have spoken of this pattern as emotionally manipulative, for example, in On Eagles' Wings. Here, though, the intention is far different. The soaring is not ours! It is Mary's, and the angels sing her praises. We soar to join them.
And that leads me to a final comment (leaving aside such sublime theology and singably enjoyable poetry as "the spring through which all graces flow"): this is one of those hymns which makes the common praise of heaven and earth explicit. Since the prayer of Solomon in the temple, since the dream of Jacob and the passing of Enoch, we've known that the firmament of heaven can be permeated by praise. But rarely enough--outside of the Christmas season--sing explicitly of the very true mystery of the cosmic liturgy.
Angels, all your praises bring.
Earth and heaven with us sing.
All creation echoing: Salve, salve, salve Regina!
5 comments:
Dear Ephrem,
I would quibble with you only on your opening line. It may be Sister Act that allows people to appreciate it with a more contemporary arrangement.
Thank you for drawing my attention to this hymn. I confess the only place I've ever heard it is on Sister Act; I can't find it in any of my hymn books.
I've just done a quick Google, and found what purports to be a .midi file of Hail Holy Queen. I've extracted the melody and turned it into a .pdf. Can you please tell me if what I've found is the correct/traditional melody for the hymn?
Hail Holy Queen
Thanks,
Robin
Brother AJK,
Do you experience the Sister Act version as prayerful?
Robin,
Yes, that's the melody for this hymn.
I'd be interested in knowing whether its author was making a conscious reference to the more traditional hymn Salve Regina. The tune in common use for that hymn (whose title is also, obviously, Hail, Queen) is relatively recent. Here's an older tone: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS7V98QC2eI
I find the swipe at "On Eagles Wings" a bit gratuitous. The Scriptures twice (that I know of) describe the action of God lifting up people and using the metaphor of the eagle. Psalm 91 itself uses the dreaded voice of God to indicate a lifting up of the believer, though the wings are not explicitly present.
The Sister Act setting is fun, certainly. That doesn't make it any less prayerful, say, than a largo tempo raising yawns from the pew.
Todd
Todd,
This blog has one simple rule; please try not to violate it, as is your custom:
http://hymnographyunbound.blogspot.com/2007/12/ground-rules.html
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