Gij wacht op ons = You wait for us, 1979 - 1980

One of the strong features of this poem is onomatopoeia. The sounds of the words resonate throughout the music. To preserve this has been an essential guiding principle of translation. The song's direction is rustig which means restfully, calmly, and this too has determined the manner of translation.

You wait for us - Gij wacht op ons, you wait for us, as the watchman awaits the dawn, or even as we watch out for someone's arrival. The Dutch verb is wacht is stronger than wait, a weaker vowel but never a dipthong. It preserves the parallel thought which occurs later. The image is of God on the lookout, perhaps eagerly watching out for us, yet always waiting for our initiative, for us to be ready, open and willing.

Until we open to you - totdat wij open voor u is a literal translation, and allows for a melismatic you, as in the Dutch. Huijbers repeats the melodic shape of the opening phrase but with variations in note values. This longphrased protracted Gregorian-style phrases emphasizes the extent of patient longing on the part of God for us and the assembly.

--Tony Barr