Thomas Attwood Walmisley

Thomas Attwood Walmisley (21 January 1814 – 17 January 1856) was the son of Thomas Forbes Gerrard Walmisley, a well-known organist and composer of church music. Both in a privileged, musical family, both his father and his godfather Thomas Attwood had a significant influence on the young musician's life and career.

Thomas Attwood Walmisley

Thomas Forbes Gerrard Walmisley (Walmisley' father)

Walmisley senior was born in Westminster, London in 1783, the third son of William Walmisley, Clerk of the House of Lords papers. Like his brothers, he was a chorister at Westminster Abbey, and was educated at Westminster School. He studied music with John Spencer and Thomas Attwood (see below) and in 1796 is recorded as having sung in oratorios in Covent Garden. In 1814 he succeeded Robert Cooke as organist of St Martin-in-the-Fields resigning, with a pension, in March 1854. From 1803 he taught piano and singing becoming famous as a teacher; his alumni included Edward John Hopkins. In 1810 Walmisley married the eldest daughter of William Capon, an architectural draftsman. Thomas Attwood Walmisley was his eldest son (of six sons and four daughters who survived infancy), whose Cathedral Music he edited in 1857. 

Thomas Attwood (Walmisley's godfather)

His godfather was the composer and organist Thomas Attwood wo took responsibility for the boy Walmisley's education and music tuition. Born the son of a musician in the royal band, at the age of nine Attwood became a chorister in the Chapel Royal, where he received training in music from James Nares and Edmund Ayrton. In 1783 he was sent to study abroad at the expense of the Prince of Wales (afterwards King George IV), who had been impressed by his skill at the harpsichord. After two years in Naples, Attwood proceeded to Vienna, where he became a favourite pupil of Mozart. On his return to London in 1787 he held for a short time an appointment as one of the chamber musicians to the Prince of Wales. 

With the support of these two musicians Thomas Attwood Walmisley excellent academically and musically. He was organist of Croydon Parish Church in 1830 before becoming organist at Trinity College, Cambridge in 1833 at the age of 19, where he became well known for his composition. (He was simultaneously organist for the Choir of St John's College, Cambridge.) Graduating in music, he went on to obtain his Doctorate. In 1836 Walmisley was made Professor of Music at Cambridge. His bond with his father sustained throughout his life, his father editing his cathedral music edited after his death. Walmisley died in 1856, and is buried in the churchyard of St Andrew's Church, Fairlight, East Sussex.

John E West has suggested his premature death was 'hastened by an unwise indulgence in lethal remedies'. Stanford commented that 'Walmisley … was a victim of four o’clock dinners in Hall, and long symposiums in the Combination Room after; and being a somewhat lonely bachelor, the excellent port of the College cellars was, at times, more his master than his servant'. As a composer, Walmisley is chiefly known for his setting of the Evening Canticles in D minor, perhaps the only Magnificat which begins with the bass and tenor lines at full volume - certainly not a typical "Song of Mary"!

Corpus Christi - Celebrating the Institution of the Eucharist

The festival of Corpus Christi celebrates the Eucharist as the body of Christ. The name 'Corpus Christi' is Latin for 'the body of Christ' and the feast is celebrated by Roman Catholics and other Christians to proclaim the truth of the transubstantiation of bread and wine into the actual body of Christ during Mass. In some countries in the world, Catholic churches still celebrate the festival, not only with a Mass, but also with a procession that carries the consecrated wafer through the streets as a public statement that the sacrifice of Christ was for the salvation of the whole world.  

In the Church of England this feast is liturgically celebrated on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday and is known as the Day of Thanksgiving for the Institution of Holy Communion (Corpus Christi), which this year is June 3rd. Christians already mark the Last Supper, when Christ instituted the Eucharist, on Maundy Thursday (the day before Good Friday). Because Maundy Thursday falls during the solemn period of Holy Week, it was thought necessary to have a separate festival of the Eucharist that would allow the celebration not to be muted by sadness. The feast was proposed by Saint Thomas Aquinas who was inspired by the religious experience of St Juliana (1193-1258), a Belgian nun. He asked Pope Urban IV to create a feast focused solely on the Holy Eucharist, emphasising the joy of the Eucharist being the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. For Catholics, the host contains the real presence of Christ, and it is displayed on a 'monstrance' and treated as Christ in human form would be treated, with reverence, ceremony and adoration. 

Photo by Maria Oswalt on Unsplash

The feast of Corpus Christi was suppressed in Protestant churches in the Reformation for theological reasons as Protestants deny the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist other than as a symbolic or spiritual presence. As the English Reformation progressed the Church of England abolished the feast of Corpus Christi in 1548, but later reintroduced it in Anglicised form. Most Anglican churches now observe Corpus Christi, sometimes under the name "Thanksgiving for the Institution of Holy Communion". 

The liturgy 

Corpus Christi is often marked by a service originally devised by Thomas Aquinas.  It includes five great hymns, including Panis Angelicus (part of a longer hymn called Sacris Solemniis, 'At this our solemn feast') and Pange lingua ('Sing, my tongue') 

Rogation and Love at Ascension - a new commandment

Rogation days are days of prayer and fasting in Western Christianity, observed with processions and the Litany of the Saints. The so-called major rogation is held on 25 April whilst minor rogations are held on Monday to Wednesday preceding Ascension Thursday. 

Rogation in History

Historically Rogation has been merged with pagan rites, The Christian major rogation replaced a pagan Roman procession known as Robigalia, at which a dog was sacrificed to propitiate Robigus, the deity of agricultural disease. A common feature of Rogation days in the middle ages was the ceremony of beating the bounds, in which a procession of parishioners, led by the minister, churchwarden, and choirboys, would proceed around the boundary of their parish and pray for its protection in the forthcoming year. (This was also a feature of the original Roman festival, when revellers would walk to a grove five miles from the city to perform their rites.) But the central theme was protection, and in the Christian faith this is derived from our relationship with God. As in any healthy relationship, love is required in both directions - God loves us conditionally, but requires that we also love one another in the same way.

The word rogation comes from the Latin verb rogare, meaning "to ask", which reflects the beseeching of God for the appeasement of his anger and for protection from calamities. 

Rogation and Love

It is pertinent therefore that the days preceding Ascension Thursday are rogation days, following the Sixth Sunday of Easter when we remember Jesus' commandment that we love one another as selflessly as he loved us. 

May Day Celebrations

This week sees the start of the month of May, traditionally a time of looking forward – a celebration of the summer to come. This year as the UK emerges from months of lockdown after year of restrictions, the hope is palpable as we anticipate a summer of increased freedom and optimism. 

The spring bank holiday on the first Monday in May was created in 1978, May Day itself is 1st May and is not a public holiday in England (unless it falls on a Monday). In February 2011, the UK Parliament was reported to be considering scrapping the bank holiday associated with May Day, replacing it with a bank holiday in October, possibly coinciding with Trafalgar Day (celebrated on October 21), to create a "United Kingdom Day". 

The earliest known May celebrations appeared in Floralia, festival of Flora, the Roman Goddess of flower – held from 27th April to 3rd May during the Roman Republic Era. A later May festival celebrated in Germanic countries, “Walpurgis Night”, commemorates the official canonization of Saint Walpurga on 1 May 870. In Gaelic culture, the evening of April 30th was the celebration of Beltane (which translates to "lucky fire"), the start of the summer season. 

Since the 18th century, many Roman Catholics have observed May – and May Day – with various May devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary. 1 May is also one of two feast days of the Catholic patron saint of workers St Joseph the Worker, a carpenter, husband to Mother Mary, and surrogate father of Jesus. Replacing another feast to St. Joseph, this date was chosen by Pope Pius XII in 1955 as a counterpoint to the communist International Workers Day celebrations on May Day. 

In Oxford, it is a centuries-old tradition for May Morning revellers to gather below the Great Tower of Magdalen College at 6 am to listen to the college choir sing traditional madrigals as a conclusion to the previous night's celebrations. Since the 1980s some people then jump off Magdalen Bridge into the River Cherwell. 

The origins of the May morning celebration date from around 1505 when the Great Tower at Magdalen College was completed. The event has taken place each year in its current form since the 17th Century when "Hymnus Eucharisticus" was written by Benjamin Rogers, 17th Century Magdalen Choirmaster, musician and composer with an interesting biography! The event starts early at 6 a.m. with bells ringing, followed by the Choir singing the Hymnus Eucharisticus from the top of Magdalen Tower. The last section of the climb to the top of the tower is reportedly only a ladder, and not for the faint-hearted! For this reason choristers only wear short surplices over uniform rather than cassocks... 

The choir traditionally also sings a madrigal, "Now Is the Month of Maying" following prayers for the city led by the Dean of Divinity. Large crowds of both students and Oxford residents normally gather under the tower, along the High Street, and on Magdalen Bridge. Students and fellows of Magdalen College gather in the college cloisters and on top of the other towers within the college grounds. Morris dancing and folk singing has also featured in Radcliffe Square as the choir "sing in" the Spring in this unique Oxford tradition.

Worship and the role of church buildings - a lockdown perspective.

Worshipping during lockdown with churches either closed or partially open with significant restrictions places both a burden and an opportunity on congregations. Separated from our usual routines, places of worship and normal practise it's easy to feel cast adrift, uncertain and isolated. But perhaps it's a time to reconnect with our faith, with what is important and essential? Christians have long gathered together in specific buildings which are holy places. But as with any other earthly object can a building become more than place of worship for uniting and gathering, can it become a prop and substitute for real faith?

St Mary le Tower church in Ipswich

Church buildings are invaluable historical resources, some standing as the best examples of our architectural achievements. The rich and varied contribution that churches make to society, from offering counselling and training for vulnerable social groups, to providing opportunities for volunteer work and employment means ensuring their survival is of real importance. Churches as places of worship offer somewhere calm away from our busy lives, where we can focus and worship. 

If we have learned one thing during the pandemic though, it is that although extremely valuable for many excellent reasons, the church building is not the only place we can worship. Neither is being inside one essential for worship to occur. Jesus' cleansing of the Temple illustrates the importance of following his teachings and the central message of the Ten Commandments, without which visiting a church or place of worship has little relevance in a Christian life. It's a reminder that "going through the motions" without connecting in our hearts has little value.

Music for Shrovetide - Harold Darke

The central theme around the week before Lent in the RSCM "Sunday by Sunday" guide is that of light; or more precisely Christ as our light, alongside the Transfiguration Gospel which I wrote about here. But the theme of light would ostensibly appear rather odd as we brace ourselves to enter the chasm of light that is Lent! 

Light has been a theme since Christmas Eve when we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Light of the World. At Candlemas Jesus was presented to Simeon in the Temple, who proclaimed him 

"a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.” Luke 2:32 (KJV)

The reading of the Transfiguration Gospel (Luke 9:28-36) before Lent would seem the culmination of this theme of light. Three disciples went up the mountain with Jesus, and for a moment had a glimpse of Jesus as God could see him. He was in fact no different, it was their perception that was altered. They simply saw him in a different light- God’s light. Thus the Light of Jesus' divinity shines before Peter, James, John, and us. This glimpse of glory in Christ seen by the disciples on the mount of the Transfiguration was perhaps to sustain them through the darkness of Good Friday, when we wait for the brighter light which is the Church's sole reason for existing: the Light of Jesus' resurrection. In the Bible, light has always been a symbol of holiness, goodness, knowledge, wisdom, grace, hope, and God's revelation, which makes sense as the theme as we embark on the season of Lent. 

There are many options for anthems with such a theme; "O Nata Lux" by Tallis, "Be Thou my Vision" by Chilcott, McDowall's "Aurea Luce" or Howells' "My eyes for beauty pine" but  I've chosen an anthem by Harold Darke. Darke held an enviable reputation as an organist and choral composer during his lifetime, but the popularity of his setting of Rossetti's poem "In the Bleak Midwinter" has perhaps resulted in some of his other works achieving less attention in recent years. 

Christ Whose Glory fills the Skies - Harold Darke

Harold Edwin Darke was an English composer and organist, with a world-wide reputation as one of the finest organists of his era. He is particularly known for his choral compositions, which are an established part of the repertoire of Anglican church music.  Educated at the Royal College of Music, he became organist at St Michael Cornhill in 1916, and stayed there until 1966, briefly deputising for Boris Ord as Director of Music at King's College during World War II. Famous for his 1909 setting of Christina Rossetti's "In the Bleak Midwinter" (Voted the greatest Christmas carol of all time in a poll of choral experts and choirmasters in December 2008) his Communion Service in F is a popular staple in the repertoire of many choirs. "Christ Whose Glory Fills the Skies" is not an anthem I have sung, but was once a standard of parish church repertoire.

Christ, whose glory fills the skies, 

Christ, the true, the only Light, 

Sun of Righteousness, arise, 

Triumph o’er the shades of night; 

Dayspring from on high, be near; 

Day-star, in my heart appear. 

 Dark and cheerless is the morn 

Unaccompanied by Thee; 

Joyless is the day’s return 

Till Thy mercy’s beams I see; 

Till they inward light impart, 

Glad my eyes, and warm my heart. 

Visit then this soul of mine, 

Pierce the gloom of sin and grief; 

Fill me, Radiancy divine, 

Scatter all my unbelief; 

More and more Thyself display, 

Shining to the perfect day.

Shrovetide - Transfiguration and Transformation

"Shrovetide, also known as the Pre-Lenten Season, is the Christian period of preparation before the beginning of the liturgical season of Lent. Shrovetide starts on Septuagesima Sunday, includes Sexagesima Sunday, Quinquagesima Sunday (commonly called Shrove Sunday) and culminates on Shrove Tuesday, also known as Mardi Gras." 

This Sunday is Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, which falls roughly fifty days before Easter. In the Western Christian Churches, it is the last Sunday of Shrovetide, the Sunday before Ash Wednesday. It is also called Quinquagesima Sunday, Quinquagesimae, Estomihi, Shrove Sunday, Pork Sunday, or the Sunday next before Lent. (Estomihi is derived from the beginning of the Introit for the Sunday, Esto mihi in Deum protectorem, et in locum refugii, ut salvum me facias, Psalms 31:3.) The name originates from the Latin quinquagesimus, referring to the fifty days before Easter Day using inclusive counting which counts both Sundays. (Although even with the most inclusive counting the ten day weeks are only roughly applicable!) Traditionally, it was the third of the three Sundays (following Septuagesima and Sexagesima) of preparation for Lent. 

Similarly, last Sunday (7th Feb 2021) was the Second Sunday before Lent, also known as Sexagesima & Creation Sunday. Sexagesima means "sixtieth", the date falling approximately 60 days before Easter. The liturgical theme for Sexagesima is the Word of God, sent to renew the face of the earth. Since God continually creates and recreates, our relationship with God will determine whether or not the seed of His Word bears fruit in our lives. 

Quinquagesima precedes Easter by the same number of days as Pentecost follows Easter. It is a watershed in the Christian year and it is no coincidence that we encounter the Transfiguration Gospel at this time as we prepare to revisit Jesus' mission through Lent, Passiontide and Easter. In the Transfiguration Gospel, Mark 9.2-9 we are reminded that God accepts us as we are, thus Quinquagesima is a good day to rejoice at this acceptance and focus on the coming seasons of Lent, Passiontide and Easter.

The acceptance theme of the Transfiguration is absolutely perfect for our current reality. As society becomes progressively more divided over controversies surrounding lockdown decisions, vaccination and how best to remain an inclusive society by protecting the weakest and most vulnerable we must remain united at least over the premise on which decisions are made. I personally struggle with lockdown, the impact it has on so many which to me appears to exceed the protection it allegedly gives. What I do not dispute is that we should always strive towards inclusion. If God accepts us as we are, then we must aim to offer that same acceptance to others. Shrovetide is the perfect time to be thankful for God's acceptance of us - and to examine ourselves and our care for others.

Dr. Ian Paul writes eloquently on his blog Psephizo about possible interpretations of the term "transfiguration". The Gospel of Luke suggests a more profound meaning, that it is not Jesus - or Moses or Elijah who change, but the disciples' understanding which is transformed. I highly recommend reading it, I really enjoy Dr. Paul's insightful articles. (He also tweets under the account @psephizo.) 

Meanwhile as we start the Lenten journey once more, we should remember that the symbolism of the ash cross on our foreheads is threefold. It symbolises God's acceptance of us, indeed to be "Shriven", means to receive forgiveness, to be absolved of our sins. It is our cue to examine ourselves and our faith as we approach Easter, and a timely reminder about our place in society and how we view and care for others. 

Franz Schubert

Born 31st January 1797, Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer who bridged the worlds of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast body of work which included more than 600 secular vocal works, seven complete symphonies, sacred music, operas, incidental music and a large body of piano and chamber music. He was particularly noted for the melody and harmony in his songs (lieder) and chamber music.  

Franz was their fourth surviving son of Franz Theodor Schubert, schoolmaster, and Elisabeth Vietz who was in domestic service at the time of her marriage. The family was musical and cultivated string quartet playing in the home, the boy Franz playing the viola. He showed a gift for music from an early age, with his father gave him his first violin lessons and his elder brother gave him piano lessons, continuing later with organ playing and music theory under the instruction of the parish church organist. However Schubert soon exceeded their abilities. In 1808 aged 11 he won a scholarship that earned him a place in the imperial court chapel choir and an education at the Stadtkonvikt, the principal boarding school for commoners in Vienna, where his tutors were Wenzel Ruzicka, the imperial court organist, and, later, the composer Antonio Salieri, then at the height of his fame. There he became acquainted with the orchestral music of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. Schubert played the violin in the students’ orchestra, was quickly promoted to leader, and in Ruzicka’s absence conducted. He also attended choir practice and, with his fellow pupils, cultivated chamber music and piano playing. 

Schubert left the Stadtkonvikt at the end of 1813, returning home where he began studying to become a schoolteacher. He continued his studies in composition with Antonio Salieri and still composed prolifically. The first public performance of one of his works, the Italian Overture in C Major, took place on March 1, 1818, in Vienna. This boosted his pubic reputation and in June he left the city to take up the post of music master to the two daughters of Johann, Count Esterházy, in the family’s summer residence at Zseliz, Hungary. 

Initially Schubert struggled to publish his own works, but with support from friends his song “Erlkönig” ("Elf King") was offered gonna subscription basis. This proved very successful and in Vienna the popularity of Schubert’s songs and dance music became so great that concert parties were entirely devoted to them. These parties, called Schubertiaden, were given in the homes of wealthy merchants and civil servants, but the wider worlds of opera and public concerts still eluded him.   

In 1821, Schubert was admitted to the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde as a performing member, which helped establish his name among the Viennese citizenry. He gave a concert of his own works to critical acclaim in March 1828, the only time he did so in his career. He died eight months later at the age of 31, the cause officially attributed to typhoid fever, but believed by some historians to be syphilis. 

Appreciation of Schubert's music while he was alive was limited to a relatively small circle of admirers in Vienna, but interest in his work increased greatly in the decades following his death. Felix Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann, Franz Liszt, Johannes Brahms and other 19th-century composers discovered and championed his works. Today, Schubert is ranked among the greatest composers of Western classical music and his music continues to be popular.  

Schubert truly stands between the worlds of Classical and Romantic music. One of the last of the great Classical composers, his music is emotional and poetic in the style of the Romantic era. It is nevertheless a product of the formal mould of the Classical school and Schubert belongs to the age of Haydn, Beethoven, and Mozart than to that of Schumann, Chopin, and Wagner.

Schubert's Mass in G is a personal favourite, and we recorded Schubert's "Holy, Holy, Holy" virtually during lockdown last year with our choir (below). I also have fond memories of my youngest son as a treble recording "Ave Maria" a few years back, then aged 11. 

Kate Thompson · Ave Maria di Schubert

Grayston Ives

Our anthem in church this week is "O Sacrum Convivium" by Grayston Ives. 

Born in 1948 Ives is a modern British composer. Composing as "Grayston", he prefers to be known as Bill - a nickname given him by his brother. Ives has spent his life in choral music, and until 2009 was Director of Music at Magdalen College, Oxford. In this role he also directed the choir in recordings on the Harmonia Mundi label; "With a Merrie Noyse", made with the viol consort Fretwork and featuring the works of the English composer Orlando Gibbons, was nominated for a Grammy in 2004. Paul McCartney's "Ecce Cor Meum" was written especially for Magdalen College Choir and the subsequent EMI recording won the Classical BRIT Award for Album of the Year in 2007. For his contribution to church music, Ives was awarded a Fellowship of the Royal School of Church Music (May 2008) and a Lambeth DMus (July 2008), conferred by Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury. He is also an Emeritus Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford.

Bill has spent his life in choral music – as a singer, conductor, teacher and composer (writing as Grayston Ives). A chorister at Ely Cathedral he later studied music at Selwyn College, Cambridge where he held a choral scholarship; taking composition lessons with Richard Rodney Bennett. After Cambridge he sang in Guildford Cathedral Choir before joining The King’s Singers, with whom he recorded and performed worldwide.

(A few years back my youngest son was fortunate enough to perform in a post-workshop concert with The Kings Singers. This was my first exposure to the group, now a household name following their "Carols from Kings" performance with the choristers of Kings College, Cambridge this Christmas.) 

"O sacrum convivium" is a Latin text honouring the Blessed Sacrament. It is included as an antiphon to the Magnificat in the vespers of the liturgical office on the feast of Corpus Christi. (The text is likely attributable to Saint Thomas Aquinas.) It expresses the profound affinity of the Eucharistic celebration,  to the Paschal mystery : "O sacred banquet at which Christ is consumed, the memory of his Passion is recalled, our souls are filled with grace, and the pledge of future glory is given to us."

Edward Elgar / Music for the Baptism of Christ

 Edward Elgar is a fine example of social mobility in later Victorian society. Born the son of a piano tuner who owned a music shop in June 1857, the young Elgar was largely self-taught. He benefitted from growing up in a musical household and took full advantage of the resources available in his father's shop in Broadheath, nr Worcester in the West Midlands. He struggled for many years to establish himself as a prominent composer fighting both class and religious bigotry common at the time. Born a Roman Catholic  among a Protestant majority, the cards were stacked against him. During the last two decades of the eighteenth century he persevered, taught music and played the organ at a Roman Catholic church in Worcester and conducted and composed for local musical organisations. His compositional ability and style matured, and by the turn of the century it was clear his talent had surpassed that of the leading composers of his day.

In 1901 came the first two "Pomp and Circumstance" marches, the first in D major containing the famous trio section that was later to become Land of Hope and Glory. Elgar appreciated its worth; he had prophesied: "I've got a tune that will knock 'em - knock 'em flat! … a tune like that comes once in a lifetime …". In July 1904 he was knighted by the new king, Edward VII.

In 1906, Elgar was busy working on his great oratorio, The Kingdom, the sequel to The Apostles of 1903. (Elgar originally intended that there should be a cycle of three oratorios but the third part of the trilogy was never completed.) You can read more about The Apostles below.

Edward Elgar, c. 1900

Aged 29, Elgar took on a new pupil, Caroline Alice Roberts, daughter of the late Major-General Sir Henry Roberts, and published author of verse and prose fiction. Eight years older than Elgar, Alice became his wife three years later. Elgar's biographer Michael Kennedy writes, "Alice's family was horrified by her intention to marry an unknown musician who worked in a shop and was a Roman Catholic. She was disinherited."

A prolific composer, the First World War depressed him significantly, and despite the support of his much-loved wife his output slowed significantly during this time. He was devoted to Alice and when she died in 1920 much of his inspiration and motivation disappeared. He died of a malignant tumour in 1934.

Elgar has been described as the first composer to take the gramophone seriously. Between 1914 and 1925, he conducted a series of acoustic recordings of his works. The introduction of the moving-coil microphone in 1923 made far more accurate sound reproduction possible, and Elgar made new recordings of most of his major orchestral works and excerpts from The Dream of Gerontius.

"For thirty years after his death in 1934, his music was considered to be 'out of fashion'. It was said to epitomise the Edwardian era and to have no relevance to a later age. I believe, however, that it is far too great to be tied to one short period of history and that, in any case, it is music of so personal a nature that it can be described accurately not as 'Edwardian' but only as 'Elgarian'." 

Michael Kennedy - 'Portrait of Elgar' (Oxford University Press -1968)

Edward Elgar (2nd June 1857 - 23rd February 1934) - "Those years had seen change accelerate as never before in human history. His response had been to seek the illumination of time remembered. For all those of his generation and the future who would feel the insight of retrospection, he had made of that evanescence his music." 

Jerrold Northrop Moore - 'Edward Elgar - A Creative Life' (Oxford University Press - 1984)

Baptism of Christ

This Sunday is the first Sunday of Epiphany, and marks the Baptism of the Lord. It is a time of new beginnings, and indeed Mark's Gospel opens at this point, where Jesus "goes public" and begins his Ministry. 

Elgar's oratorio "The Apostles" is a narrative work, dealing with the calling of the Apostles and their experiences of Jesus' preaching, miracles, crucifixion, resurrection and ascension. The work is in two parts and seven sections, each played without a break. Elgar claimed it had been a project he had first conceived  in boyhood, and selected the words from the Bible and Apocrypha.

   

Part 1 is the "The Calling of the Apostles" and fits well with Jesus' Baptism. The music begins just before dawn; the sun rises, and one by one the Apostles are chosen. The prologue is the well-known "The Spirit of the Lord" with the words from Isaiah 61 vv. 1–3, 11 :-

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because He hath anointed me to

preach the gospel to the poor;

He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted,

to preach deliverance to the captives

and recovering of sight to the blind,

to preach the acceptable year of the Lord;

to give unto them that mourn

a garland for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning,

the garment of praise

for the spirit of heaviness;

That they might be called trees of righteousness,

the planting of the Lord that He might be glorified.

For as the earth bringeth forth her bud,

and as the garden causeth the

things that are sown in it to spring forth;

So the Lord God will cause

righteousness and praise to

spring forth before all nations.

"When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." 

Luke 3: 21-22 

Epiphany / Warlock - Bethlehem Down

Epiphany is a Christian feast day that celebrates the revelation of God incarnate as Jesus Christ. In Western Christianity, the feast marks the visit of the Magi to the Christ Child, and thus Jesus' physical manifestation to the Gentiles. Epiphany is celebrated 12 days after Christmas on 6th January (or January 19th for some Orthodox Church who have Christmas on 7th January) and is the time when Christians remember the Wise Men (also sometimes called the Three Kings) who visited Jesus. 

Epiphany is also when some Churches remember when Jesus was Baptised, when he was about 30, and began his teaching. Epiphany means 'revelation' and both the visit of the Wise Men and his Baptism are important times when Jesus was 'revealed' to be very important. 

"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you."  Isaiah 60:1

A central question posed throughout the Epiphany season is therefore "Who is Jesus?". Matthew's account of the visit of the Magi with their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh reveals him as a King, High Priest and Saviour of all. Isaiah speaks prophetically of the promise for God's glory. Paul continues with Isaiah's theme of unification around a central light which is Jesus Christ, reminding the Ephesians that Gentiles now share in God's promise. Paul is an ambassador for Christ to those who are no longer excluded and this central theme of unity and access for all to the love and teachings of Jesus is particularly pertinent today.

"Bethlehem Down" is a choral anthem or carol composed in 1927 by Anglo-Welsh composer Peter Warlock (1894–1930) set to a poem written by journalist and poet Bruce Blunt. It is a popular anthem used in the Anglican church during the liturgical seasons of Christmastide and Epiphany. (Warlock wrote it to finance a heavy bout of drinking on Christmas Eve 1927 for himself and Blunt, who were experiencing financial difficulty. The pair submitted the carol to The Daily Telegraph's annual Christmas carol contest and won. It was first performed in a Lancaster parish church on December 12th 1930. It was to be the last song Warlock wrote and the manuscript was said to be on his piano when he is believed to have committed suicide days later.

A composer and music critic, Peter Warlock was born Philip Arnold Heseltine on 30 October 1894. (The Warlock name reflects Heseltine's interest in occult practices and was used for all his published musical works.) He is best known as a composer of songs and other vocal music with a distinctive, original style.

When He is King we will give him the King's gifts, 

Myrrh for its sweetness, and gold for a crown, 

"Beautiful robes", said the young girl to Joseph 

Fair with her first-born on Bethlehem Down. 

Bethlehem Down is full of the starlight 

Winds for the spices, and stars for the gold, 

Mary for sleep, and for lullaby music 

Songs of a shepherd by Bethlehem fold. 

When He is King they will clothe Him in grave-sheets, 

Myrrh for embalming, and wood for a crown, 

He that lies now in the white arms of Mary 

Sleeping so lightly on Bethlehem Down. 

Here He has peace and a short while for dreaming, 

Close-huddled oxen to keep Him from cold, 

Mary for love, and for lullaby music 

Songs of a shepherd by Bethlehem fold.

The boy choristers at King's, Ely performed a different version in December, prompting much discussion on a certain Choral Evensong forum! Here is the version performed, much dark and with a stronger sense of suspense. Hugely atmospheric but quite sad. It is published in "Nöel 2".

This is in fact Warlock's first version, written for piano and voice. Warlock wrote "organ" at the start but as one commentator observes "it looks as though he intended it for organ and then forgot, writing a very pianistic accompaniment that demands more than usual editing by an organist." The original manuscript is here and was auctioned at Christie's, with the following text to accompany the listing:-

"His version for solo voice and organ, written for Arnold Dowbiggin's Christmas recital at Lancaster Parish Church, where it had its first performance on 12 December 1930, brings into starker relief the melancholy import of Blunt's text, with a more adventurous approach to the harmony, and an ending in deepest desolation with dying repetitions of the harmony's falling motif. On 17 December, sixteen days after completing the present manuscript, Warlock committed suicide in his flat in Chelsea, at the age of 36."

A film was made about Warlock's life, released in 2005. ""Some Little Joy" is a drama with music about Philip Heseltine, known as Peter Warlock, who by his death in 1930 at the age of thirty six had composed some of the most perfect gems of English songwriting and elevated hedonism to an art form." You can watch a trailer here:- (Warning, there is some adult content in the trailer.)

Warlock was perhaps not a conventional composer of church anthems, but produced some of the most beautiful music. I feel his work is a reminder that we must avoid assumptions about individuals and their capabilities, and avoid dismissing those with whom we struggle to connect, making this anthem doubly appropriate for Epiphany.

Parousia

The term "parousia" has been used since ancient times to describe the arrival or visit of a king or emperor.  The Greek word parousia here corresponded to the Latin word "advent", or coming. For example, in memory of the visit of Emperor Nero to the cities of Patras and Corinth, advent coins were struck that carried the legend Adventus Augusti Corinth. The numerous journeyings of the Emperor Hadrian were celebrated by many advent coins, and often new eras were reckoned from date of the parousia. 

Parousia is Greek for ‘presence’, interchangeable with "arrival" or "coming", and is used in the New Testament to refer to the coming of Christ within an eschatological context regarding judgement and resurrection. 

Photo by Greyson Joralemon on Unsplash

The early Christian church believed the main elements of the coming of the kingdom of God had already been realised in the life of Jesus and in his death, which had been vindicated by the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15: 23–4). Jesus also foretold the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem (Mark 13: 2), which was necessary for the fulfilment of the coming of the kingdom if God. When it was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE, its place was taken by the crucified and risen Son of Man, who became the new focus of divine presence. This was what St Paul and his contemporaries were waiting for, a kingdom of peace, justice, and love (Romans 14: 17) and for the early Church the most important part of the process had already occurred with Jesus' resurrection. The timing of the remainder was unimportant. 

Parousia can have several interpretations in the context of Advent. It is mainly used in Christian theology to refer to the second coming of Christ, but some scholars use the word to refer to Christ's spiritual presence in a church. The season of Advent is a time of waiting as we prepare to welcome Christ on Christmas Day, so parousia might therefore be interpreted as the coming of Christ into our hearts, our lives, and our community. 

 

Photo by Gareth Harper on Unsplash

Gaudete!

The third Sunday in Advent is "Refreshment Sunday", also known as Gaudete Sunday, and this year it falls on 13th December. 

"The season of Advent originated as a fast of 40 days in preparation for Christmas, commencing on the day after the feast of Saint Martin (11 November), and was originally called Saint Martin's Lent, a name by which it was known as early as the fifth century. In the ninth century, the duration of Advent was reduced to four weeks (a period starting four Sundays before Christmas), and Advent preserved most of the characteristics of a penitential season, which made it a kind of counterpart to Lent. Gaudete Sunday is a counterpart to Laetare Sunday, and provides a similar break about midway through a season which is otherwise of a penitential character, and signifies the nearness of the Lord's coming." (Wikipedia) 

On Gaudete Sunday rose-coloured vestments may be worn instead of violet which is otherwise prescribed for every day in the season of Advent, and it is therefore also known as "Rose Sunday". Rose is the liturgical colour for joy. In churches that have an Advent wreath, the rose-coloured candle is lit in addition to two of the violet candles, which represent the first two Sundays of Advent. Despite the otherwise sombre readings of the season of Advent, which recognises the need for penitence in anticipation, the readings on the third Sunday emphasises the joyous anticipation of the Lord's coming.

An advent wreath with three purple candles and the rose coloured candle to represent joy.

Gaudete means “rejoice”. and it is a reminder that the Advent season is a season of joy because our salvation is already at hand. To have a Sunday of rejoicing in the midst of the traditional Advent fast is not simply a concession to human weakness. It serves to correct spiritual pride, reminding those who fast that the whole of the Christian life is a matter of grace. John the Baptist reminds us that salvation is a gift of grace, it is not bestowed on us in return for penitence. Joy is the experience of knowing that you are unconditionally loved, it requires no external conditions, unlike happiness. 

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Indeed, the Lord is near.” Philippians 4:4-5

Advent is a time of watching, waiting and listening, remembering and anticipating, renewal and wonder. On Gaudete Sunday we should rejoice in the unconditional love of God, as we anticipate the fulfilment of his gift of love at Christmas.