01 November 2007

All Saints

For all the saints, who from their labors rest,
Who Thee by faith before the world confessed,
Thy Name, O Jesus, be forever blessed.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress and their Might;
Thou, Lord, their Captain in the well fought fight;
Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true Light.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

O blest communion, fellowship divine!
We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
Yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

O may Thy soldiers, faithful, true and bold,
Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old,
And win with them the victor’s crown of gold.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long,
Steals on the ear the distant triumph song,
And hearts are brave, again, and arms are strong.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

The golden evening brightens in the west;
Soon, soon to faithful warriors comes their rest;
Sweet is the calm of paradise the blessed.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

But lo! there breaks a yet more glorious day;
The saints triumphant rise in bright array;
The King of glory passes on His way.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

From earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast,
Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,
And singing to Father, Son and Holy Ghost:
Alleluia, Alleluia!

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

In the new LSB, is this hymn's melody still Ralph Vaughn Williams' Sine Nomine? If so, you think the committee could have found a better tune than this hum-drum, mediocre and unispiring work!

William Weedon said...

CHRISTOPHER!!!! Them be fightin' words. YES, it is Sine Nomine and I will argue with you till the cows come home that it is anything but ho-hum, mediocre or uninspiring. To me and to my members, this hymn defines the day. We sing it but once a year and we long for the chance to give that text voice to that tune!

Anonymous said...

Fight with me if you wish, Fr. Weedon, but, as a music lover and critic, I can absolutely not stand that tune. Unfortunately, because the meter is 10.10.10 with 2 Alleluias, I don't think there is another hymn melody you can use that is any better, unless you use something that is 10.10.10.10 and have two syllables left over like O quanta qualia. Just a suggestion.

William Weedon said...

Christopher has thrown down a gauntlet of sorts. I ask all of you who love the tune to "For All the Saints" to speak now or forever hold your peace. ;)

I DO note that in the Western Rite hymnal, the Orthodox sing this hymn to this tune as #226 (SAH).

Dan @ Necessary Roughness said...

Sine Nomine, sine qua non.

Sing it moderately fast, and LOUD.

Anonymous said...

Well, I'm not Western Rite, so I don't have to worry about singing it. Again, the text of the hymn is totally unobjectionable. I just hate the melody. Let the war begin!

Anonymous said...

my friend Beth...was real upset today, it's her favorite song. Unfortunately we didn't sing it at compline tonight...and they only sang 2 verses in chapel this morning... a capella. She was NOT a happy camper.

Anonymous said...

I think the tune is awesome, it's within my range, it's got good tempo, and you can sing it loud :)
standing in the church with my fellow parishoners belting out you get the sense from the volume that you really are singing with All the Saints :)

Anonymous said...

acK! that's Darcy not darct

Anonymous said...

A few years ago I made the mistake of scheduling this hymn as a distribution hymn. I got so many complaints from people who only got to sing part of it. They don't only love the words. They also love the melody. Count me as one of them! But it must not be played in a plodding way. We have several very good organists here, who do it justice.

Anonymous said...

I've told my family I want it sung at my funeral! St. Paul's choir has sung it for so many beloved saints who've gone home. Add the brass to the instrumentation, like we commonly do it, and it outshines anything else we have ever tended to come up with

Kevin Messer

Dixie said...

Was there a stanza to this song in LW that included something about "popes and kings"...it always reminded me of some coffee I picked up in Puerto Rico once...Alto Grande, the coffee of popes and kings.

Well, I have never been much for Euro hymnody accompanied by organ music but I did like this song. In fact...it probably was my favorite. So even I must unfortunately disagree with my Orthodox brethren, Christopher. But we will agree on the important things! ;)

Anonymous said...

Wow, I'd like to see such a display of defence for the hymnody of Heerman or Schutz or Cruger or Bach, for crying out loud.

Maria said...

I like the tune. But it must be played with a full registration (some trumpets really help), and with a good feel of the beat. No plodding!