December 29, 2012

In the Midst of Death

Jesus, Be Our Light

In the Midst of Death, first published in 1961, was written by Dutch poet and linguist Klaas Hanzen Heeroma (1909-1972) under the pen name Muus Jacobse. The tune was written by Rik Veelenturf (b.1936). A Dutch language sample of the tune is featured in the following video. It was originally intended for Maundy Thursday worship service in the Lutheran Liturgy, but was later adopted for use in many Roman Catholic parishes in Holland. The hymn was adapted for use in English by David Smith. In the Liturgy of the Hours, We Who Once were Dead (In the Midst of Death) is used at Easter and in the Office for the Dead.


"Midden in de Dood" - Dutch lyrics can be found here.

2 comments:

  1. YouTube has a nice version in Dutch (or I think it's Dutch!) as "Midden in de dood." http://youtu.be/fSuK6j5ooZs It's only one verse, but still is a good start.

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  2. That's it! Terrific song sleuthing Gail. - Thank you, I've added the video to the post.

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