O salutaris hostia

O salutaris hostia (English O Saving Host) It is the penultimate stanza of the hymn, Verbum supernum prodiens, composed by St. Thomas Aquinas for the Hour of Lauds in the Office of the Feast of Corpus Christi. This stanza and the final stanza, or doxology (Uni trinoque domino), have been selected to form a separate hymn for Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament. Usually, and most appropriately, it is begun either when the door of the tabernacle is opened or when the monstrance is being placed on the throne of exposition. The hymn is often chosen as a motet for solemn Mass, and may thus be used after the proper Offertory for the day has been sung or recited. An indefensible, but, fortunately, very rare, custom, perhaps inaugurated by Pierre de la Rue, the profound contrapuntal composer of the fifteenth century, was that of replacing the Benedictus at Mass by the O Salutaris.

Musical settings at CPDL

Anonymous I Anonymous II Ambrosian chant (Anonymous) Ludwig van Beethoven William Byrd Marc-Antoine Charpentier Fabio Fresi Jacob Handl Jan Antonin Kozeluh

Franz Liszt Giovanni Battista Martini Josquin Des Prez José Alexandrino de Sousa Abel Di Marco Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina Lorenzo Perosi Pasquale Pisari Albert H. RoSewig

Gioacchino Rossini Pierre de La Rue Jef Tinel Ascanio Trombetti Alajos Werner Johannes Ev. Zelinka Ilaria Zuccaro Peter Josef Zwyssig

Original text and translations

Latin text O salutaris hostia quae caeli pandis ostium, bella premunt hostilia: da robur, fer auxilium Uni trinoque Domino sit sempiterna gloria, qui vitam sine termino nobis donet in patria. Italian translation translation by Daniele Ventre O salvatrice vittima Che schiudi ai cieli il viatico, Ostili assalti premono, Da' tu forza ed ausilio! All'uno e trino Principe, Che vita senza termine Dà a noi nella sua patria, Sia sempiterna gloria. Russian translation О Спасающая Жертва, кто отворяет врата небес! Мы гибнем от гнёта злобы. Укрепи [нас] и дай помощи. Три-единому Господу будет слава, кто дарует нам бесконечную жизнь в отчизне нашей (т.е., на небесах)

English translation O victim and salvation who opens wide the gate of heaven, we are oppressed by savage wars, give us your strength, bring us your aid. Everlasting glory be to the Lord, three in One, who gives us life without end in heaven. Dutch translation Gegroet, o (heilig) offer(dier), Gij die de hemelpoort opent, steun (ons in) onze strijd tegen de(aards-)vijanden, geef kracht en draag bij met Uw hulp. Aan U, o drieëne Heer, komt eeuwige eer toe, U, die ons in het (hemelse) Vaderhuis een leven geeft, waaraan geen einde komt. alternative Dutch translation O offergave van ons heil die ons de hemelpoort ontsluit; aan wie de vijand onderdrukt geef uw kracht en breng uw hulp. De éne en drievoudige Heer zij ongemeten heerlijkheid; Hij moge 't leven zonder eind ons geven in het Vaderland.