Vox clara ecce intonat is a Latin hymn used traditionally in the Liturgy of the Hours at Lauds during Advent.[1] An alternative version of the same hymn begins "En clara vox redarguit."[2]
History
The original version of the hymn dates from the 6th century.[3] Whilst it has been attributed to a number of different authors, including St Ambrose, it is generally recorded in modern books as "anonymous."[4] As a result of Pope Urban VIII's revision of the Breviary, the hymn was re-written in a more classical Latin style and published in 1632, with the opening line "En clara vox redarguit."[5]
Style
The hymn is written in iambic dimeter[6] and it is a retelling of the preaching of John the Baptist, announcing the coming of Christ in Luke's Gospel.
Latin versions of the Hymn
Vox clara ecce intonat
1 VOX clara ecce intonat,
obscura quaeque increpat:
procul fugentur somnia;
ab aethere Christus promicat.
2 Mens iam resurgat torpida
quae sorde exstat saucia;
sidus refulget iam novum,
ut tollat omne noxium.
3 E sursum Agnus mittitur
laxare gratis debitum;
omnes pro indulgentia
vocem demus cum lacrimis,
4 Secundo ut cum fulserit
mundumque horror cinxerit,
non pro reatu puniat,
sed nos pius tunc protegat.
5 Summo Parenti gloria
Natoque sit victoria,
et Flamini laus debita
per saeculorum saecula. Amen.[7]
En clara vox redarguit
1 En clara vox redarguit
Obscura quaeque personans:
Procul fugentur somnia:
Ab alto Jesus promicat.
2 Mens jam resurgat torpida,
Non amplius jacens humi:
Sidus refulget jam novum,
Ut tollat omne noxium.
3 En Agnus ad nos mittitur
Laxare gratis debitum:
Omnes simul cum lacrimis
Precemur indulgentiam:
4 Ut, cum secundo fulserit,
Metuque mundum cinxerit,
Non pro reatu puniat,
Sed nos pius tunc protegat.
5 Virtus, honor, laus, gloria
Deo Patri cum Filio,
Sancto simul Paraclito,
In sæculorum saecula.[8]
English Versions
It is estimated that there are at least 27 English translations of the hymn.[9] The following examples were widely used in the nineteenth and twentieth century.