Descant to the hymn tune ZEUCH MICH. Free score with harmonized descant. This is the tune also referred to as ALL SAINTS and ALL SAINTS OLD - Audio: intro ad lib - two hymnal verses - organ ad lib - harmonized descantFree score.
1 hymnal (harm.Wm. H. Monk)
Who are these like stars appearing,
these, before God's throne who stand?
Each a golden crown is wearing;
who are all this glorious band?
Alleluia! hark, they sing,
praising loud their heavenly King.
2. hymnal satb.
These are they whose hearts were riven,
sore with woe and anguish tried,
who in prayer full oft have striven
with the God they glorified;
now, their painful conflict o'er,
God has bid them weep no more.
3 descant
These, like priests, have watched and waited,
offering up to Christ their will,
soul and body consecrated,
day and night they serve him still.
Now in God's most holy place
blest they stand before his face.
The hymn "Who are these like stars appearing" was first published in Neuvennehrtes Gesangbilchlein (1719) as a 20-stanza hymn, the only known hymn by Lutheran cleric and school rector Theobald Heinrich Schenck; the original "Wer sind die vor Gottes Throne" ("Who are these before God's throne") was translated by Francis Elizabeth Cox, making its way into the canon of liturgically-disposed churches. It was paired with the chorale tune Zeuch mich, zeuch mich in 1892, which first appeared in Geistreiches Gesangbuch (Darmstadt, 1698). The meter is the same as that of another German favorite, the Easter hymn "He is risen, he is risen."
This tune is known by other names, including All Saints, All Saints Old, and Darmstadt.
additional references:
Catherine Winkworth's translation 11 verses.
A current German version 6 verses
Updated: Dec 2022
Descant verse:
These, like priests, have watched and waited, off'ring up to Christ their will;
soul and body consecrated, day and night they serve him still:
now in God's most holy place, blest they stand before his face.
– Anon Kirchengesänge, 1566
