From the Publisher
Ave verum corpus
is a short Eucharistic hymn from the fourteenth century
that has been set to music by various composers.
In the Middle Ages it was sung at the elevation
of the host after the consecration.
It was also often sung at the blessing
with the holy Sacrament.
The text is attributed to Pope Innocent VI
and is based on a poem from a fourteenth-century manuscript
from the abbey of the island of Reichenau
in Lake Constance.
The poem is a meditation on the Catholic faith
in Jesus real presence
in the sacrament of the Eucharist.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote his
Ave verum corpus (KV 618)
for his friend Anton Stoll who was a musical assistant
in the parish of Baden near Vienna.
It was written to celebrate the Feast of Sacrament Day.
