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The text 'Christ, the fair glory of the holy angles,' is a translation of a 9th C. office hymn for the Feast of St Michael and All Angels, Christe sanctorum decus angelorum. This hymn names the celestial visitors who have graced this earth, and once again calls on them to renew their graces: Chrst the Savior, three archangels (Michael, defender; Gabriel, herald; Raphael, healer), Mary, the saints, and all the company of angels. The hymn concludes with a doxology.
The English text appeared in the 1906 hymnal, matched to Caelites plaudant, a French tune from the Rouen Antiphoner newly harmonized by Ralph Vaughan Williams, a majestic setting that is today a fixture for Michaelmas. The tune is one of very few that supports the the peculiar Greek poetic form known as Sapphic meter (11.11.11.5), named for the Greek poet who used this verse form for a significant portion of her work. The tune name means 'from heaven praise,' and is also sometimes spelled Coelites plaudant.
The Latin version of this hymn is also sung to another French tune from the same period, Christe sanctorum, which takes it's name from the words of the hymn, and in The Hymnal 1982, is given the honor of being hymn 1. .
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downloadsCoelites Plaudant version 1.4
audio demohymnal verse
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Organ Scorecopyright and license
The musical compositions by David Maurand on the public area of this website are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available; and instrumental and commissioned works - including versions of the descant arrangements above - are not governed under the Creative Commons license. Use the contact form at right to inquire regarding additional permissions and terms.
The license granted permits use for services and performance, but does not permit redistribution, sale or any commercial use without prior written consent; some arrangements are written with the permission of other copyright holders, and additional limitations may apply, which are noted on the score.
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