Mozarabic chant, 10th century

Attende Domine — Hearken, O Lord

The Lenten prose: a plea for mercy

LatinEnglish

℟. Attende, Domine, et miserere, quia peccavimus tibi.

℟. Hearken, O Lord, and have mercy, for we have sinned against thee.

Ad te Rex summe, omnium redemptor,
oculos nostros sublevamus flentes:
exaudi, Christe, supplicantum preces. ℟.

To thee, highest King, Redeemer of all,
we lift up our weeping eyes:
hear, O Christ, the prayers of thy suppliants. ℟.

Dextera Patris, lapis angularis,
via salutis, ianua caelestis,
ablue nostri maculas delicti. ℟.

Right hand of the Father, corner-stone,
way of salvation, gate of heaven,
wash away the stains of our sin. ℟.

Rogamus, Deus, tuam maiestatem:
auribus sacris gemitus exaudi:
crimina nostra placidus indulge. ℟.

We beseech thy majesty, O God:
with thy holy ears hear our groaning;
graciously forgive our crimes. ℟.

Tibi fatemur crimina admissa:
contrito corde pandimus occulta:
tua, Redemptor, pietas ignoscat. ℟.

To thee we confess the sins we have committed;
with contrite heart we lay bare what was hidden:
let thy kindness, O Redeemer, pardon us. ℟.

Innocens captus, nec repugnans ductus,
testibus falsis pro impiis damnatus:
quos redemisti, tu conserva, Christe. ℟.

Taken captive, innocent, led away unresisting,
condemned by false witnesses for the sake of the wicked:
those whom thou hast redeemed, keep safe, O Christ. ℟.

SourceMozarabic chant, 10th century · The Lenten prose: a plea for mercy

The history of this prayer

The Attende Domine is the “Lenten prose”, the companion of the Advent Rorate caeli. Its refrain is “Hearken, O Lord, and have mercy, for we have sinned against thee”; the melody is a French plainchant of the early nineteenth century. The five verses are adapted from the preces at Sext in the fifth week of Lent in the Mozarabic liturgy (the ancient Hispanic rite), which go back to the tenth century.

The monks of Solesmes included it in their chant books in the twentieth century, and since then it has been sung everywhere in Lent: at Mass, at the Stations of the Cross, at penitential services.

The verses are addressed to Christ — King, Redeemer, corner-stone, gate of heaven — and end before the Passion: the Innocent One seized and condemned by false witnesses for the sake of the wicked.

There are several harmonisations: in the 1950s the French canon Gaston Roussel set the refrain in four parts, and in 1962 Domenico Bartolucci, director of the Sistine Chapel Choir, made an arrangement still sung at Saint Peter’s Basilica.

Frequently asked questions

When is the Attende Domine sung?

During Lent: at Mass, at the Stations of the Cross and at penitential services.

Where does the Attende Domine come from?

Its verses are adapted from Mozarabic preces going back to the tenth century; its melody is a nineteenth-century French plainchant. Solesmes put it in the chant books in the twentieth century.

More prayers: Hymns

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