Alleluia and Haec Dies

This jubilant setting of the Easter Sequence text "Haec Dies" is by Nicola Vicentino. Sung in Latin, it is appropriate for Easter Sunday and the days following. The SATB choir will find ample opportunity to express the joy and exultation called for by the text, "This is the day which the Lord hath made: let us rejoice and be glad in it." Vicentino frames this central theme with verses drawn from Psalms, which are traditionally sung during the Easter Octave, including "Give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever" and "Let them now that are redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy." This sacred motet offers a powerful and uplifting musical expression of the Easter celebration.