1 Alleluya, song of sweetness,
Voice of joy that cannot die;
Alleluya is the anthem
Ever dear to choirs on high:
In the house of God abiding
Thus they sing eternally.
2 Alleluya thou resoundest,
True Jerusalem and free;
Alleluya, joyful mother,
All thy children sing with thee;
But by Babylon's sad waters
Mourning exiles now are we.
3 Alleluya cannot always
Be our song while here below;
Alleluya our transgressions
Make us for awhile forgo;
For the solemn time is coming
When our tears for sin must flow.
4 Therefore in our hymns we pray thee,
Grant us, blessèd Trinity,
At the last to keep thine Easter
In our home beyond the sky,
There to thee for ever singing
Alleluya joyfully.
Here's a rather splendid high church version of the ceremony from the church of St. John Cantius, Chicago:
Bach Goes To Town – Alec Templeton (1909/10-1963)
Jesus meine Zuversicht (Op.67 no.20) – Max Reger (1873-1916)
Alleluyas – Simon Preston (b.1938)
Listen to Benny Goodman's orchestra playing the fugue in 1938: