This edition was prepared by Allen Garvin — free to download, print, rehearse and perform.
Attollite portas
Staff Notation • Sacred, Motets
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3 editions of this piece
Different typesettings and voicings of the same work. This page shows the main edition; the others are below.
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Attollite portas by William Byrd — Lyrics
Prima sabbati. Psalmus David. Domini est terra, et plenitudo ejus; orbis terrarum, et universi qui habitant in eo.
Quia ipse super maria fundavit eum, et super flumina praeparavit eum.
Quis ascendet in montem Domini? aut quis stabit in loco sancto ejus?
Innocens manibus et mundo corde, qui non accepit in vano animam suam,
nec juravit in dolo proximo suo:
hic accipiet benedictionem a Domino, et misericordiam a Deo salutari suo.
Haec est generatio quaerentium eum, quaerentium faciem Dei Jacob.
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About Attollite portas
William Byrd's Attollite portas is a majestic setting of a Latin sacred text, scored for an expansive SATTTB choir. The work opens with a rich, imitative texture, building towards moments of powerful homophony. The composer masterfully depicts the unfolding narrative of the text, which draws from Psalm 24. It begins with declarations of God's dominion over the earth and calls for purity of heart and action, culminating in a triumphant acclamation of the 'king of glory' and God's mighty strength. The contrasting sections, from intimate pleas to grand pronouncements, offer a wide expressive palette for a large choir, making this a significant motet from the Renaissance.
