This edition was prepared by Barry Johnston — free to download, print, rehearse and perform.
Caelestis
Staff Notation • Sacred
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2 editions of this piece
Different typesettings and voicings of the same work. This page shows the main edition; the others are below.
SATB · Barry Johnston
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Caelestis by Jacob French — Lyrics
1. Rise, my soul, and stretch thy wings,
Thy better portion trace,
Rise from transitory things,
Towards heaven, thy native place;
Sun, and moon and stars decay,
Time shall soon this earth remove,
Rise, my soul, and haste away,
To Seats prepared above.
2. Rivers to the ocean run,
Nor stay in all their course;
Fire ascending seeks the sun,
Both speed them to their source;
So a soul that's born of God,
Pants to view his glorious face;
Upwards tends to his abode,
To rest in his embrace.
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About Caelestis
Jacob French's Caelestis opens with a sense of urgent yearning, the SATB voices weaving together in a rich texture that propels the text forward. The composer effectively captures the spiritual aspiration of the lyrics, which speak of the soul's desire to transcend earthly concerns and ascend to its heavenly home. The music mirrors the text's imagery of natural forces – rivers flowing to the sea, fire reaching for the sun – as metaphors for the soul's inevitable journey towards God. This piece offers a powerful setting of a text that is both a call to detachment from the material world and a joyful anticipation of eternal peace.
