Words: Compline hymn Te lucis ante terminum. Latin verses 1 and 2 from Office of Compline, Liber Usualis. English verses. 1, 2, and 4 from The Hymnal 1982.
Music: plainsong, mode 8; polyphony by Kevin Siegfried (b. 1969)
Recording: The Compline Choir, live broadcast , 10 Jun 2012
Te lucis ante terminum,
Rerum Creator poscimus,
Ut pro tua clementia
Sis praesul et custodia.
To you before the close of day,
Creator of all things we pray
That in your constant clemency
Our guard and keeper you would be.
Procul recedant somnia,
Et noctium phantasmata;
Hostemque nostrum comprime,
Ne polluantur corpora.
Save us from troubled, restless sleep,
From all ill dreams your children keep;
So calm our minds that fears may cease
And rested bodies wake in peace.
Almighty Father, hear our cry
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord Most High,
Whom with the Spirit we adore
For ever and for evermore.
Back: Example 14: God be in my headNext: Example 16: God is with us