O Thou, the central orb (Charles Wood)

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Editor: John Henry Fowler (added 2001-01-09).   Score information: 316 kbytes   Copyright: CPDL
Edition notes: Updated with revisions submitted by Nick Landauer of Cantemus Reigate - 2/16/2006.

General Information

Title: O Thou, the Central Orb
Composer: Charles Wood

Number of voices: 4vv  Voicing: SATB
Genre: Sacred, Anthems
Language: English
Instruments: organ
Published:

Description:

There is an urban myth in several choirs that the penultimate line should read "transforming clay". Ingenious though this correction is (and its ingenuity is no doubt why it has had, and still has, such wide appeal), it is not correct, as a look at Wood's original manuscript of the piece confirms; moreover, it is a misconstrual of the text. Although musically the phrase does appear to start a new clause, it needs to be read in the context of the whole verse; this demonstrates that the sense is "a day of transformation for souls that were formerly unclean". In other words, "transforming" is an adjective, not a participle.

I hope that clears that one up!

External websites:

Original text and translations

Original text:

English.png English text O Thou, the central orb of righteous love,
Pure beam of the most High, eternal Light
Of this our wintry world, Thy radiance bright
Awakes new joy in faith, hope soars above.

Come, quickly come, and let thy glory shine,
Gilding our darksome heaven with rays Divine.

Thy saints with holy lustre round Thee move,
As stars about thy throne, set in the height
Of God's ordaining counsel, as Thy sight
Gives measured grace to each, Thy power to prove.

Let Thy bright beams disperse the gloom of sin,
Our nature all shall feel eternal day
In fellowship with thee, transforming day
To souls erewhile unclean, now pure within. Amen.

H. R. Bramley