Come down, O Love Divine
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gwyn
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Come down, O Love Divine
What do we know of BiÂanÂco da SiÂeÂna's original of which 'Come Down, O Love Divine' is a translation?
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presbyter
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This is taken from http://www.st-albans.dk/news9907.htm
HYMN OF THE MONTH
COME DOWN O LOVE DIVINE
We sang this hymn as an invocation to the Holy Spirit at the Baptism and Confirmation recently. Its author-at least in its original form was Bianco da Siena, who lived from c.1350-1434. He was born in Tuscany, apprenticed in the wool trade and "went for a religious" when he was seventeen. This is the only one of his writings that we use as a hymn and we know little more of him save that he ended his days in Venice.
Originally this poem ran to eight verses rather than the four we sing. Aside from Bianco's obvious devotion, the most interesting feature of our hymn is the reference in the third verse to "clothing" and "vesture". One of the stages on the way to full profession as a religious is called "clothing" and the use of the word shows how Bianco applied his own experience to the vocation of all Christians.
Bianco's verses were rediscovered in Italy in 1852 and the hymn we sing was translated from the Italian by the Rev'd Dr Richard Littledale in 1867. Littledale was an interesting character. A gifted linguist-he had Hebrew, Greek and Latin to go alongside more modern tongues-and translator, he was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. As a priest, he served in Tractarian (High Church or Anglo-Catholic) parishes in Norfolk and Soho. As the Oxford Movement began-in caricature generalisation-to divide between those Anglo- Catholics like Newman for whom Rome beckoned and those High Churchmen content like Keble to remain Anglicans, Littledale's writings were a High Church influence on many.
For all that, the hymn didn't take off until it was put into the English Hymnal in 1906. The Editor was Percy Dearmer-Vicar of Primrose Hill and great Church figure of the time-and he chose a little known Vaughan Williams to be the Musical Editor. Williams was a great believer in using familiar-usually folk- tunes for unfamiliar hymns, but for this one he composed one of his four new tunes for the book. Named after Down Ampney, his Gloucestershire birthplace, it has assured success to a wonderful set of words ever since
HYMN OF THE MONTH
COME DOWN O LOVE DIVINE
We sang this hymn as an invocation to the Holy Spirit at the Baptism and Confirmation recently. Its author-at least in its original form was Bianco da Siena, who lived from c.1350-1434. He was born in Tuscany, apprenticed in the wool trade and "went for a religious" when he was seventeen. This is the only one of his writings that we use as a hymn and we know little more of him save that he ended his days in Venice.
Originally this poem ran to eight verses rather than the four we sing. Aside from Bianco's obvious devotion, the most interesting feature of our hymn is the reference in the third verse to "clothing" and "vesture". One of the stages on the way to full profession as a religious is called "clothing" and the use of the word shows how Bianco applied his own experience to the vocation of all Christians.
Bianco's verses were rediscovered in Italy in 1852 and the hymn we sing was translated from the Italian by the Rev'd Dr Richard Littledale in 1867. Littledale was an interesting character. A gifted linguist-he had Hebrew, Greek and Latin to go alongside more modern tongues-and translator, he was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. As a priest, he served in Tractarian (High Church or Anglo-Catholic) parishes in Norfolk and Soho. As the Oxford Movement began-in caricature generalisation-to divide between those Anglo- Catholics like Newman for whom Rome beckoned and those High Churchmen content like Keble to remain Anglicans, Littledale's writings were a High Church influence on many.
For all that, the hymn didn't take off until it was put into the English Hymnal in 1906. The Editor was Percy Dearmer-Vicar of Primrose Hill and great Church figure of the time-and he chose a little known Vaughan Williams to be the Musical Editor. Williams was a great believer in using familiar-usually folk- tunes for unfamiliar hymns, but for this one he composed one of his four new tunes for the book. Named after Down Ampney, his Gloucestershire birthplace, it has assured success to a wonderful set of words ever since