Аминь.
Приидите, поклонимся Цареви нашему Богу.
Приидите, поклонимся и припадем Христу Цареви нашему Богу.
Приидите, поклонимся и припадем самому Христу Цареви и Богу нашему.
Приидите, поклонимся и припадем Ему.
Amen.
Come, let us worship God, our King.
Come, let us adore and bow down to Christ our God and King.
Come, let us adore and bow down to the same Christ the King and our God.
Come, let us adore and bow down to Him
In manus tuas William Byrd 1543-1623
In manus tuas, Domine, commendo spiritum meum. Redemisti me Domine, Deus veritatis.
Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis.
Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit. You have redeemed me, O Lord, O God of truth.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us.
Salve Regina Tomas Luis de Victoria 1548-1611
Salve Regina, Mater Misericordiae, Vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, Salve! Ad te clamamus, exsules filii [H]evae, Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes, In hac lacrimarum valle.
Eja ergo, Advocata nostra,
Illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte Et Jesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui, Nobis, post hoc exilium, ostende,
O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria.
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of mercy,
[Hail] our life, our sweetness and our hope!
To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve, to thee do we send up our sighs,
mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn, then, most gracious advocate,
thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this, our exile,
show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
Bogoroditse Devo Sergei Rachmaninoff
Богородице Дево, радуйся, Благодатная Марие, Господь с тобою. Благословена ты в женах,
и благословен плод чрева твоего, яко Спаса родила еси душ наших.
Rejoice, virgin mother of God,
Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb,
for you have borne the Savior of our souls.
Os justi Anton Bruckner 1824-1896
Os justi meditabitur sapientiam: et lingua ejus loquetur judicium.
Lex Dei ejus in corde ipsius: :et non supplantabuntur gressus ejus.
Alleluia.
The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks what is just.
The law of his God is in his heart: and his feet do not falter.
Alleluia
Abendlied Josef Rheinberger 1839- 1901
Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden, und der Tag hat sich geneiget.
Bide with us, for evening shadows darken, and the day will soon be over.
Nunc Dimittis Gustav Holst 1874-1934
Nunc dimittis servum tuum, Domine, secundum verbum tuum in pace:
Quia viderunt oculi mei salutare tuum
Quod parasti ante faciem omnium populorum:
Lumen ad revelationem gentium, et gloriam plebis tuae Israel.
Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto:
Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in sæcula sæculorum. Amen.
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace: according to thy word.
For mine eyes have seen: thy salvation,
Which thou hast prepared: before the face of all people;
To be a light to lighten the Gentiles: and to be the glory of thy people Israel.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.
INTERVAL
Lighten our Darkness Ben Parry b.1965
Lighten our darkness, we beseech thee, O Lord; and by thy great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night; for the love of thy only Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Amen.
O Radiant Dawn, Splendour of eternal Light, Sun of Justice: come, shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.
Isaiah had prophesied ‘The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those whodwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone.’
Amen
Stabat mater Sulpitia Cesis 1577-1619
Stabat mater dolorósa juxta Crucem lacrimósa, dum pendébat Fílius
Cuius ánimam geméntem, contristátam et doléntem pertransívit gládius
O quam tristis et afflícta fuit illa benedícta, mater Unigéniti!
Quis est homo qui non fleret, matrem Christi si vidéret in tanto supplício?
Sancta Mater, istud agas, crucifíxi fige plagas cordi meo válide.
Tui Nati vulneráti, tam dignáti pro me pati, pœnas mecum dívide.
Fac me plagis vulnerári, fac me Cruce inebriári, et cruóre Fílii.
Quando corpus moriétur, fac, ut ánimæ donétur paradísi glória.
At the Cross her station keeping, Stood the mournful Mother weeping, Close to Jesus to the last:
Through her heart, his sorrow sharing, All his bitter anguish bearing,
now at length the sword has pass'd.
Oh, how sad and sore distress'd Was that Mother highly blest Of the sole-begotten One!
Is there one who would not weep, Whelm'd in miseries so deep, Christ's dear Mother to behold?
Holy Mother! pierce me through; In my heart each wound renew Of my Saviour crucified:
Let me share with thee His pain, Who for all my sins was slain, Who for me in torments died.
Wounded with his every wound, Steep my soul till it hath swoon'd, In His very blood away;
While my body here decays,
May my soul thy goodness praise, Safe in Paradise with Thee.
Blazhen muzh Sergei Rachmaninoff
Блажен муж, иже не иде на совет нечестивых. Аллилуйиа.
Яко весть Господь путь праведных, и путь нечестивых погибнет. Аллилуйиа.
Работайте Господеви со страхом и радуйтеся Ему с трепетом. Аллилуйиа.
Блажени вси надеющиися Нань. Аллилуйиа. Воскресни, Господи, спаси мя, Боже мой.
Аллилуйиа.
Господне есть спасение и на людех Твоих благословение Твое. Аллилуйиа.
Слава Отцу и Сыну и Святому Духу, и ныне и присно и во веки веков. Аминь.
Аллилуйиа. Слава Тебе, Боже.
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked. Alleluia.
The Lord knows the way of the righteous, and the way of the wicked will perish. Alleluia.
Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice in Him with trembling. Alleluia.
Blessed is he who puts his trust in Him. Alleluia. Arise, Lord, save me, my God.
Alleluia.
The Lord is the saviour of the people of His blessing. Alleluia.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever more. Amen.
Alleluia. Glory to You, God.
Sol justitiae Alec Roth b.1948
Jam noctis adsunt tenebrae; Te autem expectantibus
In cujus pennis sanitas, Orire Sol justitiae
Tu, vera lux in tenebris Lassatis et errantibus Jam Te desiderantibus Affulge per caliginem.
Sic, in eremo sospites Tuo muniti numine, Te noctis in silentio.
Te consequemur in dies.
Nox tandem cedat lumini Illustraturo condita
Et lotis Agni sanguine Luceat lux perpetua
Deo Patri sit gloria Ejusque sol; Filio, Cum Spiritu Paraclito
Et nunc et in perpetuum.
As the darkness of night arrives you, for whom we wait
in whose wings is healing arise, sun of righteousness
You, true light in darkness
upon the weary and the wandering now, upon those who long for you beam out through the gloom.
So, in the desert, safe and sound, protected by your power;,
you, in the night and in silence you we will follow into the day.
Night at last will give way to the light which will illumine that which is bidden and those washed in the Lamb's blood shine upon them light everlasting
To God the Father be glory and to his only Son
with the Holy Ghost both now and for ever
Mother of God John Tavener 1944-2013
Mother of God, here I stand now praying, before this ikon of your radiant brightness, Not praying to be saved from a battlefield;
Not giving thanks, nor seeking forgiveness for the sins of my soul, Nor for all the souls numb, joyless, desolate on earth
But for her alone, whom I wholly give you…..
I know that my redeemer liveth
Cecilia McDowall b.1951
I know that my Redeemer liveth And that He shall stand
At the latter day, upon the earth
And though worms destroy this body Yet in my flesh shall I see God
Yet in my flesh shall I see God
For now is Christ risen from the dead
And become the first fruits of them that sleep I know that my Redeemer liveth
Vzbrannoi voyevode Sergei Rachmaninoff
Взбранной воеводе победительная, яко избавльшеся от злых,
благодарственная восписуем Ти раби Твои, Богородице;
но яко имущая державу непобедимую, от всяких нас бед свободи,
да зовем Ти: радуйся невесто неневестная.
You are the victorious, triumphant leader, Who rids us of evil,
Mother of God, your servants lift hymns of thanksgiving to you,
to whom God has given invincible power, deliver us from all our troubles,
so we call to you, Hail! bride not-a-bride
Steal Away Michael Tippett 1905-1998
Steal away, steal away, steal away to Jesus;
Steal away, steal away home— I han't got long to stay here.
My Lord, He calls me, He calls me by the thunder, The trumpet sounds within-a my soul,
I han't got long to stay here.
Green trees a-bending, poor sinner stand a-trembling, The trumpet sounds within-a my soul,
I han't got long to stay here.
Steal away, steal away, steal away to Jesus;
Steal away, steal away home— I han't got long to stay here.
The end of winter is often a time of waiting, watching, for the start of the spring. The long nights which stretch before us still can be dark and lonely – our programme today explores music to inspire us through these long nights and into the light beyond.
The theme of transformation through the night is one which has inspired composers throughout history. In many cases the Christian calendar is an essential part of thismessage. Biblical themes of hope despite the darkness, and the Easter story of redemption through sacrifice are central to many of the texts in our programme today – from Holst’s Nunc Dimittis to Ben Parry’s magical rendition of the evening prayer Lighten our Darkness.
We nod towards progress through darkness in another sense, with music by female composers who have too often been disregarded. 16th Century nun Sulpitia Cecis (whose Stabat Mater we perform today) was a well-regarded composer in her own time. The daughter of a Count, she would have received a comprehensive musical education before entering the nunnery at which she spent the rest of her life. Cecilia McDowall represents the opposite end of the spectrum, as a part of the huge wealth of female talent that exists in choral music today and is being rightly recognised as one of the most important composers of her generation. In I know that my redeemer liveth, McDowall sets the familiar Messiah text (Job 19:25–26) in a new light – her key theme full of hopefulness and light.
The most famous of all Vigils is possibly Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil – one of the composer’s favourites of his own compositions, it was rarely performed in his lifetime asthe 1917 revolution which took place shortly after publication suppressed the performance of church music throughout his lifetime. Re-popularised in the 1960s, it is now one of Rachmaninoff’s best-known choral works. Throughout the works Rachmaninoff incorporates chant and ‘conscious counterfeits’ of chant throughout, creating a sense of ritual and meditation in calmer moments, and magnificent splendour in others.
© Elinor Cooper
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