"Praise Windows"
"Praise Windows" are found in a number of houses of worship. The
motif is music. The window's popularity is undoubtedly the widespread
use of organs and choirs.
The inspiration sometimes is
Psalms 100:2:
"Make a joyful noise unto the Lord. Come before his presence with
singing" Sometimes the inspiration is the 150th (last) Psalm:
Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.
Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.
Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.
Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.
Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.
Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord.
Praise ye the Lord.
"Praise Window" examples:
"Te Deum Window"
"Te Deum" are also praise windows, but the praise is not limited to
praise through music alone. The "Te Deum" is an ancient hymn that
has been in use in the morning prayers of the church since at least the
ninth century. Authorship is traditionally ascribed to Saints Ambrose
and Augustine, on the occasion of the latter's baptism by the former in
AD 387. In Luther’s estimation, the Te Deum deserved to be ranked with
the creeds of the Christian Church.
Text.
"Te Deum" examples:
"Saint Cecilia Window"
In many Roman Catholic churches, an analogous window is the
Saint Cecilia Window where the martyred Cecila is often depicted playing an organ, often surrounded by
angels playing musical instruments. Cecilia died singing hymns as she was martyred over a 3-day period with a partially severed neck. See
Iconography in Art and Architecture: Saint Cecilia for examples.
