Let Us Sing in Exaltation!

Or nous dites Marie, music by Marc-Antoine Charpentier

 Let us sing, I pray you,
 In exaltation,
 In honor of Mary,
 Full of great renown:
 That all the human race
 Might be saved from danger,
 A message was conveyed
 To the precious Virgin.
 Mary was appointed
 By predestination
 To be born
 Of royal lineage.
 Now tell us, Mary,
 Who was the messenger
 Who brought the tidings
 That will redeem the world?
 It was the Angel Gabriel
 That, without delaying,
 God sent to earth
 With great compassion.
 Now tell us, Mary,
 What did Gabriel tell you
 When he brought you tidings
 From the true eternal God?
 ‘God be with you, Mary’,
 He said without delay;
 ‘You are full of grace
 And blessing.’
 Now tell us, Mary,
 Where were you
 When the Archangel Gabriel
 Spoke to you thus?
 ‘I was in Galilee,
 A pleasant region,
 Enclosed in my chamber,
 In contemplation.’
 Now tell us, Mary,
 Did the Angel Gabriel
 Not tell you something else
 In this new greeting?
 ‘You shall conceive, Mary’,
 He said without dissembling;
 ‘The Son of God is within you
 Yet you are undefiled.’
 Let us sing, I pray you,
 In exaltation,
 In honor of Mary,
 Full of great renown.

From the album Pastorale de Noël by Ensemble Correspondances.

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