Twist, Joseph: Hymn of Ancient Lands


Hymn of Ancient Lands (2015)

nu scylun hergan hefaenricaes uard
metudæs maecti end his modgidanc
uerc uuldurfadur swe he uundra gihwaes
eci dryctin or astelidæ
he aerist scop aelda barnum
heben til hrofe halig scepen

Nunc laudare debemus auctorem regni cælestis, potentiam creatoris, et consilium illius facta Patris gloriæ: quomodo ille, cum sit æternus Deus, omnium miraculorum auctor exstitit; qui primo filiis hominum cælum pro culmine tecti dehinc terram custos humani generis creavit, omnipotens.

Now we shall praise the Guardian of heaven’s kingdom, the might of the architect, and his purpose, the work of the father of glory as He, the eternal lord, established the beginning of wonders. For the children of men He created heaven.

tha middungeard moncynnæs uard
eci dryctin æfter tiadæ
firum foldu frea allmectig

Then the guardian of mankind, the eternal lord, afterwards appointed middle earth the land for men; Lord almighty.

Text: from Caedmon’s Hymn, translated by Bede
Music: Joseph Twist (b. 1982)