This classic Easter hymn, Finita iam sunt proelia (The Strife Is O’er), evolved over three centuries, in three countries (Italy, Germany & England), from the genius of at least four different writers: Palestrina’s Magnificat (two phrases extract, 1591), original Latin text by an anonymous German Monk (1695), translated by Francis Pott (1861), and the tune “Victory” by William Henry Monk (1861).
The resulting composition gives us a characteristically medieval feel of Christ's triumphant Resurrection.
Finita iam sunt proelia,
Est parta iam victoria:
Gaudeamus et canamus,
Alleluia.
The strife is o'er, the battle done;
Now is the Victor's triumph won;
O let the song of praise be sung.
Alleluya!
Composer: Noel Rawsthorne (1929-2019)
Organist: Christian Low
The 1912 Bevington & Sons organ at the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, Singapore