The Offertory for the Feast of All Saints is a text from the deuterocanonical book of Wisdom: Justorum animae in manu Dei sunt, et non tanget illos tormentum mortis. Visi sunt oculis insipientium mori, illi autem sunt in pace. The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and the torment of death shall not touch them. In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die; but they are in peace. Composers whose setting of Justorum animae our choir has sung Orlande de Lassus Charles Villiers Stanford
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Tallis, Blessed are those that be undefiled
This anthem by Thomas Tallis (1505-1585) is a setting of Psalm 119:1-6. The translation is from the Coverdale Psalter (1535), which is the text used in the Book of Common Prayer. Blessed are those that be undefiled in the way : and walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are they that keep his testimonies : and seek him with their whole heart. For they who do no wickedness : walk in his ways. Thou hast charged us O Lord : that we shall diligently keep thy commandments. O that our ways were made so direct : that we might keep thy statutes! So shall we not be confounded…
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Music for All Saints Day (November 1, 2018)
Our opening hymn in this service is “For all the saints,” one of the most popular hymns written by Ralph Vaughan Williams. (His work on the editing of the The English Hymnal, published in 1906, was discussed in an article I wrote that was published in Touchstone in November/December 2017.) The Offertory proper for this feast day is from the deuterocanonical book of Wisdom 3:1-2a, 3b. “The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and the torment of death shall not touch them. In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die; but they are in peace.” The Latin rendering of this text has been set to music by many composers:…