The Presentation of the Lord and Purification of the Virgin 2023

Simeon received a revelation from the Holy Spirit, that he should not see death before he had seen the Anointed of the Lord; * And he blessed God, and said: Now lettest Thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, o Lord. ℣. When His parents brought the Child Jesus, to do for Him after the custom of the law, he took Him up in his arms. And blessed God... (The fifth Matins responsory of the Purification.)

The Presentation of Christ in the Temple, 1342, by Ambrogio Lorenzetti (1290-1348). Originally commissioned for one of the side altars in the cathedral of the artist’s native city, Siena, now in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. (Public domain image from Wikimedia Commons.)

℟. Responsum accépit Símeon a Spíritu Sancto, non visúrum se mortem, nisi vidéret Christum Dómini: * Et benedixit Deum, et dixit: Nunc dimittis servum tuum in pace, quia vidérunt óculi mei salutáre tuum, Dómine. ℣. Cum indúcerent púerum Jesum parentes ejus, ut fácerent secundum consuetúdinem legis pro eo, ipse accépit eum in ulnas suas. Et benedíxit Deum...

This very nice recording corresponds to the text given above for the first part, but adds the words of Nunc dimittis, “Lumen ad revelationem gentium, et gloriam plebis tuae Israel. – A light for the revelation of the gentiles”, and begins the repetition at “Nunc dimittis...”

A beautiful polyphonic version of the first part by William Byrd.

And another by the Italian composer Luca Marenzio.