Music Notes for Pentecost 23 — October 27, 2024
Panis angelicus – Alexander L’Estrange (b. 1974)
Click to watch the video on Youtube.
Panis angelicus is the second-to-last section of the hymn Sacris solemniis, which was written by Saint Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century. Panis angelicus is Latin for “bread of angels” or “angelic bread.” The hymn was originally written for the feast of Corpus Christi, and has been set by many composers, including Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Cesar Franck, Palestrina, and Camille Saint-Saëns.
This Sunday’s communion motet in church is a setting for accompanied upper voices of this ancient hymn by the contemporary British composer Alexander L’Estrange. The well-known text is set to an exquisite, soaring melody, showcasing L’Estrange’s gift for jazz-infused harmonies, and beautiful, yet accessible melodic lines.
Thus angels’ bread is made bread for us today:
the living bread from heaven with figures dost away:
O wondrous gift indeed!
the poor and lowly may upon their Lord and Master feed.
Thee, therefore, we implore, O Godhead, One in Three,
so may thou visit us as we now worship thee;
and lead us on thy way, that we at last may see
the light wherein thou dwellest aye. Amen.
Gerald Harder