The Spirit of the Saints Printed Scores
There is a water that flows down from Heaven
To cleanse the world of sin by grace divine.
At last, its whole stock spent, its virtue gone.
Dark with pollution not its own, it speeds
Back to the fountain of all purities;
Whence, freshly bathed, earthward it sweeps again,
Trailing a robe of glory bright and pure.
This water is the spirit of the saints,
Which ever sheds, until itself is beggared,
God's balm on the sick soul; and then returns
To Him who made the purest light of Heaven.
-Rumi
Translated by Reynold A. Nicholson
SSAATTBB A cappella.
The transcendent beauty of Rumi's poetry persists through the ages. Translated by R.A. Nicholson, the spirit of the saints is described as a water that flows from Heaven to cleanse the world of sin. This setting is characterized by an emphasis on text painting, and an aleatoric section that builds toward a profound conclusion.