Two short metrical settings of the ‘Gloria in excelsis Deo’. I’ve tried to remain as faithful as possible to the English translations, and not take too many liberties with the text. The ‘Gloria’ is a difficult text to set to metre, as it jumps from one image or subject to another quite sharply, making it tricky to set out coherently in verse form. But I hope my ‘expansions’ are sufficiently in the spirit of the texts, which are provided below.
The first is a little more adventurous in the paraphrase of the modern text, whereas the second follows the traditional text fairly closely. The second would be suitable for a sung Eucharist in Eastertide (perhaps not on Easter Day itself, if you plan to sing ‘Jesus Christ is risen today’…)
1:
Alexander Crawford, after the 'Gloria in excelsis Deo'
Tune: Abbot's Leigh (NEH 185)
Glory be to God in heaven,
And to all his people, peace.
Heav’nly King, almighty Father,
May our worship never cease;
May our voices ever thank you,
Songs of blessing ever send,
May we always live to praise you,
For your glory without end.
Jesus, Son of God the Father,
Merciful beyond compare,
All our sin, by you forgiven;
Lamb of God, receive our prayer.
Jesus, you alone are holy,
Jesus, you alone are Lord,
With the Holy Spirit reigning,
And the Father—glorious God!
2:
Alexander Crawford, after the ‘Gloria in excelsis Deo’
Tune: Easter Hymn (NEH 110)
Glory be to God on high, Alleluia!
Peace to all beneath the sky, Alleluia!
Praise and blessing now we bring, Alleluia!
Worship, glory, to the King, Alleluia!
Praise to Christ, his only Son, Alleluia!
All our sin has he undone, Alleluia!
Grant us mercy, Lord, we pray, Alleluia!
And receive our prayer today, Alleluia!
For you are the Holy One, Alleluia!
Who, alone, the victory won, Alleluia!
With the Holy Spirit, Lord, Alleluia!
And the Father, glorious God, Alleluia!
Modern text
Glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth. Lord God, heavenly King, Almighty God and Father, we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory.
Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us; You are seated at the right hand of the Father: receive our prayer.
For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
Traditional text
Glory be to God on high And in earth peace, goodwill towards men, We praise thee, we bless thee, we worship thee, we glorify thee, we give thanks to thee, for thy great glory O Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father Almighty.
O Lord, the only-begotten Son, Jesu Christ; O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, that takest away the sins of the world,
have mercy upon us. Thou that takest away the sins of the world,
have mercy upon us. Thou that takest away the sins of the world,
receive our prayer. Thou that sittest at the right hand of God the Father,
have mercy upon us.
For thou only art holy; thou only art the Lord; thou only, O Christ, with the Holy Ghost, art most high in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
I'm an Episcopal priest in the US and I'm trying to piece together a common metre setting for the Gloria in Excelsis.... here's a first try...
All glory be to God on high
and peace to people here
We praise, we bless, we give you thanks
Our God and heavenly Father.
O Jesus Christ, O Son of God
You take our sins away.
You sit at God’s right hand on high
Have mercy; hear our prayer.
For you alone are the Holy One.
For you alone are Lord.
You, with the Father and Spirit, dwell;
In glory evermore.