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by Hildegard von Bingen (1098 - 1179)
Translation © by Grant Hicks

Cum vox sanguinis
Language: Latin 
Our translations:  ENG
Cum vox sanguinis
Ursule et innocentis turbe eius
ante thronum dei sonuit,
antiqua prophetia venit
per radicem Mambre
in vera ostensione trinitatis
et dixit:
Iste sanguis nos tangit,
nunc omnes gaudeamus.
Et postea venit congregatio agni,
per arietem in spinis pendentem,
et dixit:
Laus sit in Ierusalem per ruborem
huius sanguinis.
Deinde venit sacrificium vituli
quod vetus lex ostendebat,
sacrificium laudis circumamicta
varietate,
et que faciem dei Moysi obnubilabat,
dorsum illi ostendens.
Hoc sunt sacerdotes qui per linguas suas
deum ostendunt
et perfecte eum videre non possunt,
et dixerunt: O nobilissima turba,
virgo ista que in terris Ursula vocatur
in summis Columba nominatur,
quia innocentem turbam
ad se collegit.
O Ecclesia, tu es laudabilis
in ista turba:
turba magna, quam
incombustus rubus
quem Moyses viderat significat,
et quam deus in prima radice
plantaverat
in homine quem de limo formaverat,
ut sine commixtione
viri viveret,
cum clarissima voce clamavit
in purissimo auro, thopazio,
et saphiro circumamicta in auro.
Nunc gaudeant omnes celi,
et omnes populi cum illis
ornentur. Amen.

Text Authorship:

  • by Hildegard von Bingen (1098 - 1179) [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):

  • by Hildegard von Bingen (1098 - 1179), "Cum vox sanguinis" [sung text checked 1 time]

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

  • ENG English (Grant Hicks) , "When the Voice of the Blood", copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this page: Guy Laffaille [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2009-01-18
Line count: 44
Word count: 168

When the Voice of the Blood
Language: English  after the Latin 
When the voice of the blood
of Ursula and her innocent company 
cried out before the throne of God,
the ancient prophecy came
by the root of Mamre
in a true revelation of the Trinity 
and said:
"That blood touches us,
now let us all rejoice." 
And afterwards came the congregation of the lamb,
by the ram hanging on thorns,
and said:
"Praise be in Jerusalem by the redness
of this blood." 
Then came the sacrifice of the calf
that the former law revealed,
a sacrifice of praise enwrapped
in variety,
which obscured the face of God to Moses,
revealing his back to him.
Such are the priests who by their tongues 
reveal God
and are unable see him completely,
and have said: "O most noble host,
that virgin who on earth was called Ursula
is given the name Columba on high,
because of the innocent company 
she gathered to herself." 
O Church, you are to be praised 
in this company:
a great company, signified by 
the unburnt bramble
that Moses had seen, 
and which God in its first root
had planted
in the man he had formed from mud, 
so that without mingling 
with man it might live, 
when with clearest voice they cried out 
in purest gold, topaz,
and sapphire enwrapped in gold.
Now let all the heavens rejoice, 
and with them let all the people
be adorned. Amen.

Note for line 5, "Mamre": a Biblical site, associated in Genesis with the patriarch Abraham, where a sacred oak was reputed to have grown since time immemorial.
Note for lines 25-26: the literal Latin meaning of the name "Ursula" is "Little Bear." Hildegard says she is called "Columba," i.e., "Dove," in heaven on account of the innocent followers she has gathered to herself like a brood of chicks.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from Latin to English copyright © 2026 by Grant Hicks, (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.
    Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

  • a text in Latin by Hildegard von Bingen (1098 - 1179)
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website: 2026-03-04
Line count: 44
Word count: 231

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