‘Ne Irascaris Domine’ and ‘Civitas Sancti Tui’ (William Byrd)

VOCES8 performs William Byrd’s double motet ‘Ne Irascaris Domine’ and ‘Civitas Sancti Tui’ in the Gresham Centre in London.

Text

Ne irascaris, Domine, satis

et ne ultra memineris iniquitatis nostrae.

Ecce, respice, populus tuus omnes nos.

Civitas sancti tui facta est deserta.

Sion deserta facta est, Jerusalem desolata est.

(Isaiah 64 v. 9)

Translation

Be not angry, O Lord, still,

neither remember our iniquity for ever.

Behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people.

The holy cities are a wilderness.

Sion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.

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