The Setting Sun / Iam Sol Recedit Igneus

The setting sun now dies away.

The Setting Sun is an adapted translation by Geoffrey Laycock of the Latin hymn Iam Sol Recedit Igneus (see 2nd video) ascribed to St. Ambrose (340-397). In the Roman Breviary it was sung at Saturday Vespers. This translation is set to the tune Angelus by Georg Joseph, first published in Heil­ige Seel­en­lust oder Geist­liche Hirt­en-Lied­er (1657). The melody is more commonly associated with the Anglican hymn At Even Ere the Sun Was Set. In the Liturgy of the Hours The Setting Sun is used during Ordinary Time for Evening Prayer.


Tune: Angelus

IAM SOL RECEDIT IGNEUS by St. Ambrose (Public Domain)

Iam sol recedit igneus:
Tu lux perennis Unitas,
nostris, beata Trinitas,
infunde lumen cordibus.

Te mane laudum carmine,
Te deprecamur vespere;
digneris ut te supplices
laudemus inter caelites.

Patri, simulque Filio,
tibique sancte Spiritus,
sicut fuit, sit iugiter
saeclum per omne gloria.

Ambrosian Chant