Voicing: SSAA, piano & handbells - HB Part SBMP615-1
Composer: Joan Szymko
The text consists of Virtutes, literally, "moral virtues," the name given to the short statements inscribed (primarily in Latin) on church tower bells in medieval times. Bells rang outward, chasing away the evil spirits that were believed to hover over the rooftops, and upward, as prayers to the heavens. Not only were church bells rung to ward off evil spirits, but to protect the faithful from storms, fires, human enemies and disease