Deep
peace of the running wave to you.
Deep peace of the flowing air to you.
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you.
Deep peace of the shining stars to you.
Deep peace of the gentle night to you.
Moon and stars pour their healing light on you.
Deep peace of Christ,
of Christ the light of the world to you.
Deep peace of Christ to you.
For the Beauty of the Earth, the Song and the Story
Composer Folliot S. Pierpoint Wrote the Song, For the Beauty of the Earth
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England-born Folliot S. Pierpoint (1835-1917) was a graduate of Queens
College, Cambridge University. He chose teaching as a profession and
traveled from place to place throughout his life, teaching in various
schools. He eventually retired from academics to become a writer.
During his 82 years of life, Pierpoint published seven volumes of
poetry. Many of his writings spoke of his love for nature. He is most
remembered for the hymn For the Beauty of the Earth, first published as The Sacrifice of Praise in 1864.
For the Beauty of the Earth is mostly commonly sung to the tune of Dix,
written by German composer and organist Conrad Kocher (1786-1872) in
1838. It was originally sung as a hymn for communion in Anglican
services. It has since become a favorite for Thanksgiving services, and
for Sunday School Children. It was sung in the 1994 movie version of Little Women. The original version of the hymn had eight stanzas. Below are listed those most commonly still sung.
For the Beauty of the Earth
For the beauty of the earth
For the Glory of the skies,
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies:
Refrain:
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
this our joyful hymn of grateful praise.
Alternative (original) refrain:
Christ, our God, to Thee we raise
This, our sacrifice of praise.
For the beauty of each hour
Of the day and of the night,
Hill and vale and tree and flow'r
Sun and Moon and stars of light
Refrain
For the joy of human love,
Brother, sister, parent, child.
Friends on earth and friends above
For all gentle thoughts and mild.
Refrain
For each perfect gift of Thine
To our race so freely given.
Graces human and divine
Flow'rs of earth and buds of heav'n.
Refrain
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory.” (Isaiah 6:3)
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Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was born in the town of Palestrina, outside of Rome, between 1525 and 1526, and died February 2, 1594 in Rome. The Missa Papae Marcelli
was published in 1567; the work was likely composed in the years before
then. The score calls for a chorus of soprano, alto, tenor, and bass
divided into six parts (with the addition of a second soprano part in
the Agnus Dei II). These are the first San Francisco Symphony performances. Performance time: about seventeen minutes.
The Missa Papae Marcelli (Pope Marcellus Mass),
composed in the late 1550s or early 1560s in memory of the short-reigned
Pope Marcellus II, is considered the most famous of Giovanni Pierluigi
da Palestrina’s more than one hundred Mass settings. The Mass’s
popularity has endured, in part due to its perfect balance of form and
feeling (a hallmark of the composer) but also to a legend that arose
around the piece shortly after Palestrina’s death.
Palestrina is credited with “saving” church music after the Catholic
Church’s Council of Trent (1545-63) decried liturgical music that was
“lascivious or impure.” Among the offenses cited were masses and motets
based on bawdy secular tunes and elaborate polyphonic writing that
obscured the words of the Mass. In composing the Missa Papae Marcelli,
Palestrina gave the Council what it wanted: clean, singable lines that
allowed for clear declamation of the natural drama of the text. As a
result, composers were allowed to continue to write polyphonic music and
music was saved (or so the story goes). It seems unlikely that the Missa Papae Marcelli
was written with the intent of saving music, but was rather the work of
a career church musician who (like J.S. Bach) was willing to make a few
minor adjustments to fit certain requirements because it was the
sensible thing to do.
Palestrina’s flexibility and skill as a composer is on display in the selections from the Missa Papae Marcelli heard
this evening. Set for choir in six parts (soprano, alto, divided tenors
and basses), Palestrina gives equal weight to each voice, resulting in a
supremely balanced vocal texture. In the opening Kyrie eleison
(Lord, have mercy), Palestrina weaves two simple melodic threads into a
rich tapestry of cascading lines. In the Gloria, different groups of
voices trade phrases antiphonally, before coming together in exalted
tuttis on phrases such as gratias agimus tibi (we give thanks to you) and, later, Domine fili unigenite, Jesu Christe (O Lord, the only begotten Son, Jesus Christ). A more introspective section at Qui tollis peccata mundi (You who take away the sins of the world) provides dramatic contrast before launching into a joyous conclusion beginning at Quoniam tu solus sanctus
(For you only are holy). The Agnus Dei is set in two sections. The
first iteration of Agnus Dei recalls the melodic shape and feeling of
the Kyrie while the second Agnus Dei introduces anadditional soprano
part to the texture and explores all manner of canonic imitation as the
work comes to a tranquil close.
Tu es Petrus
et super hanc petram aedificabo ecclesiam meam
et portae inferi non praevalebunt adversus eam.
Et tibi dabo claves regni caelorum.
Quodcumque ligaveris super terram, erit ligatum et in caelis,
et quodcumque solveris super terram, erit solutum et in caelis.
Et tibi dabo claves regni caelorum.
French translation
Tu es Pierre
et sur cette pierre je bâtirai mon Église.
Et les portes de l’enfer ne prévaudront point contre elle,
Et je te donnerai les clés du royaume des cieux.
Chinese translation
你是伯多祿，
在這磐石上，我要建立我的教會。
Portuguese translation
Tu és Pedro
e sobre esta rocha edificarei minha Igreja:
e as portas do inferno não prevalecerão contra ela.
E eu te darei as chaves do reino dos céus.
German translation
Du bist Petrus,
und auf diesen Felsen will ich bauen meine Gemeinde,
und die Pforten der Hölle sollen sie nicht überwältigen.
Und will dir des Himmelreichs Schlüssel geben.
English translation
You are Peter,
And upon this Rock I will build My Church:
and the gates of hell shall not overcome it.
And I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.
Whatever you bind upon earth shall be bound in heaven,
and whatever you release upon earth shall be released in heaven,
and I will give you the keys to the kingdom of Heaven.
Polish translation
Ty jesteś Piotr (czyli skała)
I na tej skale zbuduję mój Kościół
Dutch translation
Gij zijt Petrus, de steenrots,
en op deze rots zal Ik mijn Kerk bouwen.
Hungarian translation
Te Péter (szikla) vagy,
és erre a sziklára építem Egyházamat
és a pokol kapui nem vesznek erőt rajta.
És neked adom a mennyország kulcsait.
Senex puerum portabat:
puer autem senem regebat:
quem virgo peperit,
et post partum virgo permansit:
ipsum quem genuit, adoravit.
English translation
An ancient held up an Infant,
but the Infant upheld the ancient.
A Child he was that a Virgin bore,
and kept her as Virgin evermore.
The one whom she brought forth, she did adore. Translation by David Fraser
An old man carried the child,
yet the child ruled the old man.
Him whom the virgin had borne
- after which she remained for ever a virgin -
she herself worshipped. Translation by Mick Swithinbank
The old man carried the child,
but the child ruled the old man;
him whom the Virgin brought forth,
and after childbirth remained a virgin
him whom she bore, she adored.
Latin text
French translation
Chinese translation
Portuguese translation
German translation
English translation
Polish translation
Dutch translation
Hungarian translation
