Published: 09.20.2021.
The official song of this year’s (2021) International Eucharistic Congress is “Sing of Victory”, a popular Hungarian church hymn, which was already the official hymn of the 1938 International Eucharistic Congress in Budapest. Here we present its lyrics, sheet music and authors. From this page you can download the sheet music, lyrics and mp3 (organ and piano) with CC0 (completely free) license.
Lyrics (own translation, for the official English text, prepared for the IEC 2021, see in the description of the following video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QR1OlzvmU0)
Lyrics
Chorus:
Christ is Lord and King over the earth under the appearance of bread and wine,
bring all peoples and nations together in peace.
Christ is Lord and King over the earth under the appearance of bread and wine,
bring all peoples and nations together in peace.
Let the west and the east sing of victory,
Let a million hearts sing together, praise the Lord,
Christ has come again to earth, became our companion in wandering,
For He so loved the world, He hid himself in the appearance of bread.
Refrain
Once for us He was made flesh, He came among us as a child,
On the cross his blood was shed, the ransom for our redemption.
Now on the altar’s Calvary the precious blood is here again,
The Lamb of God is the sacrifice, Christ’s body is the bread.
Refrain
Let the songs of thanksgiving roar, be heard in valley and sea,
To the God of love be glory and salutation.
Let all the earth be an altar, our hearts a flower thereon,
All our songs a resounding psalm, our faith incense.
Refrain
Orphaned people of King Stephen, bow your forehead,
Bow your knees, cast all your cares and sorrows before him!
For a thousand years the cross has been your pillar of hope,
Now let the sign of Christ be your pledge of a better future.
Refrain
About the authors
P. Béla Bangha S.J. (1880-1940) wrote the lyrics to Sing of Victory. He was a Hungarian Jesuit, writer, preacher and magazine editor. He was the founder of the Catholic publishing house, the Központi Sajtóvállalat (Central Press Company; founded in 1918, dissolved in 1944) and vice-president of Actio Catholica in Hungary. The Central Press Company published the Nemzeti Újság (National Newspaper), the Új Nemzedék (New Generation) and the Képes Krónika (Illustrated Chronicle). “Between 1931 and 1933 he edited and published the Catholic lexicon in 4 volumes.” He visited Italy, the Balkan countries and Germany as a preacher. In the last years of his life he travelled to Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil, visiting the Hungarians there. “In 1938, he was the main organizer of the World Eucharistic Congress in Budapest, the editor and translator of its publications, and the author of its hymn (Sing of Victory, Hozsanna 280/B).” (Source: Hungarian Wikipedia)
Dr. Géza Koudela (1894-1939) wrote the music for Sing of Victory. He was a priest, vocal coach, organist, conductor and composer. His works include the Palicsi Mise (Mass of Palics), the Ünnepi Nagymise (Solemn High Mass), and Ecce Sacerdos. Unfortunately, not many of his compositions are available online, but the ones that are, include the aforementioned song and the sentimental „Búcsús ének” (“Song of Farewell”). Hungarian musician Béla Godzsa has posted the sheet music and melody of the latter two as mp3s on his homepage. (Sources: here and here)
Links
With organ and singing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIUbcA61hdI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bHbtWnbrD0
In a modern version at the IEC 2020: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0khFLGjdFw
Modern version in English, also for the IEC 2020: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QR1OlzvmU0
On this page everything is under a Creative Commons Zero license.