Ave Maris Stella - Medieval Hymn

Arrangement & vocals by Farya Faraji. This is a Medieval Marian hymn, typically sung for Easter. Whilst many authors are credited to it and there is no clear consensus as to who it is, the majority consensus seems to be that the hymn originated around the 9th century. Having been found in the Abbey of Saint-Gall, the time and place puts it at the epicenter of the Carolingian era. Therefore, I was interested in performing a historically informed version of the piece, hoping to immerse the listener as if they were listening to it in a cathedral during the era of the Carolingians. This took effect in two ways: The first is the vocal production, highly melismatic and relying on microtonal inflections to a limited but present degree. The Carolingian Era sees the formation of Romano-Frankish chant, which grew out of Old Roman Chant, the earliest liturgical style of Christian chant that was present in Rome. This newly formed Romano-Frankish chant would eventually become the repertoire known as Gregorian, however, at this early stage in its history, it was still under high influence of Roman chant, and that is seen in the highly melismatic and florid vocal production that I conveyed here. This form of florid vocal delivery would remain in usage throughout Western Europe up until the 1200’s, where melismas would begin to die out and the last indications of microtonal inflection in manuscripts disappear: see my video on the subject for more in depth information and sources in the description of that video: The second historical aspect involves the usage of early Organum, which is the origin point of modern European harmony as we know it. Organum in its earliest stages consisted of a second voice transposing the original melody unto a fourth or fifth; in this case I went for the fifth. This style of parallel come across as strange to many of us, especially those trained in the modern Classical style where parallel fifths are one of the fundamental taboos of the style; but Medieval Europeans would have found it familiar and beautiful. With the presence of melismas, microtonal inflections and early Organum, all present in the Carolingian era, this rendition may hopefully provide an insight into the quite different sounds that Christian chant undertook over its long evolution. The pronunciation seems to be some variant of regional Medieval Latin pronunciations, although I wouldn’t be able to tell which. The image is a Carolingian era representation of the Virgin Mary. Lyrics in Latin: Ave, maris stella, Dei mater alma, atque semper virgo, Felix cæli porta. Sumens illud Ave Gabrielis ore, funda nos in pace, mutans Evæ nomen. Solve vincla reis, profer lumen cæcis, mala nostra pelle, bona cuncta posce. Monstra te esse matrem, sumat per te precem qui pro nobis natus tulit esse tuus. Virgo singularis, inter omnes mitis, nos culpis solutos mites fac et castos. Vitam præsta puram, iter para tutum, ut videntes Jesum semper collætemur. Sit laus Deo Patri, summo Christo decus, Spiritui Sancto tribus honor unus. Amen. English translation: ail, star of the sea, Nurturing Mother of God, And ever Virgin Happy gate of Heaven Receiving that “Ave“ (hail) From the mouth of Gabriel, Establish us in peace, Transforming the name of “Eva“ (Eve).[14] Loosen the chains of the guilty, Send forth light to the blind, Our evil do thou dispel, Entreat (for us) all good things. Show thyself to be a Mother: Through thee may he receive prayer Who, being born for us, Undertook to be thine own. O unique Virgin, Meek above all others, Make us, set free from (our) sins, Meek and chaste. Bestow a pure life, Prepare a safe way: That seeing Jesus, We may ever rejoice. Praise be to God the Father, To the Most High Christ (be) glory, To the Holy Spirit (Be) honour, to the Three equally. Amen.