Panis Angelicus
Encyclopedia
Panis angelicus is the penultimate strophe
of the hymn Sacris solemniis
written by Saint Thomas Aquinas
for the Feast of Corpus Christi as part of a complete liturgy of the Feast including prayers for the Mass
and the Liturgy of the Hours
.
The strophe of Sacris solemniis that begins with the words "Panis angelicus" (bread of angels) has often been set to music separately from the rest of the hymn. Most famously, in 1872 César Franck
set this strophe for voice (tenor
), harp
, cello
, and organ
, and incorporated it into his Messe à trois voix Opus 12.
The phenomenon whereby the strophe of Sacris solemniis that begins with the words "Panis angelicus" is often treated as a separate hymn has occurred also with other hymns that Thomas Aquinas wrote for Corpus Christi
: Verbum supernum prodiens
(the last two strophes begin with "O salutaris Hostia
") and Pange lingua gloriosi (the last two strophes begin with "Tantum ergo
", in which case the word ergo ["therefore"] makes evident that this part is the continuation of a longer hymn).
became the highlight of his career. Noteworthy renditions have also been performed by tenors Luciano Pavarotti
(alone, with his father, and in company of Sting), Plácido Domingo
, Richard Crooks
, Donald Braswell II
and Roberto Alagna
, as well as by the sopranos Magda Olivero
, Charlotte Church
, Renata Scotto
and Chloë Agnew
(with Celtic Woman
). This work was performed by Richard Tucker
at the funeral mass of United States
Senator and Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy
on June 8, 1968 as well as by Placido Domingo
and Yo-Yo Ma
at the funeral mass for his brother Senator Edward Kennedy
on August 29, 2009, televised nationally in the USA. The cellist Julian Lloyd Webber
recorded it on the 1998 album Cello Moods
. Italian classical singer, Micheal Castaldo
recorded an Italian version of this song on his 2010 album, Aceto.
Strophe
A strophe forms the first part of the ode in Ancient Greek tragedy, followed by the antistrophe and epode. In its original Greek setting, "strophe, antistrophe and epode were a kind of stanza framed only for the music," as John Milton wrote in the preface to Samson Agonistes, with the strophe...
of the hymn Sacris solemniis
Sacris solemniis
Sacris Solemniis is a hymn written by St Thomas Aquinas for the Feast of Corpus Christi . The strophe of Sacris solemniis that begins with the words "Panis angelicus" has often been set to music separately from the rest of the hymn...
written by Saint Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, O.P. , also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis...
for the Feast of Corpus Christi as part of a complete liturgy of the Feast including prayers for the Mass
Eucharist (Catholic Church)
"At the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, our Savior instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of his Body and Blood."...
and the Liturgy of the Hours
Liturgy of the hours
The Liturgy of the Hours or Divine Office is the official set of daily prayers prescribed by the Catholic Church to be recited at the canonical hours by the clergy, religious orders, and laity. The Liturgy of the Hours consists primarily of psalms supplemented by hymns and readings...
.
The strophe of Sacris solemniis that begins with the words "Panis angelicus" (bread of angels) has often been set to music separately from the rest of the hymn. Most famously, in 1872 César Franck
César Franck
César-Auguste-Jean-Guillaume-Hubert Franck was a composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher who worked in Paris during his adult life....
set this strophe for voice (tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
), harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
, cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
, and organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, and incorporated it into his Messe à trois voix Opus 12.
The phenomenon whereby the strophe of Sacris solemniis that begins with the words "Panis angelicus" is often treated as a separate hymn has occurred also with other hymns that Thomas Aquinas wrote for Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi (feast)
Corpus Christi is a Latin Rite solemnity, now designated the solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ . It is also celebrated in some Anglican, Lutheran and Old Catholic Churches. Like Trinity Sunday and the Solemnity of Christ the King, it does not commemorate a particular event in...
: Verbum supernum prodiens
Verbum Supernum Prodiens
Verbum Supernum Prodiens is a Catholic hymn by St Thomas Aquinas. It was written for the Hour of Lauds in the Divine Office of Corpus Christi. It is about the institution of the Eucharist by Christ at the Last Supper, and His Passion and death...
(the last two strophes begin with "O salutaris Hostia
O Salutaris Hostia
O salutaris Hostia, "O Saving Host", is a section of one of the Eucharistic hymns written by St Thomas Aquinas for the Feast of Corpus Christi. He wrote it for the Hour of Lauds in the Divine Office. It is actually the last two stanzas of the hymn Verbum supernum prodiens, and is used for the...
") and Pange lingua gloriosi (the last two strophes begin with "Tantum ergo
Tantum Ergo
Tantum ergo are the opening words of the last two verses of Pange Lingua, a Mediaeval Latin hymn written by St Thomas Aquinas. These last two verses are sung during veneration and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament in the Roman Catholic Church and other churches that practice this devotion...
", in which case the word ergo ["therefore"] makes evident that this part is the continuation of a longer hymn).
Renditions of the setting by Franck
The 1932 performance of Franck's work by John McCormack in Dublin's Phoenix ParkPhoenix Park
Phoenix Park is an urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying 2–4 km west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its 16 km perimeter wall encloses , one of the largest walled city parks in Europe. It includes large areas of grassland and tree-lined avenues, and since the seventeenth...
became the highlight of his career. Noteworthy renditions have also been performed by tenors Luciano Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti
right|thumb|Luciano Pavarotti performing at the opening of the Constantine Palace in [[Strelna]], 31 May 2003. The concert was part of the celebrations for the 300th anniversary of [[St...
(alone, with his father, and in company of Sting), Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo KBE , born José Plácido Domingo Embil, is a Spanish tenor and conductor known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range...
, Richard Crooks
Richard Crooks
Richard Alexander Crooks was an American tenor and a leading singer at the New York Metropolitan Opera.-Biography:He was born on June 26, 1900 in Trenton, New Jersey...
, Donald Braswell II
Donald Braswell II
Donald Braswell II is an American actor, classical crossover tenor and composer. Braswell was on a fast track to become an internationally acclaimed opera singer when he suffered a car accident in 1995 that made him unable to speak for almost two years...
and Roberto Alagna
Roberto Alagna
Roberto Alagna is a French-Italian tenor. He was born in Clichy-sous-Bois, Seine-Saint-Denis, France.-Early years:Alagna was born outside of the city of Paris in 1963 to a family of Sicilian immigrants . As a teenager, the young Alagna began busking and singing pop in Parisian cabarets for tips...
, as well as by the sopranos Magda Olivero
Magda Olivero
Magda Olivero is a soprano of the verismo-school of singing. She was born in Saluzzo, Italy. Olivero made her operatic debut in 1932 on Turin radio in Cattozzo’s oratorio I misteri dolorosi. She performed widely and increasingly successfully until 1941, when she married and retired from performing...
, Charlotte Church
Charlotte Church
Charlotte Maria Church is a Welsh singer-songwriter, actress and television presenter. She rose to fame in childhood as a classical singer before branching into pop music in 2005. By 2007, she had sold more than 10 million records worldwide including over 5 million in the United States...
, Renata Scotto
Renata Scotto
Renata Scotto is an Italian soprano and opera director.Recognized for her sense of style, musicality and as a remarkable singer-actress, Scotto is considered one of the preeminent singers of her generation, specializing in the bel canto repertoire with excursions into the verismo and Verdi...
and Chloë Agnew
Chloë Agnew
Chloë Alexandra Adele Emily Agnew is an Irish singer who is one of the current members of the Celtic music group Celtic Woman as the youngest member. She comes from Knocklyon, County Dublin where she lived with her mother Adele "Twink" King and younger sister Naomi...
(with Celtic Woman
Celtic Woman
Celtic Woman is an all-female musical ensemble conceived and assembled by Sharon Browne and David Downes, a former musical director of the Irish stage show Riverdance...
). This work was performed by Richard Tucker
Richard Tucker
Richard Tucker was an American operatic tenor.-Early life:Tucker was born Rivn Ticker in Brooklyn, New York, into a family of Romanian immigrants from Bessarabia. His father, Shmul Ticker, and mother Fanya-Tsipa Ticker had already adopted the surname "Tucker" by the time their son entered first...
at the funeral mass of United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Senator and Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
on June 8, 1968 as well as by Placido Domingo
Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo KBE , born José Plácido Domingo Embil, is a Spanish tenor and conductor known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range...
and Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma is an American cellist, virtuoso, and orchestral composer. He has received multiple Grammy Awards, the National Medal of Arts in 2001 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011...
at the funeral mass for his brother Senator Edward Kennedy
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...
on August 29, 2009, televised nationally in the USA. The cellist Julian Lloyd Webber
Julian Lloyd Webber
Julian Lloyd Webber is a British solo cellist who has been described as the "doyen of British cellists".-Early life:Julian Lloyd Webber is the second son of the composer William Lloyd Webber and his wife Jean Johnstone . He is the younger brother of the composer Andrew Lloyd Webber...
recorded it on the 1998 album Cello Moods
Cello Moods
Cello Moods is an album recorded by the cellist Julian Lloyd Webber and, principally, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 1998 for Philips. It is a collection of classical pieces either originally written for or adapted for the cello and orchestral accompaniment...
. Italian classical singer, Micheal Castaldo
Micheal Castaldo
Michéal Castaldo is an Italian-born Canadian, and now a New York City resident classical crossover tenor, music producer and composer.-Early life and musical career:...
recorded an Italian version of this song on his 2010 album, Aceto.
Text of Panis angelicus, with doxology
| Latin text | An English translation |
|---|---|
|
|
External links
- Sacris Solemniis in the Catholic EncyclopediaCatholic EncyclopediaThe Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia and the Original Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language encyclopedia published in the United States. The first volume appeared in March 1907 and the last three volumes appeared in 1912, followed by a master index...
discusses the merits of a number of different translations. - full text of Sacris Solemniis, with an English translation
- Gregorian Chants