Share you favorite Liturgical Hymn

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Post a link to your favorite Liturgical or Devotional Hymn, also feel free to explain its meaning and when its used in the Liturgy.

Mine would have to be “Bar Mariyam”, which is an ancient East Syriac Hymn used only by the Knanaya Catholics of the Syro Malabar Church. It is sung during the end of the Matrimonial Qurbana of a Knanaya Wedding to seal the alliance. The priest calls upon Jesus as “Isho Bar Mariyam, Bar Alaha Eldes Mariyam”, (Jesus son of Mariyam, Son of God) to bless the couple and their life henceforth.

Two versions of the hymn:
youtube.com/watch?v=TPs9IVORjAs
youtube.com/watch?v=7K3KEy_T73Q
 
One thing I very much enjoy but don’t see done properly often enough is a very measured commemoration of the saints, which comes in the Coptic liturgy of St. Basil between the seven short litanies and the introduction to the Fraction prayer (the variable prayer that is said during the breaking of the bread during the preparation of communion). You can hear it at that link; it takes up the first 9 minutes of the video. In my experience, it is rare that a priest actually prays it as you hear it in that video. It is the same melody of course, but they speed it up a lot. I can only guess that this happens because it really is just a long list of names and short descriptions, and not very much of a hymn in itself despite having this very intricate and beautiful melody (I notice that the priests who serve us always manage to slow things down at the right spots to say “…who truly gave birth to God, the Logos”, “Gregory the Armenian”, etc. in just the right way as you hear it there, so you know they know how to do it properly…)

For actual hymns, you can’t beat the seven tunes which are chanted during the celebration of the Nativity. The actual texts are quite a bit longer than what you hear in this video (which I suppose compensates for having some “Shere” doxologies before the main text begins, with “O True Light that gives light to every man that comes into the world…”). It’s just such a unique tune – very straight forward compared to the usual “endless vowel syndrome” that Coptic hymns are often associated with (and not without reason), which makes the “Holy, holy, holy” in the middle really stand out despite not actually being much of a change in terms of the actual melody. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find well-recorded versions in either Coptic or Arabic, and I’ve never gotten to experience it myself since I still haven’t been to a Nativity liturgy due to being the only Orthodox in my family, so I’m never around in time for Coptic Christmas since I’m traveling…but anyway, I like it. I hope you do too. 🙂
 
Give Me Your Body O Christ
Give me your Body, O Christ!
Savior and Sovereign, oh guest, divine.
Come and rest in my soul,
Christ, living God now and forever!

Salvation’s Cup I receive
Filled with your Body and purest blood
Lord, My poor cry now perceive,
That I may share your life divine

Use: as either a communion hymn following the communion psalm, as an incensation hymn, or a post-liturgy reflection hymn (closing hymn).

Why I love it: It’s Byzantine Eucharistic Theology in a nutshell. What do we receive? Why do we do so?

It is in the hymnal at the Metropolitan Cantor Institute (links in my sig already)
 
My favorite is the (Byzantine) Paschal Troparion (in Greek): youtube.com/watch?v=MkrAqsgLAV8

Χριστὸς ἀνέστη ἐκ νεκρῶν, θανάτῳ θάνατον πατήσας, καὶ τοῖς ἐν τοῖς μνήμασι, ζωὴν χαρισάμενος!

Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!
 
Thanks for all the replies guys :). Catholics chants are more than beautiful, I very much liked the Paschal Troparion. My favorite in the Latin Rite would have to be, “The Litany of the Saint”.

youtube.com/watch?v=jb23Z5X3uhA
 
It’s impossible to come up with a single chant, but one of my favorites is this:
The Noble Joseph, sung on Great and Holy Friday:

The Noble Joseph, when he had taken down Thy most pure body from the tree, wrapped it in fine linen and annointed it with spices and placed it in a new tomb.

youtube.com/watch?v=9su_FNDiVEQ
 
Thanks guys those were great. These are a few traditional liturgical hymns of my Church that I very much enjoy.

youtube.com/watch?v=3OZqjTxzf5M - Aanna Pesaha Thirunalil (Opening hymn of the Syro Malabar Qurbana)
youtube.com/watch?v=zqPF3V4XP5M - Karthave Maama Rajave (This is actually Psalm 145 made into a liturgical hymn)
youtube.com/watch?v=NngCg6Nn9do - Karthave Nin (Hymn of Remorse)
youtube.com/watch?v=YKbxdmkI8mA - Onisa Drase (Syriac hymn sung when preparing the Eucharist)
youtube.com/watch?v=og4apBN4GSg - Kandisa Alaha (Syriac trisagion)
 
Thomas48 said:
Thanks guys those were great. These are a few traditional liturgical hymns of my Church that I very much enjoy.

youtube.com/watch?v=3OZqjTxzf5M - Aanna Pesaha Thirunalil (Opening hymn of the Syro Malabar Qurbana)
youtube.com/watch?v=zqPF3V4XP5M - Karthave Maama Rajave (This is actually Psalm 145 made into a liturgical hymn)
youtube.com/watch?v=NngCg6Nn9do - Karthave Nin (Hymn of Remorse)
youtube.com/watch?v=YKbxdmkI8mA - Onisa Drase (Syriac hymn sung when preparing the Eucharist)
youtube.com/watch?v=og4apBN4GSg - Kandisa Alaha (Syriac trisagion)
Click to expand...
Is this part of your tradition? youtube.com/watch?v=qLPEktdjoT0

Sorry, I don’t know much about non-Byzantine churches.
 
‘Be Thou My Vision’, and ‘Lord For Tomorrow’, and ‘Faith of Our Fathers’ are amongst my own favourites. I am regrettably unfamiliar with Eastern Rite hymns, of which doubtless many are truly inspired.
 
Hi everyone ! Just wondering if anyone know what’s the name of this hymn at around 07:00
from this video :
youtube.com/watch?v=3vCz4Rpjyng
It’s so beautiful and I wish modern NO was at least as half traditional as the divine liturgy at the video :o
Hope I’m not in the wrong thread ! Thank You !
 
youtube.com/watch?v=GSd2uyZyNNQ - Bless the Lord, O my Soul (Russian)

youtube.com/watch?v=SZQzW_QfPew - Cherubic Hymn, Tchaikovsky - I woke up to this one morning it was absolutely heavenly and beautiful!

English hymns though, there are so many! Holy God, we praise thy name is one of my favourites! But so many more however my favourite chant of all time I think it “Jesu Dulcis Memoria”
😃
 
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