There is a Green Hill Far Away

"There is a green hill far away" is an Anglican hymn. The words are by Cecil Frances Alexander; and the most popular tune by William Horsley. It was written to create a musical version of the words from the creed 'Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried.’"

It is a hugely evocative hymn for me, one I have loved since school assembly days; and the words are particularly pertinent right now. Our "green hill" is currently beyond the horizon, hidden from view as we all stay at home during the Covid-19 enforced lockdown. We must trust in God as we approach Holy Week; remembering Jesus' suffering and perhaps using this time away from the rollercoaster of our busy lives to consider our own faith. This period of "lockdown" is useful for contemplation, a gift of time during turbulent world events. One day soon we can emerge from our isolation and celebrate Christ's resurrection with perhaps a more enlightened understanding of his Passion and the Easter story.




Cecil Frances Alexander lived 1818-1895 in Dublin, Ireland. She also wrote "All things Bright and Beautiful", and "Once in Royal David's City" amongst many others. She was a prolific verse writer, her hymns heavily influenced first by Dr. Walter Hook, Dean of Chichester, and later her connections within the Oxford Movement.

Whilst many of us are unfamiliar with the controversies surrounding both the Movement and Alexander's endorsement of the class system, her hymns are known and loved by Christians the world over. Alexander also published poetry in english and french, for adults and children.


Below is a recording of the hymn by Kings' College Choir, my friend's son is a current chorister and will miss his first Easter with the choir.

1. There is a green hill far away, 

outside a city wall, 

where the dear Lord was crucified, 

who died to save us all. 

2. We may not know, 

we cannot tell what pains he had to bear; 

but we believe it was for us 

he hung and suffered there. 

3. He died that we might be forgiven, 

he died to make us good, 

that we might go at last to heaven, 

saved by his precious blood. 

4. There was no other good enough, 

to pay the price of sin; 

he only could unlock the gate 

of heaven and let us in. 

5. O dearly, dearly has he loved, 

and we must love him too; 

and trust in his redeeming blood, 

and try his works to do. 

 Cecil Alexander

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."

Lightwave Suffolk

Lightwave is the new name for the Suffolk Fresh Expressions community: Lightwave is a Christian community, usually meeting in small groups in homes, pubs, offices, schools and other places which works alongside more traditional ways of doing church. The name comes from the idea of lightwaves being the way in which light spreads into dark places. Lightwave is committed to shining the light of Jesus in Suffolk through acts of kindness and practical service as well as worship and witness.

During this time of social distancing the wonderful team at Lightwave are dreaming up wonderful new ways to connect with each other and God's world via their "100 things to do". Each day there is an activity plus a bible verse or story to read and discuss. Go to their Facebook Page to find out more!

Palestrina - Missa aeternae Christi munera

Something different today - a Palestrina mass.

Our church choir were due to sing this on Sunday, the Ladies and Soprano Choral Scholars singing the top section. We have an awesome group of Sop. Choral Scholars (actually ALL our Choral Scholars are awesome!) who juggle increasing demands at school and continue to sing services. Many are currently reeling from the cancellation of public exams with their futures put on hold, but I know they will all rise to the challenge.

One of the tricky things about being a choral scholar at St. Mary le Tower is the sudden leap into a new set of music, much of which we Ladies and Gents know well. This Palestrina mass is a good example - they rock up and rehearse once and then join us in the service. I therefore thought it would be good to feature a "stock item" from our repertoire just for them, after all they would have been singing it on Sunday anyway!

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.

Hello!

During this unprecedented period of closure during the COVID-19 Pandemic most of us are feeling rather lost and apprehensive. I am devastated to learn that it is likely to be some time before we able to rehearse, worship and share Anglican sacred music together and wanted to provide a platform to share links to online activities and choirs, recordings, downloadable manuscripts and information to support - and perhaps entertain! - fellow sacred music lovers. I am by no means claiming to be expert at anything - indeed it's YEARS since I built and regularly ran blogs and websites.... but it's something to do, and I admit this is also an anxiety management tool for me.
Enjoy!