Commissioned by Sacred Heart Catholic Church (West Des Moines, Iowa) for their new music Concert Series: Sing a New Song.
Thanks to Nate Sparks and all those involved!
Sting parts included
Premiered: February, 20 2025 | Des Moines, IA
O Endless God of Majesty | 2025 | SATB & small string ensemble | 7'
O endless God of majesty,
Alpha et Om(ega) quem vocamus, (A. & O to whom we call)
Of whose kingdom no end shall be,
TeDeumverum,laudamus. (WepraiseyoutrueGod)
O Son of God, that Jesus hight,*
Ad te pia mente clamanus; (To Thee with pious mind we cry)
For Thou came down to give us light,
Te Deum verum laudamus. (We praise you true God)
Father and Son and Holy Ghost,
Ut in fide maneamus, (That in faith we may remain)
Both Three in One of mightiest most,
Te Deum verum, laudamus. (We praise you true God)
By day and night, as it is right,
A laude tua non cessamus, (From your praise we do not cease)
But with the tyght** of all our might
Te Deum verum, laudamus (We praise you true God)
O Lord and King, to bliss us bring
Te toto corde rogamus, (With all our hearts we ask you)
Without ending that we may sing:
Te Deum verum, laudamus. (We praise you true God)
footnotes
* hight - a passive past tense verb usually meaning "was called" or "was named "
**tyght - here used as a noun, meaning a firm or secure fastening or state of being tightly boundFrom the collection of Medieval Franciscan Poems, Die Gedichte Des Franziskaner, compiled and translated into Old English by Jakob Ryman (1892)
n. b. Some of the words of this text have been modernized by the composer for ease of performance.
