This edition was prepared by James Gibb — free to download, print, rehearse and perform.
Great King of Gods
Staff Notation • Sacred, Anthems, Verse anthems
Preview
0
0
3 editions of this piece
Different typesettings and voicings of the same work. This page shows the main edition; the others are below.
Subscribed as
Want Sunday picks sent to another address too?
Free weekly email
Your choir should not be left out in what's trending
Sunday mass selections, psalms, and trending songs in your area — straight to your inbox.
Great King of Gods by Orlando Gibbons — Lyrics
Great King of Gods, whose gracious hand hath led
Our sacred sovereign head
Unto the place where first our bliss was bred:
O send thine angels to his blessed side,
And bid them there abide,
To be at once his guardian and his guide.
Dear be his life, all glorious be his days,
And prospering all his ways.
Late add thy last crown to his peace and praise,
And when he hath outlived the world’s long date,
Let thy last change translate
His living flesh to thy celestial state.
Amen.
The text of the later 'Great Lord of Lords' (which can be substituted without too many underlay problems) is as follows:
1. Great Lord of Lords, supreme immortal King,
O give us grace to sing thy praise,
Read full lyrics
About Great King of Gods
Orlando Gibbons’s Great King of Gods is a five-part anthem for SAATB voices. The music opens with a sense of majesty, and the texture often shifts between fuller choral passages and more intimate verse sections. The English text is a prayer for a sovereign, asking for divine protection and guidance. It petitions for a long and prosperous life, culminating in a plea for a blessed afterlife. The directness and earnestness of the petition are reflected in the music’s clear and purposeful melodic lines. The composer’s skill in setting words to music is evident in the way the melodic shape and harmonic colour enhance the devotional sentiment of the text.
