"Veni Creator Spiritus" (Come, Creator Spirit) is a traditional

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

believed to have been written by

Rabanus Maurus Rabanus Maurus Magnentius ( 780 – 4 February 856), also known as Hrabanus or Rhabanus, was a Frankish Benedictine monk, theologian, poet, encyclopedist and military writer who became archbishop of Mainz in East Francia. He was the author of the ...

, a ninth-century German monk, teacher, and archbishop. When the original

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

text is used, it is normally sung in

Gregorian Chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed mainly in western and central Europe durin ...

. It has been translated and paraphrased into several languages, and adapted into many musical forms, often as a hymn for Pentecost or for other occasions that focus on the

Holy Spirit In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...

Liturgical use

As an invocation of the Holy Spirit, Veni Creator Spiritus is sung in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

during liturgical celebrations on the feast of

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in the Ne ...

(at both

Terce Terce is a canonical hour of the Divine Office. It consists mainly of psalms and is held around 9 a.m. Its name comes from Latin and refers to the third hour of the day after dawn. With Sext, None and Compline it belongs to the so-called "Little ...

and

Vespers Vespers is a service of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic (both Latin liturgical rites, Latin and Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern), Lutheranism, Lutheran, and Anglican ...

). It is also sung at occasions such as the entrance of Cardinals to the Sistine Chapel when they elect a new pope, as well as at the

consecration Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

s, the

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorization, authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominational ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

s, the

sacrament A sacrament is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite that is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments ...

Confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...

, the dedication of churches, the celebration of

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...

s or councils, the

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a coronation crown, crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the ...

of monarchs, the Red Mass marking the start of the judicial year, the

profession A profession is a field of work that has been successfully ''professionalized''. It can be defined as a disciplined group of individuals, '' professionals'', who adhere to ethical standards and who hold themselves out as, and are accepted by ...

of members of

religious institute A religious institute is a type of institute of consecrated life in the Catholic Church whose members take religious vows and lead a life in community with fellow members. Religious institutes are one of the two types of institutes of consecrate ...

s, and other similar solemn events. There are also Catholic traditions of singing the hymn on New Year's Day for plenary indulgence.

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...

used the hymn as the basis for his Pentecost chorale "", first published in 1524. ''Veni Creator Spiritus'' is also widely used in

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

liturgies, where it has appeared since the publication of the

1550 ordinal The Edwardine Ordinals are two ordinals primarily written by Thomas Cranmer as influenced by Martin Bucer and first published under Edward VI, the first in 1550 and the second in 1552, for the Church of England. Both liturgical books were inten ...

and continues to appear, for example, in the ordinal of the 1662 ''Book of Common Prayer'', and in the Novena to The Holy Ghost in ''

Saint Augustine's Prayer Book Saint Augustine's Prayer Book is an Anglo-Catholic devotional book published for members of the various Anglican churches in the United States and Canada by the Order of the Holy Cross, an Anglican monastic community. The first edition, edite ...

'' (1947). The translation "Come Holy Ghost, our souls inspire" was by Bishop John Cosin in 1625, and has been used for all subsequent British coronations. Another English example is "Creator Spirit, by whose aid", written in 1690 by eorge Washington and published in ''The Church Hymn Book'' (1872, n. 313).

Text

Many variations exist. The following Latin and English versions were recently published by the Vatican:

Notable English translations

Since the

English Reformation The English Reformation took place in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away from the authority of the pope and the Catholic Church. These events were part of the wider European Protestant Reformation, a religious and poli ...

in the 16th century, there have been more than fifty English-language translations and paraphrases of Veni Creator Spiritus. The version attributed to

Archbishop Cranmer Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He helped build the case for the annulment of Henry's ...

, his sole venture into English verse, first appeared in the Prayer Book Ordinal of 1550. It was the only metrical hymn included in the Edwardian liturgy. In 1561 John Day included it after the psalms in his incomplete metrical psalter of that year. From 1562 onwards, in ''The Whole Booke of Psalmes'', Day printed Cranmer's version at the start of the metrical paraphrases. In terms of concision and accuracy, Cranmer compares poorly with Luther. Cranmer's sixth stanza, which mentions the Last Judgement and religious strife within Christendom ("the last dreadful day... strife and dissension..."), was a new addition, with no parallel in the Latin original or in Luther's version. The version included in the 1662 revision of the ''Book of Common Prayer'' compressed the content of the original seven verses into four (with a two-line doxology), but retained the Latin title. It was written by Bishop John Cosin for the

of King Charles I of Great Britain in 1625. The same words have been used at every coronation since, sung by the choir after the

Creed A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets. The ea ...

and before the Anointing. The first verse is: :Come, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire, :and lighten with celestial fire. :Thou the anointing Spirit art, :who dost thy sevenfold gifts impart. Another well-known version by the poet

John Dryden '' John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the per ...

was first published in his 1693 work, ''Examen Poeticum''. It may be sung to the tune " Melita" by

John Bacchus Dykes John Bacchus Dykes (10 March 1823 – 22 January 1876) was an English clergyman and hymnwriter. Biography John Bacchus Dykes was born in Hull, England, the fifth child and third son of William Hey Dykes, a ship builder, later banker, an ...

, and excerpts of the Dryden text have been set to the German hymn tune "

Lasst uns erfreuen "" (Let us rejoice most heartily) is a hymn tune that originated from Germany in 1623, and which found widespread popularity after ''The English Hymnal'' published a 1906 version in strong triple meter with new lyrics. The triumphant melody and r ...

". Dryden's first verse is: :Creator Spirit, by whose aid :The world's foundations first were laid, :Come, visit every pious mind; :Come, pour thy joys on humankind; :From sin and sorrow set us free, :And make thy temples worthy thee.

German paraphrases

wrote a paraphrase in German, "

Komm, Gott Schöpfer, Heiliger Geist "" ("Come, God Creator, Holy Ghost") is a Lutheran hymn for Pentecost, with words written by Martin Luther based on the Latin "". The hymn in seven stanzas was first published in 1524. Its hymn tunes are Zahn number, Zahn No. 294, derived fro ...

" (literally: Come, God Creator, Holy Ghost) as a Lutheran hymn for

, first published in 1524, with a melody derived from the chant of the Latin hymn. It appears in the Protestant hymnal '' Evangelisches Gesangbuch'' as EG 126.

Heinrich Bone Heinrich Bone (25 September 181310 June 1893) was a German educator and hymnwriter. He wrote a reader for German studies which was used for higher education in Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and Austria, until it was banned during the Kulturkampf. ...

published his own German paraphrase in 1845, "

Komm, Schöpfer Geist, kehr bei uns ein "" (Come, Creator Spirit, visit us) is a Christian hymn in German for Pentecost. The text is a paraphrase of the Latin hymn by Heinrich Bone. The melody is an adaptation of the Latin hymn's plainchant. It was first published in 1845. In the Cathol ...

" (literally: Come, Creator Spirit, visit us), also using an adaptation of the plainchant melody. It appears in the German Catholic hymnal '' Gotteslob'' (2013) and its 1975 predecessor. A rhymed German translation or paraphrase, "Komm, Heiliger Geist, der Leben schafft" (literally: Come, Holy Spirit who creates life), was written by Friedrich Dörr to a melody close to the Gregorian melody, published in 1972. It became part of the common German Catholic hymnal '' Gotteslob'' in 1975, and of its second edition in 2013, as GL 342 in the section "Pfingsten – Heiliger Geist" (Pentecost – Holy Spirit).

Musical settings

Over the centuries, Veni Creator Spiritus has inspired the following works by notable composers, in approximate chronological order: *

Jehan Titelouze Jean (''Jehan'') Titelouze (c. 1562/63 – 24 October 1633) was a French Catholic priest, composer, poet and organist of the early Baroque period. He was a canon and organist at Rouen Cathedral. His style was firmly rooted in the Renaissance vo ...

, ''Veni creator'' (1623) * Guillaume-Gabriel Nivers, "L'hymne de la Pentecôte" in his ''2e Livre d'Orgue'' (1667) * Marc-Antoine Charpentier, 5 settings: **''Veni creator Spiritus'', H.54, for 3 voices (or chorus), 2 violins and continuo (1670s) **''Veni creator Spiritus'', H.66, for soloists, chorus, flutes, bassoons, strings and continuo (1680s) **''Veni creator Spiritus'', H.69, for 1 voice and continuo (1680s) **''Veni creator Spiritus'', H.70, for 1 voice and continuo (late 1680s) **''Veni creator Spiritus'', H.362, for 3 voices and continuo (early 1690s?) *

Michel-Richard Delalande Michel Richard Delalande e Lalande'' (; 15 December 1657 – 18 June 1726) was a French Baroque composer and organist who was in the service of King Louis XIV. He was one of the most important composers of grands motets. He also wrote ...

, ''Veni creator Spiritus'' S 14 (1689) or S 14 bis (1684) *

Johann Pachelbel Johann Pachelbel (baptised – buried 9 March 1706; also Bachelbel) was a German composer, organist, and teacher who brought the south German organ schools to their peak. He composed a large body of sacred and secularity, secular music, and h ...

, chorale prelude for organ, on "Komm, Gott Schöpfer, Heiliger Geist" (1693) * Nicolas de Grigny, ''Veni creator'' en taille à 5, fugue à 5 for organ (5 versets) (1699) *

Henry Desmarest Henri Desmarets (February 1661 – 7 September 1741) was a French composer of the Baroque music, Baroque period primarily known for his stage works, although he also composed sacred music as well as secular cantatas, songs and instrumenta ...

, ''Veni creator,'' for soloists, chorus and orchestra (early 1700s) *

Johann Gottfried Walther Johann Gottfried Walther (18 September 1684 – 23 March 1748) was a German music theorist, organist, composer, and lexicographer of the Baroque era. Walther was born at Erfurt. Not only was his life almost exactly contemporaneous to that ...

, chorale prelude for organ, on "Komm, Gott Schöpfer, Heiliger Geist" (early 1700s) *

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

harmonized "Komm, Gott Schöpfer, Heiliger Geist" for his four-part chorale

BWV 370 Johann Sebastian Bach's chorale harmonisations, alternatively named four-part chorales, are Lutheran hymn settings that characteristically conform to the following: * four-part harmony * SATB vocal forces * pre-existing hymn tune allotted to th ...

, and also used the tune as the basis for his chorale prelude for organ BWV 631 (1708–1717), which he later extended as

BWV 667 The Great Eighteen Chorale Preludes, BWV 651–668, are a set of chorale preludes for organ (music), organ prepared by Johann Sebastian Bach in Leipzig in his final decade (1740–1750), from earlier works composed in Weimar, where he was court or ...

(1750). *

Charles-Hubert Gervais Charles-Hubert Gervais (19 February 1671 – 14 January 1744) was a French composer of the Baroque era. The son of a valet to King Louis XIV's brother, Monsieur, Gervais was born at the Palais Royal in Paris and probably educated by Monsieur's mu ...

, ''Veni creator'' (1723) * Ferdinando Bertoni, ''Veni creator'' (1765) *

François Giroust François Giroust (10 April 1737 – 28 April 1799) was a French composer. He was born in Paris, where he was the last ''maître'' of the Chapelle royale before the French Revolution. He died, aged 62, at Versailles (city), Versailles.John E ...

, ''Veni creator'' à 4 voix et orchestre (1787) *

Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (; 9 October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano C ...

, ''Veni creator'' à 4 voix (1858) *

Hector Berlioz In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

, ''Veni creator'' à cappella H 141 (c.1861–1868), a

motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the pre-eminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to Margar ...

for women's voices to the Latin text * César Franck, ''Veni creator'' for two voices (TB) and organ, FWV 68 (1876) *

Anton Bruckner Josef Anton Bruckner (; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer, organist, and music theorist best known for his symphonies, masses, Te Deum and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-Germ ...

harmonized the original tune for voice and organ as his motet WAB 50 (c. 1884). * Augusta Holmès, ''Veni creator'' for tenor and mixed chorus, IAH 74 (1887) *

Alexandre Guilmant Félix-Alexandre Guilmant (; 12 March 1837 – 29 March 1911) was a French organist and composer. He was the organist of La Trinité from 1871 until 1901. A noted pedagogue, performer, and improviser, Guilmant helped found the Schola Cantor ...

, organ works in ''L'Organiste liturgiste'', Op. 65, Book 1 (1884) and Book 10 (1899) *

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

set the Latin text to music in Part I of his Symphony No. 8 in E-flat major (1906). *

Filippo Capocci Filippo Capocci (11 May 1840 – 25 July 1911) was an Italian organist and composer. Biography Born in Rome, Capocci was trained in organ and harmony by his father Gaetano (1811-1898) and in 1861 received a piano diploma from the Accademia di ...

, Organ Fantasia on ''Veni Creator Spiritus'' (1907) * Maurice Duruflé used the chant tune as the basis for his

symphonic organ The symphonic organ is a style of pipe organ that flourished during the first three decades of the 20th century in town halls and other secular public venues, particularly in the United States and the United Kingdom. It has roots in 19th-century ...

composition "Prélude, Adagio et Choral varié sur le thème du ''Veni Creator''", Op. 4 (1926/1930). *

Karol Szymanowski Karol Maciej Szymanowski (; 6 October 188229 March 1937) was a Polish composer and pianist. He was a member of the modernist Young Poland movement that flourished in the late 19th and early 20th century. Szymanowski's early works show the inf ...

, ''Veni creator'' for soprano, mixed chorus, organ and orchestra, Op. 57 (1930) * Marcel Dupré, "Komm, Gott Schöpfer, Heiliger Geist" among his organ settings of ''79 Chorales'', Op. 28, No. 46 (1931), and ''Veni creator'' in the organ suite ''Le Tombeau de Titelouze'', Op. 38, No. 8 (1942) *

Jeanne Demessieux Jeanne Marie-Madeleine Demessieux (13 February 1921 – 11 November 1968) was a French organist, pianist, composer, and teacher. She was the chief organist at Saint-Esprit for 29 years and at La Madeleine in Paris starting in 1962. She perfo ...

, ''Veni creator'', Toccata for Organ (1947) *

Zoltán Gárdonyi Zoltán Gárdonyi (; 25 April 1906 – 27 June 1986) was a Hungarian composer and musicologist. He taught at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music for 26 years. Life and work Gárdonyi was born in Budapest. His mother, the pianist Maria Weigl, stud ...

, Partita for Organ ''Veni creator spiritus'' (1958) *

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the ''Ne ...

concluded his Concerto for Organ and Orchestra with a Phantasy on ''Veni Creator Spiritus'' (1962). * Krzysztof Penderecki wrote a motet for mixed choir (1987). *

Cristóbal Halffter Cristóbal Halffter Jiménez-Encina (24 March 1930 – 23 May 2021) was a Spanish classical composer. He was the nephew of two other composers, Rodolfo and Ernesto Halffter and is regarded as the most important Spanish composer of the gener ...

set the text for chorus and orchestra (1992). *

Petr Eben Petr Eben (22 January 1929 – 24 October 2007) was a Czech composer of modern and contemporary classical music, and an organist and choirmaster. His life Born in Žamberk in northeastern Bohemia, Eben spent most of his childhood and early ad ...

Toccata for Piano after Grogorian chant ''Veni creator spiritus'' *

Karlheinz Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He is known for his groun ...

used the text in the second hour of his '' Klang'' cycle (2005), in a piece for two singing harpists titled ''Freude'' (Joy), Op. 82. *

Arvo Pärt Arvo Pärt (; born 11 September 1935) is an Estonian composer of contemporary classical music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs tintinnabuli, a compositional technique he invented. Pärt's music is in pa ...

, ''Veni creator'' (2006) *

Zsolt Gárdonyi Zsolt Gárdonyi (21 March 1946) is a German-Hungarian composer, organist and music theorist. He is the son of Zoltán Gárdonyi. Career Gárdonyi was born in Budapest, Hungary. He studied composition, organ, sacred music and theory. At the ag ...

, Toccata for Organ ''Veni creator spiritus'' (2020)

References

External links

Gregorian Chant: free downloads

by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

{{Authority control 9th century in music Latin-language Christian hymns Latin religious words and phrases State ritual and ceremonies Hymns for Pentecost