# "Hail Holy Queen" as performed in the 1992 movie Sister Act **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 29, 2015, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hail-holy-queen-as-performed-in-the-1992-movie-sister-act/738924 "2015-11-29T12:37:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2015, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hail-holy-queen-as-performed-in-the-1992-movie-sister-act/738924/1 "2015-11-29T12:37:34Z")
The Wiki page for [the _Salve Regina_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salve_Regina) covers much of the rich history of the hymn/prayer. The section [English hymns based on the Latin original](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salve_Regina#English_hymns_based_on_the_Latin_original) lists the version of the English language lyrics used in the movie _Sister Act_ but it doesn’t say when that version originated and it doesn’t say where that particular melody came from. So… those are the two questions I’m wondering about- the origin of this version and where the melody came from. [Here’s a YouTube link for anyone who wants to hear the melody.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctjG4MjJwEA) I assume the lyrics are public domain, but I’ll follow standard Café Society guidelines and quote just a portion of the lyrics: > [@](#): > > Hail, Holy Queen enthroned above, O Maria > Hail, Mother of mercy and of love, O Maria > Triumph all ye cherubim > Sing with us ye seraphim > Heaven and earth resound the hymn > Salve Regina I already found out on my own that the Latin in the film version of the song comes from [“O Sanctissima”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_Sanctissima). ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2015, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hail-holy-queen-as-performed-in-the-1992-movie-sister-act/738924/2 "2015-11-29T12:44:47Z")
This isn’t going to help until I can get to my mother’s house later this morning. But she collected hymnals of various denominations, and I contibuted to it a copy of the Armed Forces Hymnal that would have been in use in 1977. I, um, “liberated” it when I was discharged that year. It has _Salve Regina_ in it. I think most of the music included in that book, as in other hymnals, had listings for composers, author/translators and such. if someone hasn’t come back with your info later this morning I’ll snag the book and look it up. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2015, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hail-holy-queen-as-performed-in-the-1992-movie-sister-act/738924/3 "2015-11-29T13:20:34Z")
Thanks, **Baker**! ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2015, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hail-holy-queen-as-performed-in-the-1992-movie-sister-act/738924/4 "2015-11-29T19:01:04Z")
Okay, here is what the Armed Forces Hymnal had. Ascribed to Hermanus Contractus 1013-1054 Tr. in ‘Roman Hymnal’ New York, 1884 Salve Regina 8. 4. 8. 4. with Refrain Hildesheim melody 1736 Harm. by Nicola A. Montani, 1880-1948 Harmonization from _The St. Gregory Hymnal_. Used by permission of the Gregorian Institute of America Hope this is what you were looking for. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2015, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hail-holy-queen-as-performed-in-the-1992-movie-sister-act/738924/5 "2015-11-29T21:47:12Z")
Thanks, **Baker**. Do you read music? Can you confirm that “Hildesheim melody” matches the melody in the version I’m talking about? The English lyrics in this version feel very 20th Century to me, but I could buy that they go back to 1884. Still, the credit to “Tr.” seems to me that it could be simply stating that the hymn in all its forms and history is traditional, rather than giving any insight into the origins of this particular adaptation. Still, good info and you are to be commended on your resourcefulness! ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2015, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hail-holy-queen-as-performed-in-the-1992-movie-sister-act/738924/6 "2015-11-29T22:03:10Z")
Oh, it’s the same tune alright… I do read music, and can play a little. The tune in the hymnal is the one in the movie. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2015, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hail-holy-queen-as-performed-in-the-1992-movie-sister-act/738924/7 "2015-11-29T22:07:10Z")
Thanks! This Hildesheim guy doesn’t have his own Wikipedia page. Guess I’ll have to go digging for any details. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2015, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hail-holy-queen-as-performed-in-the-1992-movie-sister-act/738924/8 "2015-11-29T22:08:23Z")
Hildesheim is not a person but a place. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2015, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hail-holy-queen-as-performed-in-the-1992-movie-sister-act/738924/9 "2015-11-29T22:13:23Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > Hildesheim is not a person but a place. Ah, well I had already found the page for Hildesheim the place. Oh well, I’m at a loss for how to direct further research unless another poster brings in some personal knowledge. You’ve got me a date on the melody and a ballpark idea of the adaptation of the lyrics. Very good info there, **Baker**. Thank you! ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hail-holy-queen-as-performed-in-the-1992-movie-sister-act/738924/10 "2015-11-30T00:31:26Z")
No additional information here, but may I ask what got you started on this research? ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hail-holy-queen-as-performed-in-the-1992-movie-sister-act/738924/11 "2015-11-30T01:50:34Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > No additional information here, but may I ask what got you started on this research? I’m going to be a guest on a music themed podcast, this movie performance of the song ties into the topic for the episode I’ll be guesting on. I’m going to mention the song one way or another, but I like having good info to bring to the discussion. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2015, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hail-holy-queen-as-performed-in-the-1992-movie-sister-act/738924/12 "2015-12-01T02:11:45Z")
A version I like of one of my favorite hymns. [- YouTube](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PPRMk2WVfcU) ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2015, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hail-holy-queen-as-performed-in-the-1992-movie-sister-act/738924/13 "2015-12-01T02:30:10Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > The English lyrics in this version feel very 20th Century to me, but I could buy that they go back to 1884. I’ve spent too long with my nose in hymnals, and “Triumph all ye cherubim! Sing with us ye seraphim! Heaven and earth resound the hymn!” is a solid 1870 to 1900 construction. I may have wasted my life, but I stay a devout Marianist. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2015, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hail-holy-queen-as-performed-in-the-1992-movie-sister-act/738924/14 "2015-12-01T07:54:30Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > A version I like of one of my favorite hymns. [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PPRMk2WVfcU](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PPRMk2WVfcU) That was nice, **dropzone**. Thanks for sharing it. > [@dropzone](#): > > I’ve spent too long with my nose in hymnals, and “Triumph all ye cherubim! Sing with us ye seraphim! Heaven and earth resound the hymn!” is a solid 1870 to 1900 construction. Ha! Yeah, well, I was thinking 20th Century with a deliberate nod to a deeper tradition. But with **Baker** ’s cite and your Marianist nose I fully accept the 19th Century origins of this adaptation. The Beth Nielsen Chapman recording that you shared has the original Latin lyrics but uses the Hildesheim melody that **Baker** cited. I wonder if the Hildesheim melody was written specifically for the Latin originally. Being a newer melody (well, new considering the centuries long history of the hymn) I considered that it might have been written specifically for a vernacular adaptation (why toss out the perfectly good older melodies already written for the Latin- was my thinking). The Latin fits the melody perfectly, though, so I’m inclined to think the Hildesheim melody was written specifically for the Latin and the English adaptation came later. Also wondering if there was a German language version before the English language version (assuming “Hildesheim melody” refers to Hildesheim, Germany). ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2015, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hail-holy-queen-as-performed-in-the-1992-movie-sister-act/738924/15 "2015-12-01T12:39:13Z")
Try this link [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Salve,\_Regina\_coelitum](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Salve,_Regina_coelitum) ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2015, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hail-holy-queen-as-performed-in-the-1992-movie-sister-act/738924/16 "2015-12-01T13:51:52Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > Try this link > > [Category:Salve, Regina coelitum - Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Salve,_Regina_coelitum) Wow, I’m getting great info while doing very little work myself! Thanks! From that link: > [@](#): > > The melody used in the Anglophone world first appears in a Hildesheim hymnal, 1736 > _\_ > Die im deutschen Sprachraum gebräuchliche Melodie erscheint erstmals in einem Mainzer Gesangbuch von 1712 So, a similar earlier melody in a hymnal in the German city of Mainz in 1712 then the familiar melody in a hymnal in the city of Hildesheim in 1736. I followed the link on that page to the German wiki page for [Gegrüßet seist du, Königin](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gegr%C3%BC%C3%9Fet_seist_du,_K%C3%B6nigin)- the original German version. Looks like the song skipped over the U.K. to make it’s first appearance in the English language in America. > [@](#): > > _Sie wanderte mit deutschen Auswanderern in die USA und erhielt dort den englischen Text Hail, Holy Queen, enthroned above_ > (It travelled with German emigrants to the USA, where it received the English text “Hail, Holy Queen, enthroned above”.) ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2015, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hail-holy-queen-as-performed-in-the-1992-movie-sister-act/738924/17 "2015-12-01T15:10:24Z")
No information to add for the OP, but wow - this thread gave me flashbacks to “May Processions” in Catholic grade school almost 50 years ago. Marching around the block and into the church, bellowing that hymn at the top of my lungs trying to impress the cute girls (unsuccessfully) with my vocal prowess. Thanks for triggering that memory - I think… Plus I now have my earworm for the day…