Product Description
This deeply expressive music for the powerful hymn-text is fitting especially for Holy Week. The author of the text is not known but is attributed to St. Bernard of Clairvaux. J. S. Bach wrote a well-known chorale to this text (in German). The full English text follows:
O sacred head, now wounded,
With grief and shame weighed down--
O sacred brow, surrounded
With thorns, thine only crown:
Once on a throne of glory,
Adorned with light divine;
Now all despised and gory,
I joy to call thee mine.
On me, as thou art dying,
O, turn thy pitying eye;
To thee for mercy crying,
Before thy cross I lie.
Thine, thine the bitter passion;
Thy pain is all for me;
Mine are the deep transgression;
My sins are all on thee.
What language can I borrow
To praise thee, heavenly Friend,
For all this dying sorrow,
Of all my woes the end?
O, can I leave thee ever?
Then do not thou leave me;
Lord, let me never, never
Outlive my love to thee.
Be near when I am dying;
Then close beside me stand;
Let me, while faint and sighing,
Lean calmly on thy hand:
These eyes, new faith receiving,
From thee shall never move,
For he who dies believing,
Dies safely--in thy love.
This product was created by a member of ArrangeMe, Hal Leonard's global self-publishing community of independent composers, arrangers, and songwriters. ArrangeMe allows for the publication of unique arrangements of both popular titles and original compositions from a wide variety of voices and backgrounds.