Froxfield Choir

Henry Purcell: I Was Glad (1682)

Written in 1682-3. At this time, Purcell was Keeper of the King’s Instruments and Organist of the Chapel Royal. The anthem was performed by the choristers of the Chapel Royal, along with his other famous anthem My Heart is Inditing, for the coronation of King James II in 1865. The text is from Psalm 122 v1,4-7 followed by the Gloria.

I was glad when they said unto me : We will go into the house of the Lord.
For thither the tribes go up, even the tribes of the Lord : to testify unto Israel, to give thanks unto the Name of the Lord.
For there is the seat of judgement : even the seat of the house of David.
O pray for the peace of Jerusalem : they shall prosper that love thee.
Peace be within thy walls : and plenteousness within thy palaces.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.