Gorgeous!

I especially like the triple alleluya at the end.
(Of course, you misspelled 'alleluya'.)

(Actually, it's nice work.)

...'y'...

Charles, you are, naturally, correct. The 'i' is not just 'more common in contemporary English', it is universal. 'Alleluia' is, of course, the Latin transliteration of the Hebrew 'praise be to Yahweh'. My adoption of the 'y' as a legitimate English form of the Hebrew is a tribute to Palmer-Burgess and quite a few of the Oxford Movement scholars. I really don't know how historic it is in English usage, but I really do like it because it emphasises beautifully the fact that that last syllable of that Hebrew locution is God's Name. If people were more aware of that it would add yet another level of, shall I say?, 'full and conscious participation' in the liturgy; also, it would make them appreciate the dynamic relationship between the alleluya responsory and the gospel. It might, also, make them realise just how silly most of these (here I go again) cute dance-like triple alleluya jigs are. That the sacred Name of Yahweh is treated to such flippant little jingles such as we find in R&A and elsewhere should offend a properly informed soul.

In the same vein, one might observe that the German 'hallelujah' (which Handel uses consistently) comes closer to capturing the Hebrew sense than even the Latin. In defense of the Latin, we should note well that the '-ia' is pronounced '-ya', not '-eeah', the 'i' and 'j' having an equivalent 'y' pronunciation in such instances (unless, of course, one is indulging in the late mediaeval and renaissance English five-syllable treatment).

One good thing to come out of the ban on the use of God's name in prayer, song, and liturgy, has been the disappearance of the dreadful "Yahweh" songs. They were awful, to say the least. I once told someone, in jest of course, that we were going to sing, "Sitting on a log with Yahweh's dog" at mass that morning. If such a song existed, it wouldn't have been any worse than some in published hymnals. Have you noticed those triple alleluias seem to universally be in 6/8 time?

Unfortunately, we are stuck with U.S. English hymnals that do have them in 6/8.

Charles, you say "numerous" but are you sure you're not confusing a single notorious fourfold ditty? Even that one I like better than Jerry Sinclair's 14-fold non-compound mess.

MJO seems to be overlooking a third eventuality, which is that the congregation expects to sing along. I suspect that applies to a good number of forumites. Some language about something like full, non-subliminal and vocal participation can be laid at Rome's feet as well ;-)

Charles, you say "numerous" but are you sure you're not confusing a single notorious fourfold ditty? Even that one I like better than Jerry Sinclair's 14-fold non-compound mess.

That was Andrew, not Charles who used the word, "numerous."

I can't speak for the universe, but the GIA hymnal in use at my parish seems to have an affair going on with composers who use 6/8 time. Is it love or just lust? Inquiring minds want to know. LOL.

Adam, in nearly all settings of the Cherubicon, there is an "Amen" between "Let us now lay aside all earthly cared" and "That we might receive..." ... as the Choir makes its response to an invocation by the Priest (who has silently said the Cherubicon three times while the Choir sings the first part). What usage do you have in mind for your very nice plainchant setting? As it is, I don't see it as liturgically viable in the Eastern Rite.

but your problem is with "composers who use 6/8 time''. How dare you! ;-)

I dare quite easily. 6/8 time can be used carefully and skillfully. In practice, it seems to degenerate into either Irish dance or the Charge of the Light Brigade. It can be used skillfully, as I noted, but I think those "alleluias" are a bit over the top and get out of hand. Jackson is right on this one.

Adam, in nearly all settings of the Cherubicon, there is an "Amen" between "Let us now lay aside all earthly cared" and "That we might receive..." ... as the Choir makes its response to an invocation by the Priest (who has silently said the Cherubicon three times while the Choir sings the first part). What usage do you have in mind for your very nice plainchant setting? As it is, I don't see it as liturgically viable in the Eastern Rite.

Thanks for this information.

This setting was written for an Anglican monastic community with a blended (East/West) liturgical praxis, and they use it at the Offertory.

Don't worry, Adam. Your correspondent is wrong. The "second half" is the part that begins with "That we might receive the King of all, invisibly escorted by th' angelic hosts" or "Яко да Царя всѣх подымемъ, Aнгельскими невидимо дори-носима чинми" in Church Slavonic.

Here's the full Church Slavonic text:

Иже Херувимы тайно образующе,
и животворящей Тройцѣ трисвятую пѣснь припѣвающе.
Всякое нынѣ житейское отложимъ попеченіе.
Aминь.
Яко да Царя всѣх подымемъ,
Aнгельскими невидимо дори-носима чинми. Аллилуіa.

And here's the corresponding full English text:

We, who mystically represent the Cherubim,
And chant the thrice-holy hymn to the Life-giving Trinity,
Let us set aside the cares of life.
Amen.
That we may receive the King of all,
Who comes invisibly escorted by the Divine Hosts. Alleluia.

I don't know of any setting in which the "Аллилуіa" / "Alleluia" is not sung three times.

I like Tchaikovsky's Cherubic Hymn No. 1. This post got me interested in researching the Cherubic Hymn and I found several beautiful versions, but I think I like Tchaikovsky's the best.

Anyone else here a fan of Sviridov's Sviatiy Bozhe?

Tchaikovsky no. 1 and Bortnyansky no. 7 are the most popular and best, in my opinion.

The inserted "Amen" is there for liturgical reasons. The priest is silently reciting several things (including the Cherubicon, three times), and then as the Choir finish the first part, the priest makes an invocation, to which the response is "Amen" ... and then the Choir finishes the Cherubicon. The musical settings are stretched out in the first part to cover the liturgical action. Variously, the text, especially when the congregation sings it, is often proclaimed in short (semi)phrases that dovetail and basically amount to at least two-fold (if not three-fold) repetition of most of the text. In the Ukrainian Catholic setting that I'm familiar with, the basic (hymn) tune is sung three times before the "Amen." This treatment of repeating the main theme or whole tune three times seems (to me) to be related to the "thrice-holy hymn" phrase of the text.

he had just skimmed it and missed it (HOW?)

As a self-proclaimed NON-expert in this matter, but a good reader and pretty decent learner, my guess would be because there wasn't an "Amen" in the "middle" for him to recognize the 2 separate parts.

By the way, I think this is very pretty.