descant orig. deschaunt — OF. deschant (mod. déchant) — medL. discantus part-song, refrain f. L. dis- asunder, apart + cantus song; The present form is due to partial assim. to L.

St. Patrick's Breastplate

stPatrickThe text is a Lorica, a traditional Celtic form of protective prayer cohabiting the Latin word for armor, hence the English name 'Breastplate.' This text is found in the 7th C. Liber Hymnorum, in an ancient Celtic dialect, and where it was attributed to St. Patrick (5th C.). A translation of the original Lorica is available here. A Latin version later appears, in the 9th C. Book of Armagh, of which the Irish Diocese of Meath has written a commentary. These documents are all housed and on display at the library of Trinity College, Dublin. The tune was originally arranged and harmonized by C.V. Stanford, but most hymnals publish the more familiar harmonization by Ralph Vaughn Williams. The text was translated into metrical form for singing by Cecil Frances Alexander (Once in Royal David's City, All Things Bright and Beautiful).

 

Image: St Patrick, Slane abbey

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St. Patrick version 3.2.7

 

downloadOrgan Score

 

 

 

audio demo

opening half verse
full verse
deirdre (middle tune, 2x)
descant, full verse
  (at 2:03 / -1:03)

 

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Creative Commons 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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