Elfen Lied OP "Lilium" - where is it from?

[chiyosuke_chan]

I was just wondering what kind of song is Elfen Lied OP "Lilium?"
It sounds like a latin hymn - I love the music and I would like to know where it came from - and where I can get more of similar music. I can also hear similar song during the anime but it's song by a guy.

Any help would be appreciated in tracking down original album where the song came from and where I can get more.

Thanks!!!

[Shantyguy]

im pretty sure its latin, and animenewsnetwork says the song is done by Kayo Konishi and Yukio Kondo. hope that helps somewhat

[Ardennes]

Maybe it is lyric of Lilium - Tv size -.

os iusti meditabitur sapientiam
et lingua eius
loquetur iudicium

beatus vir qui
suffert tentationem

quoniam cum
probatus fuerit accipiet
coronam vitae

kyrie

ignis divine eleison

o quam sancta
quam serena

quam benigna
quam amoena
o castitatius lilium

[toyota]

It's all Greek to me. Seriously, here's what I found;


"Os iusti meditabitur sapientiam et lingua eius loquetur iudicium" is from the Latin Vulgate translation of Psalm 36:30. "The mouth of the just shall meditate wisdom: and his tongue shall speak judgment."

"Beatus vir qui suffert temptacionem quoniam cum probatus fuerit accipiet coronam vite quam repromisit deus diligentibus se" is James 1:12. "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for, when he hath been proved, he shall receive the crown of life which God hath promised to them that love him." It's also an antiphon used for the Common of One Martyr. More to the point, a setting of said antiphon was on the Dominican Monks of St. Silos' album Chant. The first chapter of James has a similar theme to Psalm 36.

"Kyrie Eleison" is the old Greek words for "Lord, have mercy". They are still occasionally used in the Catholic Mass, both in the vernaculars and in Latin Masses. However, the text "Kyrie, Ignis Divine" comes from Nicolas Melchior Cibenensis' Alchemical Mass. If this sucker wasn't heretical, it certainly wasn't approved by canon law. Boy, and I thought they came up with pretentious liturgies in the seventies!

The final part of "Lilium" uses words from the sequence "Ave mundi spes Maria" (Hail Mary, Hope of the World). "O quam sancta, quam serena, quam benigna, quam amoena esse virgo creditur!" translates out as "O how holy, how serene, how benign, how comforting is this maiden who believed!" Then "O castitatis lilium, tuum precare filium, qui salus est humilium" is "O lily of chastity, pray to your son who is health to the humble".

Presumably, the point of the song is that the "just man" (the kid who's hiding the genetically engineered girl) has to undergo trials, while the mutant girl is being compared to Mary. Or possibly the producers just liked the tune.

Courtesy of Banshee (http://suburbanbanshee.blogspot.com/)

[chiyosuke_chan]

wow, that's interesting... Thanks for all the replies...

so I take it that this song was created just for this anime? Or is this from another source?

[toyota]

During my searches I could not find any other version of this song, so I believe it was made specifically for this anime. I'm hoping they have a longer version on the OST because it really is a beautiful song.

[KaM]

I found it recently, and i know the songs translation is lily in latin. But if there is a longer version i have no clue.

[Deathy]

In the OST there's a full version of it (last track). But I would like to see a full version with the female vocal insteed of the Griffin chorus.

[mrkorb]

There was a full version of the song with the female singer posted to alt.binaries.sounds.anime shortly after the OST was posted there. No source was given for it though.

[naraku_99]

i think its latin and from an opera possibly

[piyosuke]

IINM.. The singer is Kumiko Noma. 小西香葉 & 近藤由紀夫 are the composers.
The full version of Lilium in Elfen Lied OST is only 1:32mins. If you found a longer version, it might be an extended version made by fans...

[Suriko]

(First up, hello all - first post on Hongfire after lurking for over a year.)

To address the subject, here's a really nice article I found about Elfen Lied with a section on the intro (http://www.hongfire.com/redirect.php?url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elfen_Lied).

Secondly, I have a full-length choir performance of 'Beatus Vir' sung by the MIT concert choir sitting on my hard drive. Very nice song indeed. It's freely available on the internet and downoadable from here (http://www.hongfire.com/redirect.php?url=http://hebb.mit.edu/FreeMusic/Mozart/).

A quick googling found this little gem (http://www.hongfire.com/redirect.php?url=http://www.choirs.org.uk/prognotes/Beatus%20Vir.htm), with a bit of background on the piece.

Hope that helps. :)

[Dracil]

I actually had a blog entry on the source of all the lyrics of the song. You can read it here. http://www.tabulas.com/~dracil/566861.html.

It's basically pieces from the Bible, The Alchemical Mass, and a medieval chant.

[Azure Sky]

ITS from a opera by Hugo Wolf during the late 19th century (1800s for those that dont know).