Hail Thee, Festival Day

Representative Text

[Refrain:]
Hail, glad festival day!
Blest day to be hallowed for ever,
day wherein Christ arose,
breaking the kingdom of death.

[Easter:]
1 Lo, the fair beauty of earth,
from the death of the winter arising,
every good gift of the year
now with its Saviour returns. [Refrain]

2 He who was nailed to the cross
is God and the ruler of all things;
all things created on earth
worship the maker of all. [Refrain]

3 Mourning they laid you to rest,
the author of life and creation;
treading the pathway of death,
life now bestowing on all. [Refrain]

4 God of all pity and power,
let your word be assured to the doubting:
light on the third day returns;
rise, Son of God, from the tomb! [Refrain]

[Ascension:]
1 Christ in his triumph ascends,
who had vanquished the devil's dominion;
bright is the woodland with leaves,
brilliant the meadows with flowers. [Refrain]

2 Daily the loveliness grows,
adorned with glory of blossom;
heaven its gates now unbars,
flinging its increase of light. [Refrain]

3 Jesus, the health of the word,
enlighten our minds, great Redeemer,
Son of the Father supreme,
only-begotten of God! [Refrain]

4 Praise to the giver of good!
O Lover and Author of concord,
pour out your balm on our days;
order our days in your peace. [Refrain]

[Pentecost:]
1 Lo, in the likeness of fire,
on those who await his appearing,
he whom the Lord foretold
suddenly, swiftly descends: [Refrain]

2 Forth to the faithful he comes
with sevenfold mystical offering,
pouring on all human souls
infinite riches of God. [Refrain]

3 Hark! for in myriad tongues
Christ's own, his chosen apostles,
preach to the ends of the earth
Christ and his wonderful works. [Refrain]

4 Praise to the Spirit of life,
all praise to the fount of our being,
light that now lightens all,
life that in all now abides. [Refrain]



Source: Voices United: The Hymn and Worship Book of The United Church of Canada #163

Author: Venantius Honorius Clementianus Fortunatus

Venantius Honorius Clematianus Fortunatus (b. Cenada, near Treviso, Italy, c. 530; d. Poitiers, France, 609) was educated at Ravenna and Milan and was converted to the Christian faith at an early age. Legend has it that while a student at Ravenna he contracted a disease of the eye and became nearly blind. But he was miraculously healed after anointing his eyes with oil from a lamp burning before the altar of St. Martin of Tours. In gratitude Fortunatus made a pilgrimage to that saint's shrine in Tours and spent the rest of his life in Gaul (France), at first traveling and composing love songs. He developed a platonic affection for Queen Rhadegonda, joined her Abbey of St. Croix in Poitiers, and became its bishop in 599. His Hymns far all th… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: Lo, the fair beauty of earth
Title: Hail Thee, Festival Day
Latin Title: Salve festa dies
Author: Venantius Honorius Clementianus Fortunatus
Meter: Irregular with refrain
Source: Trans. The English Hymnal, 1906
Language: English
Refrain First Line: Hail thee, festival day
Copyright: Public Domain

Tune

SALVE FESTA DIES (Vaughan Williams)

Ralph Vaughan Williams (PHH 316) composed SALVE FESTA DIES as a setting for Venantius H. Fortunatus's (PHH 400) famous text "Hail Thee, Festival Day." The tune, whose title comes from the opening words of that text, was published in The English Hymnal of 1906. Like SINE NOMINE (505), this tune is vi…

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SALVE FESTA DIES (Plainsong)


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Instances

Instances (1 - 7 of 7)

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The Cyber Hymnal #2109

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The Hymnal 1982 #175

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The United Methodist Hymnal #324

The United Methodist Hymnal Music Supplement #313

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Voices United #163

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