17 May 2014: A Celebration of English Choral Music

Lord, let me know mine end Maurice Greene (1696-1755)
Lord, let me know mine end and the number of my days,
That I may be certified how long I have to live.
Behold, Thou hast made my days as it were a span long;
And mine age is as nothing in respect of Thee,
And verily, ev’ry man living is altogether vanity.
For man walketh in a vain shadow
And disquieteth himself in vain;
He heapeth up riches and cannot tell who shall gather them.
And now, Lord, what is my hope?
Truly my hope is ev’n in Thee.
Hear my prayer, O Lord
And with Thine ears consider my calling,
Hold not Thy peace at my tears.
O spare me a little, that I may recover my strength
Before I go hence and be no more seen.
Thou knowest Lord Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts.
Shut not thy merciful ears unto our prayers;
But spare us, Lord most holy.
O God most mighty
O holy and most merciful Father
Thou most worthy Judge eternal
Suffer us not at our last hour
For any pains of death to fall from Thee. Amen.
Hear my prayer
Hear my prayer, Lord, and let my crying come unto Thee.
Henry Purcell
O clap your hands Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625)
O clap your hands together, all ye people,
O sing unto God with the voice of melody,
For the Lord is high and to be feared.
He is the great King upon all the earth, of all the earth.
He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet.
He shall choose out an heritage for us,
even the worship of Jacob, whom he loved.
God is gone up with a merry noise
and the Lord with the sound of the trumpet.
O sing praises unto our God,
O sing praises unto the Lord our King.