Saint Cecilia / Benjamin Britten

Saint Cecilia (Latin Sancta Caecilia) is the patron of musicians and Church music. It is written that as the musicians played at her wedding, Cecilia "sang in her heart to the Lord". Musical compositions are dedicated to her, and her feast, on 22 November is the occasion of concerts and musical festivals.  

St. Cecilia, (also spelled as Cecily), is one of the most famous Roman martyrs of the early church and historically one of the most discussed. She did not need documented miracles for her to be canonised for two reasons; she was canonised long before the current process was in use (there is evidence of the Church considering her a saint from the 4th century, when the church dedicated to her name was founded in Rome) and because she was martyred. 

According to a late 5th-century legend, she was a noble Roman who, as a child, had vowed her virginity belonged to God. When she was married against her will to the future saint Valerian, then a pagan, she told him an angel of God wished her to remain a virgin. He promised to respect this wish if he were allowed to see the angel. She replied that he would if he were baptised, and on his return from baptism he found Cecilia talking to the angel. Cecilia then converted his brother Tiburtius, who also saw the angel. 

The martyrdom of Cecilia is said to have followed that of her husband Valerian and his brother at the hands of the prefect Turcius Almachius. Cecilia distributed her possessions to the poor, which enraged the prefect Almachius, who ordered her to be burned. When the flames did not harm her, legend says that after being struck three times on the neck with a sword, she lived for three days, and asked the pope to convert her home into a church. Cecilia was buried in the catacomb of St. Callistus, near Rome. 

At the beginning of the 9th century, Pope Paschal I discovered her incorrupt relics in the catacomb of St. Praetextatus and had them moved to Rome, to a basilica in Trastevere that now bears her name. According to reports from the two occasions her body was moved (the 9th and 16th centuries), she looked like she was simply sleeping; her body was entirely incorrupt after 1500 years. 

Cecilia became the patron saint of musicians and music; in art she is often represented playing the organ. 

St. Cecilia, patron saint of music

Benjamin Britten

Hymn to St Cecilia, Op. 27 is a choral piece by Benjamin Britten (1913–1976), a setting of a poem by W. H. Auden written between 1940 and 1942. 

Born on St. Cecilia's day, Britten wanted to write a piece dedicated to St Cecilia for a long time. In addition to her patronage of music and musicians, there is a long tradition in England of writing odes and songs to St Cecilia. The most famous of these are by John Dryden ("A song for St. Cecilia's Day" 1687) and musical works by Henry Purcell, Hubert Parry, E. Florence Whitlock, and George Frideric Handel. Another briefer work by Herbert Howells has the similar title A Hymn for St Cecilia, but was written later in 1960. (Wikipedia)

The first known reference to Britten's desire to write such a work is from 1935 was when Britten wrote in his diary "I’m having great difficulty in finding Latin words for a proposed Hymn to St Cecilia. Spend morning hunting." The Hymn was actually composed in America, for performance in New York in 1941. However in the midst of World War II Britten and his partner Peter Pears decided to return home to England in 1942 and the composition was confiscated by customs, and rewritten on board the ship MS Axel Johnson, along with "A Ceremony of Carols".

Gerald Finzi's "God is Gone Up" - an anthem for Ascension

Ascension
The Feast of the Ascension of Jesus Christ, also called Ascension Day, Ascension Thursday, or sometimes Holy Thursday, commemorates the Christian belief of the bodily Ascension of Jesus into heaven. In Christian belief Ascension is on the 40th day after his Resurrection (Easter being reckoned as the first day), this year falling on Thursday 21st May. Jesus' final moments with his disciples focus on the commission that will shape their lives as apostles, as they spread the gospel beyond those who encountered Christ in the flesh to those who believe based on testimony. This culminates in St. Paul using the term "the body of Christ" to describe the Church.

There are many well known anthems composed for Ascension, Stanford's "Coelos ascended hodie" is another favourite of mine, and our choir have recorded Byrd's "Non von relinquam orphanos" remotely this week. See bottom of this post.)

Finzi's "God is Gone Up" Op. 27b was written in 1951, the same year in which he learned he was suffering from Hodgkin's Disease, from which he eventually died in 1956. The text is taken from a longer poem by Edward Taylor (c1642-1729) and is the second of his three opus 27 anthems. It was written in 1951 for a St Cecilia's Day Service at St Sepulchre's Church in Holborn. This anthem has rightly become an integral part of the choral repertoire, and is probably Finzi’s most well-known piece of sacred music.

J.S. Bach - Cantatas for Eastertide

Johann Sebastian Bach (March 1685 – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. He is known for instrumental compositions such as the Brandenburg Concertos and the Goldberg Variations, and for vocal music such as the St Matthew Passion and the Mass in B minor. Since the 19th-century Bach Revival he is generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time.

Below is a whistle-stop-tour of Bach Cantatas, of which I'm no expert! I've thoroughly enjoyed my research for this post however and have listened to some beautiful music in the process.

Cantatas
Cantata means "sung" or "to sing". It is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning of the term changed over time, from the simple single voice madrigal of the early 17th century. Cantatas for use in the liturgy of church services are called church cantata or sacred cantata; other cantatas can be indicated as secular cantata. Several cantatas were, and still are, written for special occasions, such as Christmas cantatas.

The Bach Cantatas are a body of work consisting of over 200 surviving independent works, and at least several dozen that are considered lost. J. S. Bach composed cantatas for both secular and sacred use, his church cantatas composed for use in the Lutheran church, mainly intended for the occasions of the liturgical year.

Bach started composing cantatas around 1707, when he was still an organist in Arnstadt. Bach's early cantatas are "Choralkonzerte" (chorale concertos) in the style of the 17th century, different from the recitative and aria cantata format that he began to use for church cantatas in 1714 when in Weimar.
The texts for the early cantatas were drawn mostly from biblical passages and hymns. These early cantatas include 17th-century elements such as motets and chorale concertos. Recitatives and arias on contemporary poetry were not yet present, although Bach may have heard them in oratorios by Buxtehude who was his teacher, or even earlier.  His early cantatas often begin with an instrumental sinfonia or sonata. Bach worked at the ducal court in Weimar from 1708 to 1717 and from 1714-1717 he was commissioned to compose one church cantata a month. In the course of almost four years there he thus covered most occasions of the liturgical year. These cantatas have become known as the "Weimar Cycle".

Bach was appointed Thomaskantor, (director of music) in Leipzig 1723, and was responsible for the Thomasschule and the church music at these main churches. A cantata was required for the service on Sundays and additional church holidays of the liturgical year, and Bach composed many, preserved in five annual cycles. The Lutheran church of Bach's time prescribed the same readings every year, a Gospel passage and, recited before this, a corresponding section from an Epistle. A connection between the cantata text and the readings (or at least one of the prescribed hymns for the occasion) was the aim, facilitated by repetition and prescription with readings and hymns linked to the church cantata for each occasion.

A typical Bach cantata from his time in Leipzig follows the pattern below:

• Opening chorus 
• Recitative 
• Aria 
• Recitative (or Arioso) 
• Aria 
• Chorale

The opening chorus is usually a polyphonic setting, with the orchestra presenting the themes or contrasting material first. Most arias follow the form of a da capo aria, repeating the first part after a middle section. The final chorale is typically a homophonic setting of a traditional melody.

Eastertide
Eastertide is the period of 50 days, spanning from Easter Sunday to Pentecost Sunday, celebrated as one great event. Each Sunday of the season is treated as a Sunday of Easter. Following the Sunday of the Resurrection, they are named Second Sunday of Easter, Third Sunday of Easter, etc. up to the Seventh Sunday of Easter, concluding with Pentecost Sunday. Bach wrote cantatas each year for each of these Sundays whilst in Leipzig. Our girl choristers recorded "Den Tod niemand zwingen kunnt" (BWV 4) for the first Sunday after Easter, embedded below:-




Misericordias Domini 
This Sunday (26th April) is the Third Sunday of Easter, known as Misericordias Domini Sunday.

The gospel readings for Misericordias Domini is Luke 24:13-35 (Walk to Emmaus) and a suggested Bach Cantata for this reading is Cantata 66, "Erfreut euch, ihr Herzen" (Rejoice, you hearts)

Bach composed this cantata for the Second Day of Easter in Leipzig and first performed it on 10 April 1724. The cantata was Bach's first composition for Easter as Thomaskantor in Leipzig, first performed in Köthen on 10 December 1718. You can read more about it here and listen below! A translation is available here.



If you enjoyed reading this post, then you can read part 2 here!

Singing at Home opportunities

My inbox has been flooded with opportunities to sing at home during the lockdown. Granted, it's absolutely not the same singing alone in front of your computer, and my heart yearns to sing with my choir here in church again, but in the current situation I have found them a reasonably good alternative!

Most of these options are linked from the home page of this blog, but to update you all on some exciting new opportunities I have included the following update:-

John Ireland

Apologies for the radio silence, I took a few days off!! Another favourite today - John Ireland. Pupil of Stanford, teacher of Benjamin Britten and with a significant compositional repertoire, his music ranges through choral, orchestral, chamber, song, organ and piano genres, with over 200 published pieces and around 400 CDs already made representing his work.

Biography
John Ireland was born August 13, 1879, in Bowdon, Cheshire. His father, Alexander Ireland, was a publisher and newspaper proprietor, John was the youngest of five children from Alexander's second marriage, and Alexander was already aged 69 at John's birth. John's mother died when he was 14, and his father a year later, leaving the young John with sufficient means to study music at the Royal College of Music.

Samuel Sebastian Wesley

Born in London on 14 August 1810, Samuel Sebastian was the son of the celebrated organist and composer Samuel Wesley, grandson of Charles Wesley the hymn writer and great nephew of John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist church. (His middle name was given as a sign of his father's lifelong admiration for the music of Bach.) Despite the stigma attached to being illegitimate – a very considerable burden at the turn of the nineteenth century – Samuel Sebastian Wesley was to become the most important English church composer between Purcell and Stanford. 

His father Samuel frequently found himself in debt, burdened by substantial maintenance payments, with an ever-growing family and an inability to live within his means. In 1817 he jumped from a first floor window to escape imagined creditors and for his own safety was placed in a private asylum for close on twelve months. It was then that his seven year old son’s formal musical education began with his acceptance as a Child (chorister) of the Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace, by the Master of the Children, William Hawes. 

Although beginning to make a name for himself in London at the time, Samuel Sebastian accepted an appointment as organist at Hereford Cathedral in 1832. During his career he held appointments at Leeds Parish Church (now Leeds Minster), Winchester Cathedral, Winchester College and Gloucester Cathedral. In 1839 he received both his Bachelor of Music degree and a Doctor of Music degree from Oxford, becoming Professor of Organ at the Royal Academy of Music in 1850. He died at his home in Gloucester on 19 April 1876 aged 65 and is buried next to his daughter in St. Bartholomew's Cemetery in Exeter by the old City Wall. There is a wonderfully full and interesting biography of his life here on The Church Music Society. 

Music

Famous in his lifetime as one of his country's leading organists and choirmasters, he composed almost exclusively for the Church of England, which continues to cherish his memory. Wesley himself considered that his best work was the 1853 collection of Anthems and all of these pieces would become cornerstones of the Anglican Church repertoire. Wesley produced 38 anthems in all, and almost 20 works for the organ. He composed service music in both Latin and English, secular songs, a tiny bit of orchestral music, and a handful of works for the piano. Certainly the originality of Wesley’s work stands out, but rather than blaze a trail he tempered his originality with conservatism as he represented the summit of old traditions of composition, musical technique and organ composition. One notable feature of his career is his aversion to equal temperament, an aversion which he kept for decades after this tuning method had been accepted on the Continent and even in most of England. Despite this he made substantial use of chromaticism in several of his published compositions which would have sounded quite different from a performance on a modern organ. SS Wesley, with Father Willis, can be credited with the invention of the concave and radiating organ pedalboard, this joint idea was adopted as an international standard for organs. 

His better-known anthems include "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace" and "Wash me throughly". He also wrote several rather late examples of verse anthems, which contrast unison and contrapuntal sections with smaller passages for solo voice or voices. Blessed be the God and Father is an example of this and a favourite here. 

Blessed be the God and Father

Wesley composed this piece to be sung at Easter Sunday 1834 in Hereford Cathedral where only a small number of trebles and a solitary bass was available to sing. Rumour persists that the only bass present was in fact the Dean's butler! It sets the verses from I Peter i. 3-5, 15-17, 22-25 in the Bible to music and reminds us of Jesus' final commandment to his disciples at The Last Supper to love one another. I have extremely fond memories of my youngest son singing the treble solo in this wonderful verse anthem three years ago. 

Maundy Thursday

Today is Maundy Thursday - also known as Mandatum Thursday, Holy Thursday and Commandment Thursday. Maundy is the name of the Christian rite of footwashing, which traditionally occurs during Maundy Thursday church services. Most scholars agree that the English word maundy in that name for the day is derived through Middle English and Old French mandé, from the Latin mandatum (also the origin of the English word "mandate"), the first word of the phrase "Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos" ("A new commandment I give unto you: That you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another.") This statement by Jesus in the Gospel of John 13:34 by which Jesus explained to the Apostles the significance of his action of washing their feet.

Another theory is that the English name "Maundy Thursday" arose from "maundsor baskets" or "maundy purses" of alms which the king of England distributed to certain poor at Whitehall before attending Mass on that day. Thus, "maund" is connected to the Latin mendicare, and French mendier, to beg.

Holy Thursday is the beginning of the Easter "Triduum" which commemorates the passion, death and ressurrection of Jesus. Our choir would have been singing Shephard's "A new commandment" and Morley's "Nolo mortem peccatoris" at our Maundy Thursday Eucharist of the Last Supper this evening. Instead, our online choir have separately recorded Tallis' "O Salutaris Hostia" which our multi-talented music director has multitracked into the recording below.

 

You can read more about Tallis on an earlier post here and details of streamed services from our church on the website here.

The Silver Swan - Orlando Gibbons

So it seems yesterday's choice of Thomas Weelkes' setting of "Hosanna to the Son of David" was significantly downvoted in favour of that by Orlando Gibbons'! Thing is... I had already planned to write about Gibbons today, so Weelkes was the natural choice for Palm Sunday!

Orlando Gibbons was appointed a gentleman of the Chapel Royal by King James I around May of 1603 and a senior organist by 1605. By 1606 he had graduated from King's College, Cambridge with a Bachelor of Music and received an honorary Doctor of Music from Oxford in May of 1622. In 1623  he was appointed organist at Westminster Abbey, a position which he held for 2 years until his death on the June 5th, 1625.

Due to his untimely death Gibbons was not such a prolific composer as his (older) contemporary William Byrd, but he still managed to produce many secular and sacred polyphonic vocal works, including consort songs, services, motets, more than 40 full anthems and verse anthems, a set of 20 madrigals as well as at least 20 keyboard works and various instrumental ensemble pieces including nearly 30 fantasies for viols. his most famous works are "This is the Record of John", "O Clap your Hands Together" and "The Silver Swan".

Gibbons was a key transitional figure in the early seventeenth century, bridging the later Renaissance to early Baroque eras. Dubbed by the composer Frederick Ouseley as "the English Palestrina" and many believed he paved the way to the new era of music.

Music
The Silver Swan is a famous and much loved madrigal which presents the legend that swans sing only just before their deaths. The words might be Gibbons creation or more likely, that of his sponsor Sir Christopher Hatton . Whilst not "sacred", it is a hauntingly beautiful piece deserving of inclusion here!

It's a beautiful piece, and there are many recordings online. My favourite is the one below by The Gesualdo Six.  (We tried to record our own at home but are missing a reliable bass part!!) 

The score can be downloaded from Choral Wiki here.

The Silver Swan who, living, had no note, 

When death approach'd, unlock'd her silent throat. 

Leaning her breast against the reedy shore, 

Thus sung her first and last, And sung no more: 

"Farewell all joys, O death come close mine eyes. 

More geese than swans now live, more fools than wise."

Palm Sunday - Hosanna to the Son of David

Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week, the last week in Lent, the Sunday before Easter. In the Palm Sunday Gospels crowds play a significant role as they acclaim Jesus Son of David, the one who comes in the name of the Lord - yet soon after the same crowds are shouting for his condemnation and execution.

John's gospel, "they took palm branches and went out to meet Him" (12:13 HCSB)

As an historian I know it was far from unusual for men of note (particularly local Roman governors) to be fêted in this way, riding on horseback with an entourage; crowds lining the route into Jerusalem or indeed any significant city at the time. What was so significant about Jesus' arrival into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday was that he did not enter by the main gate; neither did he ride a noble steed - but instead chose a humble donkey.

One of my favourite books as a child - now sadly out of print - was "Donkey's Glory" by Nan Goodall, the tale of a family of donkeys who were there servicing Jesus. The grandmother donkey who carried Mary, the donkey who helped them flee in the dead of night from Herod's men, and the donkey who carried Jesus into Jerusalem. It's a beautiful story about humility and service, reminding us that neither requires show or ostentation. Jesus drew crowds without request, without Caesar's instruction and people chose to celebrate him as their King laying palm branches in front of him- an act of particular symbolism in the ancient world.

The palm branch is a symbol of victory, triumph, peace, and eternal life originating in the ancient Near East and Mediterranean world. The palm (Phoenix) was sacred in Mesopotamian religions, and in ancient Egypt represented immortality. In Judaism, the lulav, a closed frond of the date palm is part of the festival of Sukkot. The palm has meaning in Christianity as well Christian iconography to represent victory, i.e.,the victory of the spirit over the flesh, Revelation 7:9.. Wikipedia 

Photo courtesy of Adam Birkett, Unsplash

Palm Sunday questions our modern interpretation of the word "King". The crowds recognised Christ riding a donkey into Jerusalem as a declaration of victory and salvation. The word "Hosanna" in Hebrew literally means, “I beg you to save,” or “please deliver us.” Solomon was David’s first descendant to ride the king’s mule, and be celebrated as the next King of a kingdom that would have no end (1 Kings, Chapter 1). Jesus would be David’s last descendant to be King of the Jews forever. The prophecy from Zechariah 9:9-10, riding into Jerusalem on the foal of a donkey was an unmistakable fulfillment of God’s word, declaring to all he is the rightful successor to the King, from this moment on, and that his kingdom would be eternal.

Palm Sunday 2020
The image of crowds is a sobering one for us during this period of lockdown. With churches closed we are deprived of our usual route of celebration. However Palm Sunday also marks victory over sin, and the end of Jesus' earthly ministry. We can be present in our hearts as we remember this, because in reality Palm Sunday was indeed a procession of a virtual kind - one that celebrated a king who would die not only to save his people, but to redeem the whole world.

There are so many anthems to choose from to mark Palm Sunday, but one of my favourite is "Hosanna to the Son of David" by Thomas Weelkes which I've linked via YouTube below.

Hosanna to the Son of David is a famous example of the English 'full' anthem – as opposed to the 'verse' anthem, and opens with a majestic six-voice proclamation. It's glorious thick texture shows how effectively music can conjure up an image, it's a joy to sing!

You can read more on Weelkes here.



Alternatively you might like to listen to Gibbons' anthem of the same name - but more on Gibbons tomorrow!

Herbert Sumsion

Herbert Whitton Sumsion CBE (14 January 1899 – 11 August 1995) was an English musician who was organist of Gloucester Cathedral from 1928 to 1967. He is perhaps less well known than but had close friendships with his contemporaries Edward Elgar, Herbert Howells, Gerald Finzi, and Ralph Vaughan Williams, all major figures in England's 20th-century musical renaissance. Sumsion is a composer whose music we come across frequently in our choir, but who has perhaps not been given the recognition he deserves.

Biography

Sumsion became a probationer at Gloucester in the cathedral choir under the direction of Herbert Brewer, singing with them until 1914. His treble voice broke late, at 15, after which he became an "articled' pupil to Brewer, a position which gave a three-year apprenticeship in organ, choral direction, and music theory. As one of Brewer's articled pupils Sumsion was following in the footsteps of his slightly older contemporaries, Herbert Howells and Ivor Gurney. Sumsion passed the Associateship exam of the Royal College of Organists in 1915, and in July 1916 joined Howells in passing the Fellowship exam; though he was only 17, Sumsion was awarded the Turpin prize for the second-highest marks in the practical component, a phenomenal achievement.

Sumsion spent time in the trenches of Flanders 1917-1918, returning to Gloucester in 1919 as assistant organist to Brewer. On 1 March 1928, Herbert Brewer died suddenly of a heart attack, leaving the post of organist at Gloucester vacant only a few months before the cathedral was to host the Three Choirs Festival, which Sumsion had already had involvement with. Having gained a music degree at Durham Sumsion had been due to take up the post of organist at Coventry cathedral, but Brewer had been keen Sumsion succeed him. Sumsion returned to Gloucester as organist and took up leadership of the Three Choirs Festival. His conducting skill was frequently remarked upon, and his leadership of the Festival applauded. Following the 1928 Festival Elgar made his frequently quoted pun:-

‘What at the beginning of the week was assumption has now become a certainty.’

Music

Although Sumsion is known primarily as a cathedral musician, his professional career spanned more than 60 years and encompassed composing, conducting, performing, accompanying, and teaching. His compositions include works for choir and organ, as well as lesser-known chamber and orchestral works. We were due to sing his Communion Service in F on Maundy Thursday, sections of it are included below. I particularly like the Sanctus, perfect for an introspective, reflective service celebrating the Last Supper and I have fond memories of singing it.

Passiontide - St Matthew Passion BWV 244

This Sunday, 29th March, is Passion Sunday. Passiontide is the name for the last two weeks of Lent, beginning on the Fifth Sunday of Lent and ending on Holy Saturday. The second Sunday in Passiontide is Palm Sunday which this year (2020) is Sunday 5th April.

Ezekiel 37.1-14 "The valley of dry bones: "I will put my spirit in you, and you shall live" is a reminder that in this bleak time we can count on God to sustain us. In the Old Testament the dry bones represent the people of Israel, and Ezekiel's vision brings assurance of their restoration. The raising of Lazarus is Jesus' sign of this restoration in the New Testament, life out of death at its most dramatic. At this time of great trial for humanity Passiontide has perhaps even greater significance for us all.

Psalm 130 "Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord - hear my voice!" is also worth reading.

Music for Passiontide
There has been a significant volume of sacred music composed for Passiontide, not least Bach's "St Matthew Passion", which was due to be performed next weekend in our church.

Below is St. Matthew Passion on YouTube licensed by Sony.
St Matthew Passion - Matthäus-Passion BWV 244 | (Complete) (Full Concert) (J. S. Bach)


and there is further info and many links and downloads to sections of it here on Choral Wiki.

From Youtube:-
"The St Matthew Passion is a sacred oratorio from the Passions written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra.  It sets chapters 26 and 27 of the Gospel of Matthew (in the German translation of Martin Luther) to music, with interspersed chorales and arias. It is widely regarded as one of the masterpieces of classical sacred music. Although Bach wrote four (or five) settings of the Passions only two have survived; the other is the St John Passion.

The St Matthew Passion was probably first performed on Good Friday (11 April) 1727[1] in the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, where Bach was the Kantor of the School and Directoris Chori musici of Leipzig."

Let All the World in E'vry Corner Sing

A difficult 24 hours for us here. My eighteen year old is really unwell with COVID-19 and we are praying his improvement today is sustained. he's showing signs of early stage pneumonia but is in relatively good spirits compared to last night. We are so grateful for the prayers and support from all our friends and having this Blog as a distraction is going to be a blessing over the weeks to come.

So today I'm just going to share this Facebook post from @OrganistWilliam who played my request in Bury Cathedral yesterday.

Let All the World in E'vry Corner Sing - I can't wait until it does once again. Stay well friends.

Mothering Sunday

Mothering Sunday has been celebrated on the fourth Sunday in Lent in the UK and Ireland since the 16th century. People returned to their "mother church" for a service which was held on Laetare Sunday - Laetare Sunday is exactly 21 days before Easter Sunday, a moveable feast based on the cycles of the moon. The earliest occurrence of Laetare Sunday in the twenty-first century was on 2 March 2008 and the latest will be on 4 April 2038. Your "mother church" was either the church where you were baptised or the nearest cathedral (the latter being the mother church of all the parish churches in a diocese). Anyone who did this was commonly said to have gone "a-mothering".

Mothering Sunday became a day when domestic servants were given a day off to visit their mother church, usually with their own mothers and other family members. Those who were in service were given a day off so they could visit their families, and the children often picked wildflowers along the way either to place in the church or to give to their mothers. 

The day is also referred to sometimes as Mid-Lent Sunday or Refreshment Sunday and seen as a day when the austerity of Lent is temporarily put aside. Clergy wear rose robes in some churches as in Advent, when Refreshment Sunday is known as Gaudete Sunday. (Gaudete means "rejoice".) Both days provide a break from the penitential nature of the season and signify the nearness of the Lord's coming.

Mothering Sunday is sometimes known as "Simnel Sunday", in addition to the cake's association with Easter.  Simnel cakes celebrate the reuniting of the family, as does the the custom of "clipping the church" where the congregation join hands and circle the church. (Not something we are able to do currently!)

In my copy of "Sunday by Sunday" from the RSCM, the comment for Sunday 22nd March says 
"It is very often hard to accept that the triumph of good is never plain sailing" and that we should "pray for the grace to share Mary's pain and suffering for the good of all". This seemed quite pertinent with all that is currently playing out around us; as mothers and as children of God we should trust and struggle together for the ultimate good of all.

On to the music!

If you fancy singing something appropriate there are numerous options - indeed any Magnificat would be ideal! My current favourite is Howells in G, one of his early settings and less well known. Listen here on Youtube. (More on Howells another day, you all know he's a favourite of mine!!)


You can download the music as a PDF here on Choral Wiki and sing along! (Perhaps a setting for next year if we all learn it?!)

Other options are Rutter's "For the Beauty of the Earth" - praising Mother Earth. Another favourite of mine! Listen to it here  . Remember the earth and the world outside is still accessible to us. I suspect we might just come to appreciate it a little more over the coming few months. If you are not currently in isolation the National Trust have opened all their parks and gardens for free.

If you don't have Spotify Premium or prefer a CD them this album is available here on Amazon. (Just make sure you select the right option for you as the default is streaming.)

One hymn for this Sunday which leapt off the page was "Let all the world in every corner sing". In the light of current restrictions on movement and interaction, we mustn't stop singing, music is what keeps so many people going and singing is powerful medicine. Music is such a fundamentally joyous part of worship and is so good for the soul. It is praise in its purest form. Please do check out some of the links on the home page for online singing groups, sing along on Spotify or YouTube - do keep singing!

Stay well everyone, look after your mental as well as your physical health. Below is a prayer released by the Church of England for Mothering Sunday:-