Sunday, February 17, 2008

"O, Sacred Head, Now Wounded"


This is a beautiful hymn,sung by Moravians, during Passion Week. I love the verse that begins "What language shall I borrow." You can read more about the hymn here and listen to the mp3, where the hymn is sung. The sheet music is also available.


O Sa-cred Head, now wound-ed,
With grief and shame weighed down,
Now scourn-ful-ly sur-round-ed With thorns, thine on-ly crown!
O sa-cred Head, what glo-ry, What bliss, till now was Thine!
Yet though de-spised and gor-y, I joy to call Thee mine.

What lan-guage shall I bor-row To thank Thee, dear-est Friend,
For all Thy dy-ing sor-row, Thy pit-y with-out end?
O make me Thine for-ev-er, And should I faint-ing be,
Lord, let me nev-er, ne-ver Out-live my love to Thee!

I give Thee thanks un-feign-ed, O Je-sus, Friend in need,
For what Thy soul sus-tain-ed, When Thou for me didst bleed;
Grant me to lean un-shak-en Up-on Thy faith-ful-ness,
Un-til I hence am tak-en To see Thee face to face.

You can also listen to the Moravian band playing the hymn here. Just click on the black and white notes to the left of Harmony and others.

Music: Hans Leo Hassler (1601)
Words: Bernard of Clairvaux (1153)

Image Courtesy of All Posters

17 comments:

Cindy Swanson said...

Cathy, thanks for commenting on my blog! It's always great to hear from you. Thanks also for your focus on the great old hymns of the faith. These songs are treasures, and although many churches are ignoring them now, I hope they never go away!

Cathy said...

Thanks for visiting, Cindy. Since the old hymns are so beautiful, I believe they will still be loved forever. :o)

Betty said...

Cathy,
Please stop by for a 'little prize'...Betty

Sharon said...

I just love the old hymns! This is a beautiful one. Thanks for sharing it! :)

NannyKaren said...

Cathy,I love the old hymns.I enjoy reading about the history of the old hymns, It make listening to them so much richer!
...Thank you...

Beverly said...

This is one of my very favorite hymns! Thank you for posting this one.

Cathy said...

Betty, how sweet of you. Thanks so much. For some reason, I did not get my mail until today!

Sharon, You're welcome,and I'm glad you liked it.

You're welcome, Karen, I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Beverly, you are welcome. I just love it too!

Anonymous said...

I've heard this song sung with guitar and it is incredibly beautiful.

I love the old hymns. Thank you for posting this one, Cathy. It's always such an uplifting experience coming to your blog. :o)

Betty said...

Cathy,
Yes, it is most certainly for you.....Betty

Cathy said...

Thank you, Sherry, for your sweet words, dear. I am going to post more hymns from the Moravian hymnal, because they are so beautiful.

Thank you, sweet Betty, I don't know what is wrong with my mail! My computer is showing off again.

Mimi said...

Cathy,
this is such a beautiful hymn... thanks for posting it...you do find beautiful music for your posts...
thanks,
Mimi
P.S. thanks for wishing my little Jon a happy birthday...

NannyKaren said...

Cathy,
I hope you got your computer back on track Cathy.

Cathy said...

Thank you, Mimi. I still love the Moravian hymns, especially at Easter. I am going to post "Go to Dark Gethsemane" and probably another one or two. The "Hosanna" is very nice at Easter.
You're welcome, your little grandson, Jon, is so cute.

Karen, No, it is giving me lots of trouble lately. I need a memory stick and don't know how to put one in!

Jodi said...

Oh, Cathy, this is one of my favorite Easter hymns! I did not realize it was Moravian. This hymn just makes me want to weep. It somehow manages to put into words something that is almost too beautiful and too painful for words.

Cathy said...

I guess it is Moravian, Jodi. It is listed with some Moravian music, and I know it is an early hymn. I may have to research it some more. The Holy Spirit does move us to tears. I am also going to post " Go to Dark Gethsemane" which is lovely too, and Moravians sing it during Passion Week. I'm also working on an Easter Sunrise Service post. :o)

Jodi said...

Cathy ~ I am just fascinated by the Moravian connections you point out. I've never looked for that association before in hymns. I am looking forward to your posts about Passion Week. :o)

Cathy said...

Jodi, He is a German composer and may have been Lutheran. I also read where he wrote for Catholics. Anyway, the hymn was listed as those played by the Moravian Bands.