The Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary or Litany of Loreto (Litaniae lauretanae) is a Marian Litany, the often sung recitation of Divine and Marian attributes. While in its current form it dates to the late 16th century, many of its elements can be found in devotional Christian hymns and prayers of Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages, including the Byzantine and other Eastern traditions.

The litany was a genre of remarkable flexibility that remained poised on the boundaries of oral and written performance, ranging in its expressions from silent or private prayer to speech, recitation, and finally to polyphonic composition.

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This is a link to a recitation by Pope Benedict XVI.

Here is a sung version by the Benedictine Daughters of Mary.

And another sung version by a male congregation.

Article originally published in Early Music History (2015), Volume 34. Republished here with thanks.