hful, now fulfil Thy word;
'Tis Thine own third morning: rise, O buried Lord!
Welcome, happy morning! age to age shall say.

Loose the souls long prisoned, bound with Satan's chain;
All that now is fallen raise to life again;
Show Thy face in brightness, bid the nations see;
Bring again our daylight; day returns with Thee!
Welcome, happy morning! Heaven is won today!

Venantius Fortunatus (530-609 A.D.)

AN ANCIENT SINGER WHO GLORIFIED THE CROSS

The joyous, rhythmical church-song introduced by Bishop Ambrose made
triumphant progress throughout the Western Church. For three centuries it
seems to have completely dominated the worship. Its rich melodies and
native freshness made a strong appeal to the human emotions, and
therefore proved very popular with the people.

However, when Gregory the Great in 590 A.D. ascended the papal chair a
reaction had set in. Many of the Ambrosian hymns and chants had become
corrupted and secularized and therefore had lost their ecclesiastical
dignity. Gregory, to whose severe, ascetic nature the bright and lively
style of Ambrosian singing must have seemed almost an abomination,
immediately took steps to reform the church music.

A school of music was founded in Rome where the new Gregorian liturgical
style, known as "Cantus Romanus," was taught. The Gregorian music was
sung in unison. It was slow, uniform and measured, without rhythm and
beat, and thus it approached the old recitative method of psalm singing.
While it is true that it raised the church music to a higher, nobler and
more dignified level, its fatal defect lay in the fact that it could be
rendered worthily only by trained choirs and singers. Congregational
singing soon became a thing of the past. The common people thenceforth
became silent and passive worshipers, and the congregational hymn was
superseded by a clerical liturgy.

One of the last hymnists of the Ambrosian school and the most important
Latin poet of the sixth century was Venantius Fortunatus, bishop of
Poitiers. He was born at Ceneda, near Treviso, about 530 A.D., and was
converted to Christianity at an early age. While a student at Ravenna he
almost became blind. Having regained his sight through what he regarded a
miracle, he made a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Martin at Tours, and
as a result of this journey the remainder of his life was spent in Gaul.

Although all of the poetr