Following are text and music links to several choral anthems that are especially suitable to listen to during some quiet moments today when the church remembers the saints from all times and places. Special services are held at many churches today, this weekend, and on Sunday morning. This link gives a synopsis of the Festival from the Roman Catholic and Protestant perspectives.
O What Their Joy and Their Glory Must Be
Text: Peter
Abelard; trans. by John Mason Neale
Music: Paris
Antiphoner; harm. by John B. Dykes
Setting by
William Henry Harris
1. O what their joy and their glory
must be,
those endless sabbaths the
blessed ones see;
crown for the valiant, to weary
ones rest;
God shall be all, and in all ever
blest.
2. Truly, "Jerusalem" name we
that shore,
city of peace that brings joy
evermore;
wish and fulfillment are not
severed there,
nor do things prayed for come
short of the prayer.
3. There, where no troubles distraction
can bring,
we the sweet anthems of Zion
shall sing;
while for thy grace, Lord, their
voices of praise
thy blessed people eternally
raise.
4. Now, in the meanwhile, with hearts
raised on high,
we for that country must yearn
and must sigh;
seeking Jerusalem, dear native
land,
through our long exile on
Babylon's strand.
5. Low before him with our praises we
fall,
of whom, and in whom, and through
whom are all;
of whom, the Father; and in whom,
the Son,
through whom, the Spirit, with
them ever One.
Faire Is the Heaven
Setting by
William Harris
Faire is the
heaven, where happy soules have place
In full
enjoyment of felicitie,
Whence they
doe still behold the glorious face
Of the Divine
Eternall Majestie;
Yet farre
more faire be those bright Cherubins,
Which all
with golden wings are overdight,
And those
eternall burning Seraphins,
Which from
their faces dart out fiery light;
Yet fairer
than they both, and much more bright,
Be th' Angels
and Archangels, which attend
On God's
owne Person, without rest or end.
These then
in faire each other farre excelling,
As to the
Highest they approach more neare,
Yet is the
Highest farre beyond all telling,
Fairer than
all the rest which there appear,
Though all
their beauties joynd together were;
How then can
mortall tongue hope to expresse
The image of
such endlesse perfectnesse?
Lead Kindly Light Hymn
The choir of
Wells Cathedral sing this beautiful hymn
with words
by John Henry Newman
Lead, kindly
Light, amid th’encircling gloom, lead Thou me on!
The night is
dark, and I am far from home; lead Thou me on!
Keep Thou my
feet; I do not ask to see
The distant
scene; one step enough for me.
I was not
ever thus, nor prayed that Thou shouldst lead me on;
I loved to
choose and see my path; but now lead Thou me on!
I loved the
garish day, and, spite of fears,
Pride ruled
my will. Remember not past years!
So long Thy
power hath blest me, sure it still will lead me on.
O’er moor
and fen, o’er crag and torrent, till the night is gone,
And with the
morn those angel faces smile, which I
Have loved
long since, and lost awhile!
Meantime,
along the narrow rugged path, Thyself hast trod,
Lead,
Savior, lead me home in childlike faith, home to my God.
To rest
forever after earthly strife
In the calm
light of everlasting life.
Bring Us, O Lord God
Text by John
Donne
Setting by
Wm. Henry Harris
Bring us, O
Lord God, at our last awakening
Into the
house and gate of Heaven,
To enter
into that gate and dwell in that house,
Where there
shall be no darkness nor dazzling, but one equal light;
No noise nor
silence, but one equal music;
No fears or
hopes, but one equal possession;
No ends or
beginnings, but one equal eternity,
In the
habitations of thy glory and dominion,
World
without end.
Additional Music ...
To hear several hours of choral music especially suitable for the Festival of All Saints, go to this playlist on my youtube channel: Music for All Saints
Here is a link to an organ meditation on "For All the Saints" with video featuring Michaelangelo's artwork of many saints as painted in the Sistine Chapel.
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