Augsburg Fortress

Scored for SATB a cappella with tenor solo, this haunting and poignant Advent motet is based on a text by Charles Coffin (1676-1749):

In night’s dim shadows lying,
Our limbs fast lock’d in sleep,
To thee, with faithful sighing,
Our souls their vigil keep.

Desire of every nation,
Hear, Lord, our piteous cry;
Thou Word, the world’s salvation,
Uplift us where we lie.

Lord, be thine Advent hasten’d,
Lest sin thy people mar;
The gates which Adam fasten’d—
The gates of heav’n, unbar...