Holy Holy Holy (Sanctus Sanctus Sanctus)
Text
Author
The text is comprised of two sections from the Bible: Isaiah 6:3 and part of Matthew 21:9. The original editor who combined the text is unclear. The original text is:
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus
Dominus Deus Sabaoth.
Pleni sunt caeli et terra gloria tua.
Hosanna in excelsis.
Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini.
Hosanna in excelsis.
which would be literally translated as:
Holy, holy, holy
Lord God of Hosts.
Heavens and the earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
=== Translations/Challenges ===The English version of Sanctus has been translated many times, mostly to keep with the current language.
Editor's Choice
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest
Music
Tune
There is no official tune, and there have been many different arrangements of the text for Sanctus. The original was accompanied by standard plainchant.
Arrangements
The first English arrangement was written by John Merbecke in The Common Book of Prayer in 1550. This was notated in neumes.
Editor's Choice
As stated, there are many modern versions of the Sanctus to be sung by a choir. This arrangement by Craig Courtney is rather beautiful as performed by the 2009 OMEA Honors choir.
Background
Author biography
Author's circumstances
Historical setting
The historical setting of the Sanctus is interesting. The original publication of the text in English (and subsequently the music) was published in 1549 (and arranged in 1550). The original Latin text was used early in the Catholic church's history, along side other chants such as Kyrie which were part of a set loosely related to the Trisagion.