This edition was prepared by Rufus Brodersen — free to download, print, rehearse and perform.
A Song of Battle
Staff Notation • Sacred, Sacred songs
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A Song of Battle by Charles Villiers Stanford — Lyrics
Canticum graduum. Nisi quia Dominus erat in nobis, dicat nunc Israël,
nisi quia Dominus erat in nobis: cum exsurgerent homines in nos,
forte vivos deglutissent nos; cum irasceretur furor eorum in nos,
forte aquae absorbuisset nos;
torrentem pertransivit anima nostra;
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About A Song of Battle
Stanford sets the Latin text of Psalm 124, a Song of Degrees, which speaks of deliverance from peril. The choir director will immediately recognise the resonant imagery of being saved from the jaws of enemies, from drowning, and from the fowler’s snare. The composer’s setting here is for solo voice, bringing an intimacy to the profound expressions of gratitude and reliance on God. The text acknowledges the vulnerability of the singer’s soul, comparing it to a bird snatched from the hunter’s trap. Ultimately, it proclaims, 'Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth'.
