Gloria in excelsis Deo
"Gloria in excelsis Deo" (Latin for "Glory to God in the highest") is a Christian hymn known also as the Greater Doxology (as distinguished from the "Minor Doxology" or Gloria Patri) and the Angelic Hymn[1][2]/Hymn of the Angels.[3] The name is often abbreviated to Gloria in Excelsis or simply Gloria.
For the Bach cantata, see Gloria in excelsis Deo, BWV 191.
The hymn begins with the words that the angels sang when announcing the birth of Christ to shepherds in Luke 2:14: Douay-Rheims (in Latin). Other verses were added very early, forming a doxology.[4]
An article by David Flusser links the text of the verse in Luke with ancient Jewish liturgy.[5]
History[edit]
Gloria in excelsis Deo is an example of the psalmi idiotici ("private psalms", i.e. compositions by individuals in imitation of the biblical Psalter) that were popular in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. Other surviving examples of this lyric poetry are the Te Deum and the Phos Hilaron.[4] In the 4th century it became part of morning prayers, and is still recited in the Byzantine Rite Orthros service.[1]
The Latin translation is traditionally attributed to Hilary of Poitiers (c. 300–368), who may have learned it while in the East (359–360); as such, it is part of a loose tradition of early Latin translations of the scripture known as the Vetus Latina.[4] The Vulgate Latin translation of the Bible was commissioned only in 382.[6]
The Latin hymn thus uses the word excelsis to translate the Greek word ὑψίστοις – hypsístois (the highest) in Luke 2:14: Douay-Rheims, not the word altissimis, which Jerome preferred for his translation. However, this word is used near the end: tu solus Altissimus, Iesu Christe (you alone the Most High, Jesus Christ).
Associated ceremonial[edit]
Roman Rite[edit]
In the Tridentine Mass, the priest is instructed, when saying the opening phrase "Gloria in excelsis Deo", to extend his hands and raise them to shoulder height and, at the word "Deo", to join them and bow his head. He is then to continue the recitation standing erect with hands joined and bowing his head to the cross at the words "Adoramus te", "Gratias agimus tibi", "Iesu Christe" (twice), and "Suscipe deprecationem nostram", and at the concluding phrase (as also at the concluding phrase of the Nicene Creed and the Sanctus), to make a large sign of the cross on himself.[17] At High Mass the priest intones the opening phrase, while the deacon and subdeacon stand behind him; then they join him at the altar and together with him quietly recite the rest of the hymn,[18] after which they sit down and wait for the choir to finish its singing of the same text.
The Roman Missal as revised in 1970 simplifies this, saying: "The Gloria is intoned by the priest or, if appropriate, by a cantor or by the choir; but it is sung either by everyone together, or by the people alternately with the choir, or by the choir alone. If not sung, it is to be recited either by all together or by two parts of the congregation responding one to the other."[19] No particular ritual gestures are prescribed.
Byzantine Rite[edit]
In the usage of the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite, the Great Doxology is one of the high points of the festal Matins service. The priest puts on his phelonion (chasuble). When it comes time for the Great Doxology the deacon opens the Holy Doors, and the priest raises his hands orans and exclaims: "Glory to Thee, Who hast shown us the Light!", and the choir begins chanting the Doxology, while all of the oil lamps and candles in the temple are lit. The Great Doxology concludes with the chanting of the Trisagion and leads into the chanting of the Troparion of the Day. If the bishop is present he vests in his full pontifical vestments for the Great Doxology, and the subdeacons stand behind the Holy Table (altar) holding the lit dikirion and trikirion.
When the Lesser Doxology is called for, it is simply said by the reader, the priest does not put on his phelonion, the Holy Doors remain closed and no lamps or candles are lit. The Lesser Doxology does not end with the Trisagion and is followed by an ektenia (litany).
In liturgical calendars it is symbolized by a red mis-shapen semicircle (with the opening to one side) with three dots inside.
The Gloria has been and still is sung to a wide variety of melodies. Modern scholars have catalogued well over two hundred of them used in the medieval church.[20] The Roman Missal indicates several different plainchant melodies. In addition, several "farced" Glorias were composed in the Middle Ages and were still sung in places when the Roman Missal was revised by order of Pope Pius V in 1570. These expanded the basic Gloria by, for instance, adding to mentions of Jesus Christ a mention of some relationship between him and his mother. The use of these additional phrases in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary was so common that in editions of the Roman Missal earlier than the 1921 revision, the text of the Gloria was followed by the rubric: "Sic dicitur Gloria in excelsis Deo, etiam in Missis beatæ Mariæ, quando dicenda est" (When the Gloria in excelsis Deo is to be recited, it is recited in this way, even in Masses of Blessed Mary).[21]
Almost all polyphonic settings of the Mass include the Gloria. In addition, there are a number of settings of the Gloria alone, including:
A paraphrase of the text in German, the early Lutheran hymn Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr, has also been commonly set to music, in the form of chorale preludes or as part of larger compositions. The free paraphrase "Ich lobe meinen Gott, der aus der Tiefe mich holt" became a 1979 hymn of the genre Neues Geistliches Lied, similarly "Ich lobe meinen Gott von ganzem Herzen" the same year.
The popular Christmas carol "Angels We Have Heard on High" is derived from the beginning of the Gloria, which it uses as a refrain. It has been translated into several languages.
The Gloria features prominently in the popular song "Silence" by Delerium, a trance song as well as in Gina's and Elvira's theme from the Scarface soundtrack.[23]
The first phrase is also present in Bladee and Ecco2K's track '5 Star Crest (4 Vattenrum)' from their collaborative album Crest.