Christ, holy angels’ Crown and adoration . . .
Graciously grant us all to share before Thee Heaven’s high glory
Graciously grant us all to share before Thee Heaven’s high glory
— Hymn for the Feast of Holy Angels
Readers who are familiar with the hymn, “Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven” might be interested to know that Hymns Ancient and Modern (London 1861) changed the phrase “Angels, help us to adore Him” to “Angels in the heights adore Him!” (LSB Hymnal Companion, 1:1176). But the change to Henry F. Lyte’s original text did not last, and for good reason. Johann Gerhard (1582–1637) lists four reasons that angels serve and help the believer, even though they are mightier than we. First, it is God’s will that they serve us (Heb. 1:14). Second, our nature is raised in Christ above the angels (Heb. 1:4). Third, they serve us out of love, as does the Lord, who is Love incarnate. Fourth, “because we shall someday be with them in heaven and join their choir in praising God, the angels are happy to serve us here on earth” (adapted from Treasury of Daily Prayer, p. 767). With this in mind, please join me to explore three angelic choral works, inspired by the liturgical texts for St. Michael and All Angels in The Lutheran Hymnal (hereinafter TLH).
Introit
| Bless the Lord, ye His angels, that excel in strength: that do His commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His Word. Bless ye the Lord, all ye His hosts, ye ministers of His that do His pleasure. Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name. (TLH p. 92) |
The psalm verses quoted here describe the worship of the angels as blessing the Lord, hearkening to His Word, and always doing His will. This leads naturally to the imperative from Psalm 103 for the believer to “Bless the Lord, O my soul.” Similarly, the following excerpt from the Russian Orthodox All-Night Vigil, sung on the eves of holy days in the Russian Orthodox Church, expands the opening verse of Psalm 103 with quotes and paraphrases from other psalm verses. The anonymous text, sung here in Church Slavonic, proclaims the good news that God is clothed with glory and majesty, that His works are glorious, and that He has created all things, including the angels on the first day of creation week (Job 38:7, “all the sons of God [i.e., the angels] shouted for joy”), in order to sing from the beginning the praise of their Creator. This unending song is echoed on earth in this most celestial and sublime music by Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943). Perhaps you will agree with Aleksander Kastalsky, who conducted the first performance in 1915: “One must hear for oneself how simple, artless chants can be transformed in the hands of a great artist” (as quoted in Telarc CD liner 80172, p. 3). Or, as the emissaries of Prince Vladimir supposedly said after their first exposure to the Eastern Orthodox liturgy in the tenth century, “We knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth, for surely there is no such splendor or beauty anywhere on earth” (Readings in Russian Civilization, I:9).
| Bless the Lord, O my soul. Blessed are Thou, O Lord. Bless the Lord, O my soul. My Lord, how great Thou art. Blessed art Thou, O Lord. Thou art clothed with glory and majesty. Blessed art Thou, O Lord. Glorious are Thy works, O Lord. The waters flowed through the mountains. Glorious are Thy works, O Lord. In wisdom hast Thou made them all. Glory to Thee, O Lord, who has crated all. |
Collect
| O everlasting God, who hast ordained and constituted the services of angels and men in a wonderful order, mercifully grant that, as Thy holy angels always do Thee service in heaven, so by Thine appointment they may help and defend us on earth; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen. (TLH p. 93) |
The British-born Healey Willan (1880–1967) is perhaps rightly remembered as a Canadian composer, having spent the last fifty-four years of his life in Toronto, and the last forty-seven of those directing music at the Anglican Church of Saint Mary Magdalene there. Afficionados of sacred choral music are no doubt familiar with his settings of psalms, canticles, anthems, and responsories. “An Apostrophe to the Heavenly Host” is now 100 years young, having been written for the Mendelssohn Choir of Toronto in 1921. In the following excerpt from the end of the work, Willan weaves what someone rightly called a “luxurious polychoral palette,” with two antiphonal choirs augmented by two distant or “mystic” choirs, fitting for the rich angelology in the familiar hymn stanza quoted below by Althelstan Riley (1858–1945). Similarly, one hymn for St. Michael and All Angels’ Day bids the faithful to “Sing we now with tuneful art, / Mostly in alternate chorus / Bearing our responsive part” (Brotherhood Prayer Book, p. 527). Perhaps you will agree with me that the composer masterfully captures the image of antiphonal angelic choirs as they raise the glad strain and sing “Alleluia”?
| Ye watcher and ye holy ones, Bright seraphs, cherubim and thrones. Raise the glad strain, Alleluia! Cry out, dominions, princedoms, powers, Virtues, archangels, angels’ choirs, Alleluia. . . . (TLH 475.1, rev.) Gradual God hath given His angels charge over thee: to keep thee in all thy ways. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! And on cried unto another and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory. Hallelujah! (TLH p. 93) |
The Bible verses in this Gradual or intervenient chant include the promise of angelic protection, the admonition to worship the Lord, and the Sanctus from Isaiah 6. Indeed, the Sanctus is most fitting for St. Michael and All Angels, because it is the hymn of the angels, sung in the presence of the Almighty. The Requiem, Opus 48 of Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924) is remarkably gospel-centered, especially when compared to other late 19th-century settings, with their emphasis on the day of wrath and the final judgment of the impenitent. Fauré paints death as a deliverance, passing over the wrath-centered texts and focusing on Christ-centered texts that proclaim the mercy of God, even in death’s dark hour. Completed and premiered in 1888, the music is scored for a relatively lean ensemble of strings, timpani, harp, and organ, as well as two soloists and SATB choir. The following performance is by a small ensemble, and the spacing six feet apart suggests it was done under restrictions during the pandemic. But it is also remarkably faithful to Fauré’s original design and scope for the Requiem as a small-scale chamber work. Follow the orchestra and choir as they gradually rise to a distinctive climax on “Hosanna in excelsis” before settling down to earth and drawing this movement to a close.
| Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth; Plani sunt coeli et terra Gloria tua. Hosanna in excelsis. | Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth; Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory. Hosanna in the highest. |
Since the last issue of “Lifted Voice” was posted in July, the world has seen raging fires in California, massive flooding along the East Coast, an ill-fated withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the solemnity of the twentieth anniversary of 9/11. See how all the propers cited here bring great comfort from the throne of the Lamb to you, the church militant! These same ministering spirits who help us to adore Christ excel in strength (Introit), beyond the forces that currently threaten our very existence. They use that strength to help and defend us on earth (Collect), even as they comforted Christ Himself in Gethsemane. And the Lord has given them charge of us – yes, even over you and me – to keep us in all our ways (Gradual), until the day comes when we join their choir to worship Christ, the Crown and adoration of the angels, in heaven’s highest glory.
| Angels, help us to adore Him; You behold Him face to face; All who dwell in time and space. Alleluia, alleluia! Praise with us the God of grace. (Lutheran Service Book 793.4). |
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