Faithful cross, noble among every tree

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by Venantius Fortunatus, Saint (c530 - c609)

Translation © by Kendree Chen

Crux fidelis, inter omnes arbor una...

Language: Latin

Our translations: DUT ENG FRE GER

Crux fidelis, inter omnes arbor una nobilis:
nulla silva talem profert,
fronde, flore, germine.
Dulce lignum, dulces clavos, dulce pondus sustinet.

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Text Authorship:

by Venantius Fortunatus, Saint (c530 - c609) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

possibly by João IV, O Restaurador (1604 - 1656), "Crux fidelis", published 1844 [ chorus a cappella ], motet ; note: some anthologies list John IV of Portugal as the author, while others, such as the Grove Dictionary of Music, consider that authorship “doubtful.” [sung text not yet checked]
by Edmund Duncan Rubbra (1901 - 1986), "Crux fidelis", op. 140 no. 2 [ soprano, contralto, baritone, chorus, and orchestra ], from Symphony No. 9, "Sinfonia Sacra", no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Anton von Webern (1883 - 1945), "Crux fidelis, inter omnes arbor una nobilis", op. 16 no. 3 (1923-4), from Fünf Canons, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in English, a translation by John Mason Neale (1818 - 1866) , "Faithful Cross" [an adaptation] ; composed by John Theodore Livingston Raynor.

Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

DUT Dutch (Nederlands) (Lau Kanen) , "Betrouwbaar kruis", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Kendree Chen) , copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Jeroen Scholten

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 4
Word count: 21

Faithful cross, noble among every tree

Language: English after the Latin

Faithful cross, noble among every tree:
No forests bring forth such
Foliage, flowers, sprouts.
Sweet wood, sweet nails, bear a sweet weight.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

Translation from Latin to English copyright © 2023 by Kendree Chen, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:

a text in Latin by Venantius Fortunatus, Saint (c530 - c609)
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2023-01-09
Line count: 4
Word count: 22