This edition was prepared by Raymond Nagem — free to download, print, rehearse and perform.
Great God and just, Z 186
Staff Notation • Sacred, Sacred songs
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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.
Solo high · Raymond Nagem
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Great God and just, Z 186 by Henry Purcell — Lyrics
Great God, and Just! How can'st thou see,
Dear God, our Misery,
And not in Mercy set us free?
Poor, miserable Man! How wert thou born?
Weak as the dewy Jewels of the Morn!
Wrapt up in tender Dust,
Guarded with Sins and Lust;
Who, like CourtFlatterers, wait,
To serve themselves in thy unhappy Fate:
Wealth is a Snare, and Poverty brings in
Inlets for Theft, paving the way for Sin;
Each perfum'd Vanity doth gently breathe
Sin in thy Soul, and whispers it to death:
Our Faults, like ulcerated Sores, do go
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About Great God and just, Z 186
Henry Purcell, a towering figure of English Baroque music, penned this solo sacred song. The text laments humanity's fallen state, a condition steeped in sin and vulnerability. The lyrics question the divine justice and mercy in the face of such pervasive human frailty, depicting man as weak and prone to corruption, comparing faults to festering sores. The singer is called upon to express the plea for divine intervention, a desperate cry for cleansing and redemption, evoking a powerful spiritual struggle. The solo high voicing allows for an intimate and poignant delivery of this deeply personal theological reflection.
