William Harris and John Donne

    By
    Catholic Insight
    -
    William Henry Harris (1883 - 1973) (wikipedia.org)

    We missed our usual Sunday musical offering, so here is a beautiful modern piece I recently came across, by the English organist and composer, William Harris (1883 – 1973) who held various appointments throughout the realm, including at one point giving chorister lessons to a teenage Princess Elizabeth.

    This motet, first heard October 29, 1959, is based on a poem by John Donne (1572 – 1631), Bring Us, O Lord God:

    Bring us, o Lord God, at our last awakening
into the house and gate of Heaven, 
to enter into that gate and dwell in that house, 
where there shall be no darkness nor dazzling, but one equal light; 
no noise nor silence, but one equal music;
no fears or hopes, but one equal possession;
no ends or beginnings, but one equal eternity, 
in the habitations of thy glory and dominion, 
world without end.

    And listen for the sublime, final Amen.