Poem: Peace

Mosaic from the Hagia Sophia, Istanbul - Courtesy of Wikipedia  

Peace is by the Welch physician, author, and poet, Henry Vaughan (1621-1695). It was first published in his 1650 collection: Silex Scintillans (The Flaming Flint) and is included in the Poems for All Seasons Appendix of the Divine Office (1974).


Reading

PEACE by Henry Vaughan, 1650 (Public Domain)

My soul, there is a country
     Far beyond the stars,
Where stands a wingèd sentry
     All skillful in the wars :
There, above noise and danger,
     Sweet Peace sits crown'd with smiles,
And One born in a manger
     Commands the beauteous files.
He is thy gracious Friend,
     And—O my soul awake !—
Did in pure love descend,
     To die here for thy sake.
If thou canst get but thither,
     There grows the flower of Peace,
The Rose that cannot wither,
     Thy fortress, and thy ease.
Leave then thy foolish ranges ;
     For none can thee secure,
But One, who never changes,
     Thy God, thy life, thy cure.


Choral setting by Hubert Parry

Poem: At a Solemn Music

To His Celestial Consort Us Unite

At a Solemn Music is by the English poet, John Milton (1608-1674). It was first published in his collection, 1645 Poems. The British composer, Hubert Parry's setting of the ode: Blest Pair of Sirens was premiered in 1887 at a concert before Queen Victoria, celebrating her Golden Jubilee. In 2011 it was performed at the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. At a Solemn Music is included in the Poems for All Seasons Appendix of the Divine Office (1974).


Sung by the Choir of Winchester Cathedral

AT A SOLEMN MUSIC by John Milton

Blest pair of sirens, pledges of heaven's joy,
Sphere-born harmonious Sisters, Voice, and Verse,
Wed your divine sounds, and mixed power employ 
Dead things with inbreathed sense able to pierce,
And to our high-raised phantasy present,
That undisturbed song of pure content,
Ay sung before the sapphire-coloured throne
To him that sits theron
With saintly shout, and solemn jubilee,
Where the bright seraphim in burning row
Their loud uplifted angel trumpets blow,
And the cherubic host in thousand choirs
Touch their immortal harps of golden wires, 
With those just spirits that wear victorious palms,
Hymns devout and holy psalms
Singing everlastingly; 
That we on earth with undiscording voice
May rightly answer that melodious noise;
As once we did, till disproportioned sin
Jarred against nature's chime, and with harsh din
Broke the fair music that all creatures made
To their great Lord, whose love their motion swayed
In perfect diapason, whilst they stood
In first obedience, and their state of good.
O may we soon again renew that song,
And keep in tune with heaven, till God ere long
To his celestial consort us unite,
To live with him, and sing in endless morn of light.


Reading

We Turn to You, O God

O God of Every Nation

We Turn to You, O God was written by Fred Kaan (1929- 2009), a minister of the United Reform Church in the United Kingdom. A prolific hymn writer, Kaan often fashioned the lyrics from the subject matter of his sermons. The words are set to the tune, Intercessor by English composer, teacher, and music historian Sir. Hubert Parry (1848-1918), best known for his choral work, Jerusalem. In the Liturgy of the Hours We Turn to You, O God is used during Ordinary Time for Morning Prayer.