Ave Verum Corpus ...
... That's what we sang at the Maundy Thursday service tonight. I have always loved this piece. I don't think we were so great, but then again, we probably weren't that bad. We recorded a passable version of it a few years back, which is reproduced here.
Because we're Congregationalists, we can sing in Latin. That seems weird, since our denominational roots are decidedly anti-Catholic (think Puritans). But for quite some time after Vatican II in the mid 60s, Catholics weren't allowed to do Latin. So you had to visit Congregationalists and Presbyterians and the like to hear things in Latin. I think that may have changed in the past few years.
The lyrics we sang: Ave, ave, verum corpus
natum de Maria Virgine,
Vere passum immolatum
in Cruce pro homine,
Cujus latus perforatum
unda fluxit et sanguine,
Esto nobis praegustatum
in mortis examine.
Translation: Hail,true body
born of the Virgin Mary,
Who truly suffered, sacrificed
on the Cross for man,
Whose pierced side overflowed
with water and blood,
Be for us a foretaste
In the test of death.
