CE Wells Cathedral 8th June 2011

[bach736]

Well, you said it was 'extremely short', which most reasonable people would take to mean that you thought it should have been longer. Perhaps the redoubtable Wendy Wilby, herself a precentor, said to Philip, 'Don't make it too long, dear, it's only for that lot down the road'.

Wanted : FoR3 host - must have GSOH.

[mopsus]

I was puzzled by a variant in the penultimate line of Bishop Ken's text:'angelic host' in the introit, 'ye heavenly host' in the hymn (and everywhere else I've encountered it).

[bach736]

You're clearly an English Hymnal man, Mopsus. Most hymn books, as you rightly say, have 'heavenly host' - except Laudate, which strangely omits the hymn altogether (shame on you, Stephen Dean).

However, it has always been 'angelic' in editions of Ancient & Modern (and Revised) and has carried through to Common Praise.