Portuguese term
United Kingdom
Elegant precision - published writer
Native in: English 
Works in: Spanish to English, English, Portuguese to English
canção de ave
"Lembro-me do meu pai nos primeiros anos. Recordo-me dele cantando canções de aves num idioma polido e sem arestas."
hymn? sacred music? psalms? something more specific?
thanks in advance
| 4 | praise chants |
Renato Gonzalez
|
| 4 | Spirituals |
Marlene Curtis
|
| 3 +1 | hymns of praise |
Kimberlee Thorne
|
| 3 | religious songs |
kashew
|
| 3 | Hail Marys |
T o b i a s
|
Proposed translations
Brazil
Portuguese < > English translator
Native in: Portuguese
Works in: Portuguese to English, English to Portuguese
praise chants
| thanks for all your help Renato - I went with 'spiritual songs' :) |
religious songs
United States
Marlene Curtis
Native in: Portuguese , English
Works in: English to Portuguese, Portuguese to English
United States
Small World Language Services
Native in: English (Variant: US) 
Works in: Spanish to English, Portuguese to English, English to Spanish, and 4 more.
hymns of praise
Hail Marys
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hail_Mary
" Finished! But still no courage to speak to her... so I sang her another Hail Mary. "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you." More sobs --- "Blessed are you among women..."
http://malourdest.multiply.com/journal
The day was the same. The people didn’t stop praying or singing Hail Marys despite the rain. The Rosary in the Church was also extraordinary. It was an unforgettable day, full of fervor and sacrifice
In front of the barricades set up to separate the news media from the home, women from Mothers Against Repression formed a prayer circle in front of the Gonzalez home and began singing Hail Marys.
Discussion
(not "songs of").
depending on where it is happening, for example, if while working, in Africa, old times, there were the worksongs. but I think "praise songs/spiritual songs" would be the best choice.
So, I'd use spiritual songs.