This edition was prepared by Douglas Walczak — free to download, print, rehearse and perform.
Funeral Hymn
Staff Notation • Secular, Partsongs
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Funeral Hymn by Gustav Holst — Lyrics
Away O Death thy work is ended now,
Far from us on thy lonely path go thou,
Thy path on which no other God may tread,
This mound we raise doth part us from the dead.
Now may the great ordainer hear our chant,
May he accept our sacrifice and grant
that in due course treads the eternal way,
As though the ages day doth follow day.
O woman whose eyes with tears are dim,
Who liest there upon the ground with him
Who once did love thee, once did call the wife,
Arise and join again the world of life.
Mother of all, A child to thee we bring;
Earth, holy source whence all our life doth spring,
Here is one who yearns for thee again.
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About Funeral Hymn
Gustav Holst's Funeral Hymn is a secular SATB setting of an English text. The words offer solace and hope at a time of loss, bidding death to depart and asking for acceptance from the 'great ordainer'. The text shifts its focus from the deceased to the grieving partner, and then to a maternal Earth as a source of life and renewal. Holst's setting would have been conceived for performance by amateur choirs, offering a profound yet accessible musical reflection on mortality and the cycle of life.
