Come down, O love divine

Music: "Down Ampney" by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1890), ©Oxford University Press.
Text: Bianco da Siena (d. 1434?); tr. Littledale (1833-1890), alt.
Stanza 3 harmony by Harrison Oxley. ©Kevin Mayhew Ltd, 1996, alt.
Played by Matthew Middleton at Christ Church Cathedral, Indianapolis. June 2018.
1 Come down, O Love divine,
seek thou this soul of mine,
and visit it with thine own ardor glowing;
O Comforter, draw near,
within my heart appear,
and kindle it, thy holy flame bestowing.
2 O let it freely burn,
till earthly passions turn
to dust and ashes in its heat consuming;
and let thy glorious light
shine ever on my sight,
and clothe me round, the while my path illuming.
3 And so the yearning strong,
with which the soul will long,
shall far outpass the power of human telling;
for none can guess its grace,
till Love create a place
wherein the Holy Spirit makes a dwelling.

[@Jm4steam]

Very nice.

[@tonyanderton3521]

Thanks for posting, Mattilda. This has always been one of my favourite hymns.

[@chukwudebeluokudo8564]

Phenomenal interpretation and reharmonization of the last verse!