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1906 hymn
"Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones " (
Latin : Vigiles et Sancti ) is a popular
Christian hymn with text by
Athelstan Riley , first published in the
English Hymnal (1906). It is sung to the German tune
Lasst uns erfreuen (1623).
[1]
[2] Its uplifting melody and repeated "
Alleluias " make this a favourite
Anglo-Catholic hymn during the
Easter season, the
Feast of All Saints , and other times of great rejoicing.
The hymn was also notably adapted for the final movement of
The Company of Heaven (1937), a cantata by
Benjamin Britten .
[3]
Text
The 1906 text is based on two ancient
Christian prayers,
Te Deum and
Axion Estin .
[1] The first stanza addresses each of the traditional nine
choirs of angels . The second stanza focuses on the
Blessed Virgin Mary . The third stanza urges the faithful departed to join in praising
God , including the
church patriarchs ,
prophets ,
apostles ,
martyrs and
saints , addressed in groups similar to those in the
Litany of the Saints . The fourth stanza finally addresses the present congregation to join together in praise. So, this hymn addresses the traditional
Three States of the Church (the Church Triumphant, the Church Expectant, the Church Militant), reflecting the belief in the
communion of saints .
[4]
The original text follows:
[2]
Ye
watchers and ye
holy ones ,
Bright
Seraphs ,
Cherubim and
Thrones ,
Raise the glad strain,
Alleluya !
Cry out,
Dominions ,
Princedoms ,
Powers ,
Virtues ,
Archangels ,
Angels' choirs ,
Alleluya, Alleluya, Alleluya, Alleluya, Alleluya!
O higher than the Cherubim,
More glorious than the Seraphim,
Lead their praises, Alleluya!
Thou
Bearer of
the eternal Word ,
Most gracious,
magnify the Lord ,
Alleluya, Alleluya, Alleluya, Alleluya, Alleluya!
Respond, ye souls in endless rest,
Ye
Patriarchs and
Prophets blest,
Alleluya, Alleluya!
Ye
holy Twelve , ye
Martyrs strong,
All
Saints triumphant, raise the song,
Alleluya, Alleluya, Alleluya, Alleluya, Alleluya!
O friends, in gladness let us sing,
Supernal anthems echoing,
Alleluya, Alleluya!
To
God the Father ,
God the Son ,
And
God the Spirit ,
Three in One ,
Alleluya, Alleluya, Alleluya, Alleluya, Alleluya!
Amen.
Melody
Below is the 1623 German hymn tune
Lasst uns erfreuen , as set in the 1906
English Hymnal :
[5]
References
^
a
b Shomsky, Tiffany.
"Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones: Worship Notes" .
Hymnary.org . Retrieved 13 April 2017 .
^
a
b Riley, Athelstan (1906). "519. Ye watchers and ye holy ones".
The English Hymnal . Oxford University Press. pp. 672–673. Retrieved 13 April 2017 .
^
"Britten: The Company of Heaven" .
AllMusic . Retrieved 16 April 2017 . Sample... XI. Ye watchers and ye holy ones
^ Mitchican, Jonathan (1 August 2013).
"Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones" . The Living Church . Retrieved 13 April 2017 .
^ Wilson, John (Winter 1980).
"Treasure No 46: The Tune 'Lasst uns erfreuen' as we know it" . Bulletin of the Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland . IX.10 (150). Retrieved 13 April 2017 . One of the great successes of The English Hymnal in 1906 was its inclusion of the old German Catholic tune 'Lasst uns erfreuen', linked originally with Easter rejoicing, but now set to 'Ye watchers and ye holy ones', a new text by Athelstan Riley... The EH attribution of the melody was to the book [Auserlesene, Catholische,] Geistliche Kirchengesäng (Cöln, 1623)...
English German
Christ ist erstanden
Christ lag in Todesbanden (Christ Jesus Lay in Death's Strong Bands)
Christus ist erstanden! O tönt
Das Grab ist leer, der Held erwacht
Das ist der Tag, den Gott gemacht
Erschienen ist der herrlich Tag (On Earth Has Dawned This Day of Days)
Freu dich, du Himmelskönigin
Gelobt sei Gott im höchsten Thron
Heut triumphieret Gottes Sohn (Today in Triumph Christ Arose)
Ihr Christen, singet hocherfreut
Jesus Christus, unser Heiland, der den Tod überwand
Lasst uns erfreuen
Nun freue dich, du Christenheit
Seht, der Stein ist weggerückt
Seht, er lebt
Wahrer Gott, wir glauben dir
Wir wollen alle fröhlich sein (Now Glad of Heart Be Every One)
Latin Other
Antiphons in English in German in Latin in other languages