Ave Satani

"Ave Satani" is the theme song to the film The Omen (1976) composed by Jerry Goldsmith.[1] The Omen won the Academy Award for Best Original Score,[2] with Ave Satani nominated for Best Original Song.[3]

"Ave Satani"
Single by Jerry Goldsmith
from the album The Omen: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
B-side"The Killer Storm"
Released2001
Recorded1976
GenreFilm soundtrack, Choral
Length2:32
LabelCinefantastique/Varèse Sarabande
Songwriter(s)Jerry Goldsmith

History

The Latinized title translates to "Hail Satan" in English. In an interview,[4] Goldsmith says that his idea was to create a kind of Satanic version of a Gregorian chant and came up with ideas while talking with the London choir-master of the orchestra who was helping him. He decided to create something like a Black Mass, inverting Latin phrases from the Latin Mass.[5] The choir-master, according to Goldsmith, was an expert in Latin and helped him come up with phrases; instead of saying "Hail Mary", they decided on "Hail Satan", and so on. The song contains various Latin phrases inverting Christ and the Mass, such as "Ave Versus Christi", meaning "Hail Anti-Christ", and "Corpus Satani", an inversion of "Corpus Christi", the body of Christ. The resulting lyrics are an inversion of the Roman Catholic rite of the consecration and elevation of the body and blood of Christ during the Mass.

A version of the song has been produced by the band Fantômas, who altered some of the lyrics to mean "smallest blood, body spirit" rather than "we drink the blood, we eat the flesh," and adding the word "rotted". Other versions of the original song have been performed by the Italian vocalist Servio Tulio, and by Gregorian. The song has been used in mixes of sinister music[6] including the album Oculus Infernum by Van Helsing's Curse, featuring Dee Snider. [7]

Lyrics

The choir master's Latin contains a number of errors. Below are the Latin phrases which are repeated throughout the music,[8] with their intended meaning, and a more correct Latin version:

Latin (as in the soundtrack) Correct Latin English translation
sanguis bibimus sanguinem bibimus We drink the blood
corpus edimus corpus edimus We eat the body
tolle corpus Satani tolle corpus Satanae Raise the body of Satan
ave, ave Versus Christus! avē, avē Antichriste! Hail, Hail Antichrist!
ave Satani! avē Satana! Hail Satan!

See also

References
  1. "Jerry Goldsmith". July 24, 2004. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
  2. "The 49th Academy Awards - 1977". Oscars. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
  3. "1977 Winners & Nominees". Oscars. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
  4. Interview with Goldsmith in the documentary The Omen Revealed, 20th Century Fox, 2000.
  5. "Horror Song of the Day: Ave Satani (by Jerry Goldsmith)". October 20, 2014. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
  6. Commentary: Album Reviews: Holiday albums. Journal Record (Oklahoma City, OK) (2007).
  7. "Dee Snider's Van Helsing Curse to Hit the Road in October". Blabbermouth.net. July 19, 2004. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
  8. Goldsmith, Jerry (1976). Ave Satani. Alfred Publishing Co., Inc. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
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