AN IN-DEPTH PRESENTATION
César Franck
Panis Angelicus
The Author
The Belgian-born Frenchmen César Frank (Liege 1822 - Paris
1890) was a major figure of French music in the second half of
the nineteenth century. He was a composer, organist and music
teacher, first in Belgium, where he studied at the Conservatory
of Liege, and then in France, where he became the pupil of Antonin Reicha, professor of Berlioz, Liszt and Gounod. A talented pianist and organist of fame, in the forties, he began his work
as a composer, primarily of works with strong religious tone
(Ruth, 1845): “Austere and reserved, Franck had a predilection
for noble and complex art forms, often related more or less directly to religion. He almost always wanted his music to have
firstly a prayerful meaning, devoid of any hedonistic influence”
(Massimo Mila 1977, 354). From 1874 until his death, his creativity is constant, and he produces a large number of compositions: oratories, including the Beatitudes (1879), piano works,
string quartets, violin sonatas, ballets, poems and symphonic
variations, as well as a variety of organ pieces. In 1885, he was
awarded the Legion of Honor, and in 1886 became president of the National Society of Music, of which he
was one of the founders, along with Bizet and others.
The Work
Cesar Franck’s Panis Angelicus was composed in 1872 for tenor, organ, harp, cello and double bass, and later
incorporated into his Messe à trois voix (Op.12), which is probably the best-known version of the text composed by Thomas Aquinas.
1
© Il Grande Mistero Marco Tibaldi
The Text
The lyrics are taken from Thomas Aquinas’ hymn Sacris Solemniis (verses 6-7)
Panis angelicus
fit panis hominum;
dat panis caelicus
figuris terminum;
O res mirabilis:
manducat Dominum
pauper, servus et humilis.
Bread of the Angels
is made bread for man;
bread of Heaven given
the end of all figures;
Oh, miraculous thing!
the body of God will be eaten by
the poor, the servile and the humble.
The Musical Score
The melody accompanies the words, emphasizing and accentuating especially some passages. After the introduction, the Maestro Bocelli’s voice gives particular emphasis to words such as “dat,” “manducat Dominum” and “pauper, servus et humilis”—verses that are repeated twice. The entire piece is likewise repeated,
the second time accompanied by the choir. We note once again the emphasis on the verse that mentions the
recipients: “pauper, servus et humilis” of the sublime message.
Commentary of the Text
Panis Angelicus is the sixth stanza of the Eucharistic hymn composed by St. Thomas Aquinas for the Mass for
the feast of the Most Holy Body of Christ (Corpus Christi), requested of the great theologian by Pope Urban
IV in 1264, on the occasion of the establishment of the solemnity which bears the same name. At that time,
many questioned the Real Presence of Jesus’ Body and Blood in the Eucharist. Hence, the pope decided to
establish a corresponding solemnity, partly in reply to the miracle of Bolsena, where drops of blood appeared
in a host consecrated by a doubting priest, which is now in a corporal conserved in the Cathedral of Orvieto.
Our text, in fact, raises a question that many people ask today: What is the meaning of “Oh, miraculous
thing! / the body of God will be eaten by / the poor, the servile and the humble”
A very effective response was offered by Benedict XVI, during a television broadcast, to a question about the
Body of the Risen Christ. Here is what he said:
“In the Eucharist, the Lord gives us his glorious Body; He does not give us flesh to eat in the biological sense,
but he gives himself (as the Risen One, ed.); this novelty that He is, enters into our humanity, into us, into
my being as a person [...] and He touches us inwardly with His being, so that we can let ourselves be penetrated by His Presence and become His Presence. This is an important point, because we are hence already
in contact with this new life (God’s life, the life of heaven, ed.), [...] I think that this aspect of the promise, of
the fact that He gives Himself to me and draws me out of myself, upward, is the most important point: we
are not asked to memorize things that we can not understand, but to be on the way to the new beginning,
always, again, in the Eucharist.”
The Music and the Other Arts
Eucharistic Symbols in the Sagrada Familia
La Sagrada Familia is full of symbolic references to the Eucharist. Let us see just one in the reflections of the
Jesuit J.P. Hernandez:
“Gaudi organizes the interior of the Sagrada Familia like a “grouping of trees.” Gaudi gives the name of a
2
© Il Grande Mistero Marco Tibaldi
diocese to each pillar-tree. They form the garden of the New
Creation, the place where the Beloved enters and takes pleasure in “eating the fruits.” For the Fathers of the Church this
“eating” represents the Eucharistic banquet. When celebrating the Eucharist, we are already in the Promised Land, in
the garden of God’s intimacy. That is how Cyril of Jerusalem
describes the transition during the Easter Vigil from the catechumens’ Baptism to their First Communion:
Consequently, the nave of the Sagrada Familia is dominated
by colorful pinnacles representing the fruits of the Promised Land. They appear as grapes and wheat, symbols of the
Eucharist. The Eucharist is the liturgy of the new creation.
For Saint Irenaeus, in the offertory “all creation” is placed
on God’s altar. The Eucharist is therefore the “door” through
which all creation passes to become the “body of Christ,” i.e.,
the full presence of God. This Bread and Wine are given to
one who has always been in God’s plan and whom sin has
made opaque. In the Eucharist, the Body of Christ and creation coincide. Likewise, on the floor of the Sagrada Familia,
the Latin cross extends throughout the entire cloister. This
is so because, ultimately, Jesus himself is this “land,” where
God and man meet, never to be separated again. He is the
beginning of the New Creation. Jesus begins his Passion in a
garden (Gethsemane), is buried in the “new tomb” of a garden, and appears to Mary Magdalene in the guise
of a gardener” (J.P. Hernandez, Antoni Gaudì: la Parola nella pietra, Pardes Bologna 2007, 44).
Bread Symbolism in Painting
Bread is considered the staple food of the peoples, and therefore it is a symbol of essential nourishment. In
Israel, where the forms of bread were not cut, “breaking bread” means eating together.
In the early church, this expression was used to indicate the shared meals of the faithful, which ended with
the celebration of the Eucharist. When the disciples of Emmaus see Jesus breaking the bread, they remember
the Last Supper and recognize Him (Lk 24:13–35). In ancient Christian art, the miraculous multiplication
of the loaves is represented (Mt 14:15–21; 15:32–38), even with fish (Catacomb of Alexandria; Roman Catacombs of Priscilla, St. Callisto; Cemetery dei Giordani; mosaics of sant’ Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna, mosaics
of Monreale). Often a cross is depicted on the bread. Bread also becomes a sign of spiritual nourishment,
following the example of Jesus, who defines himself as the “bread of life” (Jn 6:35), and of the liturgy that calls
it “food of eternal life.” The analogy between harvesting, threshing, baking earthly bread and man’s torments
and death, so that bread becomes the symbol of the body transfigured for eternal life. Another ancient Christian tradition identifies bread as a symbol of the active life, and wine as the symbol of the contemplative life.
The bread also recalls the symbolism of the manna that the Hebrews received from day after day, as a sign
of God’s providence (Exod 16). This symbolism is seen in the frescoes in the roman cemetery of St. Ciriaco.
Since the Middle Ages, in addition to the manna, bread is also associated with the Eucharistic meal as well as
with the encounter between Abraham and Melchizedek and the institution of the Jewish Passover. (Triptych
of the Last Supper, Saint Peter, Louvain; B. Luini fresco, 16th century. Brera Milan, Tintoretto, 1594, San Giorgio
Maggiore, Venice; Brussels Tapestry, 1550, Kunsthistor. Museum, Vienna; Nicolas Poussen, Louvre, Paris 1639).
In the 11th-century fresco discovered under the Scala Santa in St. John Lateran, a dying man is depicted receiving, as in the narrative of the apocryphal Acts of John, a shower of manna.
3
© Il Grande Mistero Marco Tibaldi
Actualization
Video Focus on Bread in Scripture by Andrea Ciucci
The Meaning of the Eucharist in a Story for Young Children
To speak of the Passover, Jesus explains to his disciples the meaning of what is going to happen (Jn 12:20–33).
His death is hard to accept, not only for others but also for Jesus himself. Yet, it is now increasingly clear that
he could manifest all the power of his love only by dying, just as the grain of wheat that falls to the ground and
cannot bear fruit unless it dies.
Escape from Seedland
There was once a succulent city called Seedland. That was the city where the seeds lived. Yes, you’ve understood: seeds, or all the different kinds of seeds that are used to grow plants. The houses were ear-shape; some
were small and pretty, surrounded by beautiful gardens called “earities.” Others were very big, very high, and
they were called “sky-ears,” because they almost touched the clouds. Then, there were all the things you can find
in a city, cinemas, supermarkets, schools, etc., only in the shape of the ears.
One of the most famous quarters was occupied by the wheat grains. Many families of seeds lived there: the
mothers were a bit plumper than the fathers, but not too much, the young seeds were obviously smaller than the
adults. Seedland was where they were preparing to become adult seeds: once well grown, they could be taken
by the peasants who lived in huge villages near the city. Then, the seeds were scattered in the fields, to produce
new plants. This was always the whole city’s great unwritten law: “Each grain will one day be sown and become
important because it will have produced a new and useful plant.” Therefore, the aim of life for each one of those
little creatures was to grow healthy and strong, in order to bear much fruit. The little seeds heard this repeatedly
from their mother seed, from the tenderest age on:
- You’ll see, my little one, when you’re ready, you too will be sown and then produce a very beautiful plant! The
birds will even come and make their nests on you and maybe, if you’re really strong, you will even give shelter
to human beings; they’ll refresh themselves in the shade of your branches ...
Each grain grew up with the desire in its heart to mature to perfection in order to be sown and become a good
and beautiful plant. In the city school, they were taught the art of becoming mature seeds (in fact, that is where
the maturity exam at the end of the school cycle was invented), but a strange affair had set in motion even
stranger voices. Apparently, some pupils had rebelled against their teachers, saying:
- Enough with all these stories, we don’t want to become more mature seeds!
The rebel seeds shouted at the flabbergasted teaching seeds:
- We want to do our own thing and enjoy life now! And then, what would this maturity lead to? Going to die
in a field in order to please someone else? And no, we don’t want to finish like that!
Now, with these and other slogans, they began stirring up all the other seeds, including those who always
received “Well done!” in all the subjects. The elderly seeds, the very wise and experienced ones of the city, were
very worried too. In the days that followed, the rebellion among the seeds increased to the point that some
decided to flee Seedland—something that had never happened before. They built a small helium balloon, made
with a balloon that a child had forgotten in the meadow near the seeds’ town and, when night had come, they
left. The idea of getting away from Seedland caused great excitement:
- Finally, we can do whatever we want!, they said; We’ll have fun from sunrise to sunset, without thinking
about maturity!
The group of fugitives was made up of five seeds. How beautiful and tidy their city looked from up there!
After a few hours, they were finally quite far away, and so they decided to land, bringing their balloon down
on a soft lawn. They went down onto the ground, where they began rolling back and forth to explore the new
environment: it seemed unreal to have so much time at their disposal, without homework and with nothing to
do! Then, satisfied, they laid down in the grass and fell asleep.
The next day, the seeds woke up cheerful and full of life.
- What are we going to do today?, they wondered.
- Absolutely nothing!, said one of them and began rolling all around. The others happily followed him; but
after a while, they started to get bored.
- There’s nothing to discover, here in this meadow, they said to one another, let’s look around a bit! The seeds,
forming a line, began to look, or rather roll, about, until they came to a village of cicadas. Now, as soon as the
latter caught sight of them, they rubbed their eyes for happiness and jumped on them to eat them.
4
© Il Grande Mistero Marco Tibaldi
- Quick, let’s get away from here!, they said to each other, after the first of them had been grabbed by a cicada.
- The teacher told us that everybody wants us seeds because we’re good to eat! That’s not our mission!
Then they fled toward the stream, but once again, they didn’t know what to do. Their boredom continued
growing and became unbearable. Someone had the idea of taking a bath. That was something they had heard
about, but that the teacher had always discouraged, saying:
- It’s not our mission!
The first of them plunged into the water; but even before he could feel if the water was hot or cold, he was
ripped away by the current. Then, the other three seeds realized that perhaps elderly seeds were right: it was not
worth much wasting their lives in this way.
Perhaps, going into a field to become a beautiful plant was a mission for which it was really worth living and
dying...!
Catechetical Card # 1: The Bread of the Angels
Goals:
• Realize a catechetical sequence that begins by listening to the music
• Present the theme of the Eucharist
• Connect the song listened to with some reflections on the subject of bread
Target audience: children / youth / adults with no special musical skills
Organization
1 Listening
Start by listening, in a suitable place and using appropriate equipment. At this stage, the facilitator should not
introduce the song, the author, the intention, etc., which will be discovered during the guided presentation.
It is much better to actively involve the participants in the process of discovery instead of leaving them mere
spectators or listeners of a sequence realized by others.
The song can be listened to several times (2-3), providing also the text with the translation the second time
2 Questions for understanding of the piece
To promote understanding and decoding of what has been heard, the facilitator asks the following questions:
• Did you like the song you listened to?
• Describe in three words the feelings it aroused in you
• Have you already heard this type of music before?
• Using the translation, on which words does the voice of the interpreter insist?
• What do you think this music was used for?
3 Comparisons
The results of the dialogue can now be compared with the observations in the musical score and the commentary on the text, which can be read individually or in small groups.
5
© Il Grande Mistero Marco Tibaldi
4 To continue the reflection
After listening to the piece and decoding it, the facilitator can propose that they watch the video Bread in
Scripture by Fr. Andrea Ciucci and then launch a research group, using the other two texts: Eucharistic
Symbols in the Sagrada Familia and Bread Symbolism in Painting, with the following guiding questions:
• Are there elements common to all three types of material?
• On what does Gaudi’s interpretation insist?
• Which connections with the music do you recognize?
Catechetical card # 2 Escape from Seedland. The meaning of the Eucharist explained to the youngest
Goals:
• Realize a catechetical sequence that begins by listening to the music
• Present the meaning of the Eucharist to children
Target audience: children of Christian initiation
The first three stages are identical to those described in Card # 1, with the adjustments considered appropriate by the catechist.
Read, without any introduction, the story Escape from Seedland, found in the section Actualization, and
then ask the following questions:
• Do you like the story?
• If yes, why?
• Why do the seeds want to escape?
• What do they find?
• What is their mission?
Read the passage of the Gospel of John (Jn 12:20–33) and ask the following questions:
• Did you like the passage we just read?
• Do you understand its meaning?
• What similarities do you see between the story and this passage of the Gospel?
At the end of the sequence, propose listening to the music with closed eyes and ask if there are new accents
that can be shared.
6
© Il Grande Mistero Marco Tibaldi