Svatý Václave – Schola Gregoriana Pragensis/Anonymous III

“Svatý Václave”, the medieval song performed by Schola Gregoriana Pragensis and Anonymous III. The recording was made during the SoundMe concert in Prague (St Peter and Paul Basilica at Vyšehrad), on 11 April 2018.

The song “Svatý Václave” (Saint Wenceslas), which is the oldest preserved piece of evidence documenting the use of the Czech language as a poetic vehicle, dates from the 1280s or rather earlier. It eulogizes St Wenceslas as the eternal sovereign leader of the Bohemians and through his person turns to God and the Holy Ghost with a plea for help. The song was copied and sung continuously during the following centuries: in the beginnings of the Czechoslovak state (1918), “Svatý Václave” was discussed as a possible candidate for the national anthem.

English translation of the text:

1. Saint Wenceslas, Duke of the land of Bohemia, Prince of ours, pray for us to God, to the Holy Ghost! Kyrie eleison!
2. Beautiful is the heavenly kingdom, happy are those who shall proceed there: towards life eternal, the shining fire of the Holy Ghost, Kyrie eleison.
3. We plead for your intercession, have mercy upon us, comfort the grieving, repel all evil, Saint Wenceslas! Kyrie eleison.