←Menu of The Passing of the Essenes

Two Chants for “The Passing of the Essenes” (Cataloged as H. 180 in Imogen Holst’s A Thematic Catalogue of Gustav Holst’s Music). Scored for soloist and unison male chorus (TB) unaccompanied.

The lyrics are from

• Psalm 11 (“In the Lord put I my trust…”)
• The Song of the Three Holy Children / Benedicite (“All the powers of the Lord: Praise and Exalt him above all for ever.”)

Holst designed these chants in a quasi-parlante / Gregorian style, specifying flexible rhythm that follows speech patterns rather than strict meter.

The music has never been commercially recorded.

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