LUMEN HILARE
Venite, Audite, Gaudete!
Te Lucis Ante Terminum
Music by Oreste Ravanello
The hymn at Compline in the Roman Breviary, the Vatican Antiphonary gives it many plain-song settings for the varieties of season and rite. The classical prosody of its stanzas suggest it is of quite early origin. Often ascribed to St. Ambrose, this authorship is not admitted by many. The original version of the hymn was altered by Pope Urban VIII (1623–1644). The 1974 Breviary of Pope Paul VI restores the earlier form of the first and last verse, but replaces the second verse with two additional verses.
This text has frequently been set to music. The earliest is the plainsong version found in the Liber Usualis. Oreste Ravanello (1871-1938) was an Italian composer and organist. He was appointed organist of the San Marco Cathedral in Venice at the age of seventeen. He became a well-known recitalist well known for his improvisations. He is most remembered for his compositions intended for the church: 30 Masses, Te Deums etc. and numerous works for organ and piano.
Te lucis ante terminum,
Rerum Creator, poscimus,
Ut pro tua clementia,
Sis praesul et custodia.
Procul recedant somnia,
Et noctium phantasmata:
Hostemque nostrum comprime,
Ne polluantur corpora.
Praesta, Pater piissime,
Patrique compar Unice,
Cum Spiritu Paraclito,
Regnans per omne saeculum.
Deo Patri sit gloria
Et filio, qui a mortis
Surrexit et Paraclito,
In sempiterna saecula.
To thee before the close of day,
Creator of the world, we pray
That, with thy wonted favor, thou
Wouldst be our guard and keeper now.
From all ill dreams defend our sight,
From fears and terrors of the night;
Withhold from us our ghostly foe,
That spot of sin we may not know.
O Father, that we ask be done,
Through Jesus Christ, thine only Son,
Who, with the Holy Ghost and thee,
Doth live and reign eternally. Amen.