SALVE FESTA DIES is named for its original text pairing, Hail Thee Festival Day. Unlike most hymns, it features a refrain with two alternating verse settings and unison choral parts. This arrangement includes a fifth cello part to capture the original accompaniment parts and double portions of the choral-unison melody. The refrain alternates with the verses throughout, beginning with the original settings from The English Hymnal (1906) and evolving into alternate accompaniments across four verses and five refrains.