SINE NOMINE
Ralph Vaughan Williams composed SINE NOMINE for this text and pub lished it in the English Hymnalm 1906. Vaughan Williams wrote two harmonizations— one for unison stanzas and one for choral stanzas. The tune’s title means “without name” and follows the Renaissance tradition of naming certain compositions “Sine Nomine” if they were not settings for preexisting tunes. Equipped with a “walking” bass, SINE NOMINE is a glorious marching tune for this great text. Many consider this tune to be among the finest of twentieth-century hymn tunes (it is, perhaps, the cathedral’s equivalent to ‘When the Saints Go Marching In”). Allowing the “alleluia” phrase to enter before our expectation of it is a typical and very effective Vaughan Williams touch. Sing the unison and harmony stanzas as given in the Psalter Hymnal. Try assigning the various stanzas to antiphonal groups: a “heavenly” ensemble for stanzas 1-2, an “earthly” ensemble for stanzas 3 and 5, and the entire congregation on stanzas 4,6, and 7. Liturgical Use: Traditionally for All Saints Day (the first Sunday in November) and similar church festivals; worship that emphasizes the church as militant and triumphant; funerals.
Stanza Arc
The narrative or theological arc traced by this tune's stanzas: From saints' earthly rest through Christ's sustaining power to eschatological glory and eternal communion