At the first Easter Vigil I ever attended I heard Edward Bairstow’s “Sing Ye to the Lord.” The choir begins with a triumphant singing of the beginning of the Song of Moses: “Sing Ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously! Pharoah’s chariots and his horse hath he cast into the sea.” The triumph fades and a joyous and beautiful verse from ” At the Lamb’s High Feast We Sing ” bubbles up:
Mighty Victim from the sky,
Hell’s fierce powers beneath Thee lie;
Thou hast conquered in the fight,
Thou hast brought us life and light;
Now no more can death appall,
Now no more the grave enthrall;
Thou hast opened Paradise,
And in Thee Thy saints shall rise.
A rousing chorus of “Alleluias” finishes the piece off. Here’s the choir of S. Clement’s, Philadelphia singing, with string, brass, and tympani accompaniment.
While I have you, can I ask you something? I’ll be quick.
Twenty-five thousand people subscribe to First Things. Why can’t that be fifty thousand? Three million people read First Things online like you are right now. Why can’t that be four million?
Let’s stop saying “can’t.” Because it can. And your year-end gift of just $50, $100, or even $250 or more will make it possible.
How much would you give to introduce just one new person to First Things? What about ten people, or even a hundred? That’s the power of your charitable support.
Make your year-end gift now using this secure link or the button below.
