Deus Tuorum militum (#2 from 'Sechs kurze Hymnen oder Gradualien')

This setting of the Latin text Deus tuorum militum, a hymn to martyrs, is drawn from Václav Emanuel Horák’s collection Sechs kurze Hymnen oder Gradualien. Written for SATB choir, it would be appropriate for services commemorating saints or martyrs. The music follows the narrative of the text, beginning with the commemoration of the martyrs’ steadfastness in the face of worldly temptations and earthly pains, their willingness to shed blood for their faith, and concluding with a prayer for deliverance from sin and for eternal joy in the company of the saints.