The Truth from Above (Jennifer Bastable)

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• (Posted 2023-11-01)  CPDL #76862:       

Editor: Jennifer Bastable (submitted 2023-11-01).   Score information: Letter, 12 pages, 439 kB   Copyright: Personal

Edition notes:

General Information

Title: The Truth from Above
Composer: Jennifer Bastable
Lyricist:
Number of voices: 6vv   Voicing: SMzATBarB
Genre: Secular, Christmas (secular)

Language: English
Instruments: A cappella

First published:
Description: A Christmas carol in six parts (S Mz A T Bar B) the words taken from a broadside ballad that is best known from Vaughan Williams's arrangement of a Herefordshire folk song.

Several verses are marked to be sung by soloists from within the choir, but could be performed tutti if preferred.

Original text and translations

English text

This is the truth sent from above,
The truth of God, the God of Love,
Therefore don’t turn me from the door,
But hearken all, both rich and poor.

The first thing which I will relate,
It is that God did man create;
The next thing which to you I’ll tell,
Woman was made with him to dwell.

Then after this ’twas God’s own choice
To place them both in Paradise,
There to remain from evil free,
Except they eat of such a tree.

But they did eat, which was a sin,
And thus their ruin did begin;
They ruin'd themselves, ruined you and me,
And all of our posterity.

We thus were heirs to endless woes,
Till God the Lord did interpose,
For so his promise soon did run,
That he’d redeem us by his son.

For he is merciful and kind,
Ands bids you seek and you shall find,
So seek, O seek of God above
For saving grace that works by love.

For he in love to use behaved
To show us how we might be saved,
And if you want to know the way,
Be pleased to hear what he did say.