22nd June, 2024
C Hubert Parry (1848-1918) I was glad.
The text of this anthem is drawn from selected verses of Psalm 122 and, as a text, it has been used at the coronation of British monarchs since 1626. Parry’s setting was composed for the coronation of Edward VII in 1902; it has subsequently been used for other significant royal events, particularly since 1945.
Hubert Howells (1892-1983) Take him earth for cherishing.
This piece was commissioned for a memorial service following the assassination of President John Kennedy in 1963 and was first performed on 22 November 1964 – the first anniversary of his death. The text is based on a poem by Prudentius (AD 348-413).
Edward Elgar (1857-1934) The Spirit of the Lord
Drawn from the text of Luke’s Gospel (chapter 4) this is the prologue to Elgar’s oratorio The Apostles and was first performed in 1903. The oratorio narrates the experiences of Jesus’ disciples in relation to his preaching, miracles, death and resurrection.
Edgar Bainton (1880-1956) And I saw a new heaven.
Using text drawn from the Book of Revelation Bainton composed the anthem in 1928. A well-known work for church choirs it was sung at the Hillsborough Memorial Service in Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral in 1989
Edward Bairstow (1874-1946) Let all mortal flesh.
A Yorkshireman who spent much of his life in the county Bairstow composed the anthem in 1906 whilst organist at Leeds Parish Church and one suggestion is that it was originally intended for the somewhat dry acoustics of that church. It was not published for wider use until 1925. The words are drawn from the end of chapter 2 of the book of Habakkuk and form part of a liturgy going back to the third century AD.
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) Mystical Songs.
During 1906-1911 Britten set to music five poems by George Herbert (1593-1633). These comprise Easter (twice), Love Bade me Welcome, The Call and Antiphon. Although stylistically different, the five pieces were intended to be performed together: the first four are intended as quiet personal meditations whilst the last has become a well-known Anglican hymn.
INTERVAL
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) Rejoice in the Lamb.
Composed by Britten in 1943, the text of this cantata is drawn from work by a seventeenth poet, Christopher Smart. Written whilst Smart was in an asylum his poem Jubilate Agno records the praise and worship of God by (variously) animals, letters of the alphabet and musical instruments. Britten was invited to write the piece to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the consecration of St Matthew’s Church in Northampton whose Vicar, Walter Hussey, believed that the church should support the arts in the same way that it did during the Baroque, Renaissance and Classical eras.
Thorpe Davie (1913-1983) Come Holy Ghost
Master of Music at St Andrews University where he founded the Department of Music Davie’s compositional output was wide ranging and included numerous film scores. This anthem, composed in 1937, has subsequently been described as ‘a true gem in its sublime expressiveness and arching power’.
Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924) Three Motets
The three sacred motets Justorum animae, Coelos ascendit hodie and Beati quorum via were composed by Stanford at the end of the nineteenth century. The first of these (The Souls of the Righteous are in the hands of God) is drawn from the third chapter of the Book of Wisdom. The second (Today, Jesus Christ is ascended into the heavens) is drawn from a fourteenth century German text whilst the third (Blessed are those that are undefiled) paraphrases the first verse of Psalm 119.
Gerald Finzi (1901-1956) Lo the full final sacrifice.
The anthem’s text commemorates the celebration of the Eucharist. Finzi drew the text from two seventeenth century poems by Richard Crawshaw which themselves constitute poetic translations of Latin hymns by St Thomas Aquinas.