At the round earth's imagined corners

Charles Hubert Hastings Parry sets Holy Sonnet VII of John Donne for SSAATBB choir in this powerful motet. The text, an English plea for the Last Judgment, imagines angels' trumpets sounding across the earth, calling souls to rise from death. It lists those who have perished through various means, from flood and fire to war, disease, and tyranny, contrasting them with those who will see God and not taste death. Yet, the speaker asks for a moment to mourn, acknowledging their sins and the lateness of asking for grace. The motet's rich, eight-part voicing lends a grand and dramatic weight to Donne's profound theological reflections on sin, judgment, and repentance.