This edition was prepared by Barry Johnston — free to download, print, rehearse and perform.
Danbury
Staff Notation • Sacred, Hymns
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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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Danbury by William Billings — Lyrics
Oratio Moysi, hominis Dei. Domine, refugium factus es nobis a generatione in generationem.
Priusquam montes fierent, aut formaretur terra et orbis,
a saeculo et usque in saeculum tu es, Deus.
Ne avertas hominem in humilitatem: et dixisti: Convertimini, filii hominum.
Quoniam mille anni ante oculos tuos tamquam dies hesterna quae praeteriit: et custodia in nocte
quae pro nihilo habentur, eorum anni erunt.
Mane sicut herba transeat;
mane floreat, et transeat; vespere decidat, induret, et arescat.
Quia defecimus in ira tua, et in furore tuo turbati sumus.
Posuisti iniquitates nostras in conspectu tuo; saeculum nostrum in illuminatione vultus tui.
Quoniam omnes dies nostri defecerunt, et in ira tua defecimus.
Anni nostri sicut aranea meditabuntur;
dies annorum nostrorum in ipsis septuaginta anni.
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About Danbury
William Billings, a pioneering American composer, wrote this setting for SATB choir. The text draws from Psalm 90, also known as the Prayer of Moses. It opens with a reflection on God's eternal nature, contrasting it with the fleeting brevity of human life. The lyrics powerfully convey the frailty of humanity, comparing our years to a passing day, like grass that flourishes in the morning and withers by evening. It speaks of our transgressions laid bare before God and the swift passage of our days, consumed by His wrath. This sacred work, presented in both Latin and English, offers a profound meditation on mortality and divine judgment.
