Piae Cantiones
Encyclopedia
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
songs first published in 1582. It was compiled by Jacobus Finno (Latin form) or Jaakko Suomalainen (Finnish form), a clergyman who was headmaster of the cathedral school at Turku
Katedralskolan i Åbo
Katedralskolan i Åbo is the Swedish-language senior high school of Turku, located at the Old Great Square ....
. Publication was undertaken by Theodoricus Petri Rutha of Nyland (Swedish form) or Uusimaa
Uusimaa
Uusimaa, or Nyland in Swedish, is a region in Finland. It borders the regions Finland Proper, Tavastia Proper, Päijänne Tavastia and Kymenlaakso...
(Finnish form), who lived from about 1560 to about 1630. He came from an aristocratic family in Finland, and was educated at Rostock
University of Rostock
The University of Rostock is the university of the city Rostock, in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.Founded in 1419, it is the oldest and largest university in continental northern Europe and the Baltic Sea area...
.
The collection Piae Cantiones was published in Greifswald
Greifswald
Greifswald , officially, the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald is a town in northeastern Germany. It is situated in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, at an equal distance of about from Germany's two largest cities, Berlin and Hamburg. The town borders the Baltic Sea, and is crossed...
(Part of Swedish territory 1648-1815, though now in Germany) and includes 74 Latin and Swedish/Latin songs that were sung at the time in Finnish cathedral schools, most notably in the cathedral school at Turku
Katedralskolan i Åbo
Katedralskolan i Åbo is the Swedish-language senior high school of Turku, located at the Old Great Square ....
. Most of them are religious in nature but some, for example Tempus adest floridum, are secular school songs. The lyrics in the collection testify of the moderate nature of the Protestant Reformation in Sweden. Although some Catholic nuances have been purged, many songs still carry strong traces of the cult of Virgin Mary
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
(e.g. Ave Maris Stella
Ave Maris Stella
Ave Maris Stella is a plainsong Vespers hymn to Mary. It is of uncertain origin and can be dated back at least as far as the eighth century. It was especially popular in the Middle Ages and has been used by many composers as the basis of other compositions...
). Although published as late as in 1582, the melodies of Piae Cantiones are medieval by nature. The origin of the songs and melodies varies. Many originate from Central Europe but quite a few seem to have been written in Nordic countries.
In 1625 the collection was re-published with 13 further songs.
Later versions of this collection were compiled by Finns Henricus Fattbuur and Mathias Tolia. The Finnish
Finnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
translation of Piae Cantiones (1616) by Hemming of Masku who earlier (1605) had published a remarkable Finnish hymnal. The songs of Piae Cantiones were popular in Finnish schools until the 19th century but fell gradually in disuse. However, a newly-awakened interest in this old music has made them quite popular and they belong to the standard repertoire of any Finnish or Swedish choir. Many of Hemming's translations are present (with some modernization) in the official book of anthems of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland is the national church of Finland. The church professes the Lutheran branch of Christianity, and is a member of the Porvoo Communion....
. In this way, Piae Cantiones still enriches Finnish spiritual life.
Piae Cantiones in English
In 1853 the British ambassador to Sweden, G. J. R. Gordon, returned to England with a copy of the 1582 edition, which he presented to John Mason NealeJohn Mason Neale
John Mason Neale was an Anglican priest, scholar and hymn-writer.-Life:Neale was born in London, his parents being the Revd Cornelius Neale and Susanna Neale, daughter of John Mason Good...
, well known for his interest in early music. He in turn passed it on to Thomas Helmore
Thomas Helmore
Thomas Helmore was a choirmaster, writer about singing and author and editor of hymns and carols.Helmore's father was a congregationalist minister...
who he knew to be expert in the interpretation of the mensural notation
Mensural notation
Mensural notation is the musical notation system which was used in European music from the later part of the 13th century until about 1600."Mensural" refers to the ability of this system to notate complex rhythms with great exactness and flexibility...
in which the tunes were given. On receiving the tunes in modern notation Neale translated the texts into English, or in a few cases wrote completely new texts. Neale and Helmore published 12 of these tunes in that same year as Carols for Christmastide, and the following year 12 more as Carols for Eastertide. The Christmas set included Christ was born on Christmas Day from Resonet in laudibus
Resonet in laudibus
Resonet in laudibus, translated into English as "Let the voice of praise resound" is a 14th century carol which was widely known in medieval Europe, and is still performed today...
, Good Christian men, rejoice from In dulci jubilo
In Dulci Jubilo
In dulci jubilo is a traditional Christmas carol. In its original setting, the carol is a macaronic text of German and Latin dating from the Middle Ages. Subsequent translations into English, such as J.M...
and Good King Wenceslas
Good King Wenceslas
"Good King Wenceslas" is a popular Christmas carol about a king who goes out to give alms to a poor peasant on the Feast of Stephen . During the journey, his page is about to give up the struggle against the cold weather, but is enabled to continue by following the king's footprints, step for step,...
as completely new words for the spring carol Tempus adest floridum. The Easter set included Let the song be begun from Personent hodie
Personent hodie
Personent hodie is a Christmas carol originally published in the 1582 Finnish song book Piae Cantiones, a volume of 74 Medieval songs with Latin texts collected by Jaakko Suomalainen, a Swedish Lutheran cleric, and published by T.P. Rutha...
.
In Helmore's 1854 The Hymnal Noted, Divinum mysterium became, with words inspired by Prudentius
Prudentius
Aurelius Prudentius Clemens was a Roman Christian poet, born in the Roman province of Tarraconensis in 348. He probably died in Spain, as well, some time after 405, possibly around 413...
' poem Corde natus ex parentis, Of the father sole begotten
Of the Father's Heart Begotten
Of the Father's Heart Begotten alternately known as Of the Father's Love Begotten is a Christmas carol based on the latin poem Corde natus by the Roman poet Aurelius Prudentius, from his Liber Cathemerinon Of the Father's Heart Begotten alternately known as Of the Father's Love Begotten is a...
. Subsequent settings were made by these and other authors, such as Puer nobis nascitur (Unto Us is Born a Son
Unto Us is Born a Son
Puer nobis nascitur, usually translated as Unto Us is Born a Son, is a medieval Christmas carol found in a number of manuscript sources - the 14th century German Moosburg Gradual and a 15th century Trier manuscript...
) and Gaudete
Gaudete
Gaudete is a sacred Christmas carol, composed sometime in the 16th century. The song was published in Piae Cantiones, a collection of Finnish/Swedish sacred songs published in 1582...
.
In 1910 an edition of the original was published in England by the Plainsong and Medieval Music Society, with a preface and notes by George Ratcliffe Woodward
George Ratcliffe Woodward
George Ratcliffe Woodward was an Anglican priest who wrote mostly religious verse, both original and translated from ancient authors. The best-known of these were written to fit traditional melodies, mainly of the Renaissance...
.