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When was Vaughan Williams’s
Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis first performed?
When Vaughan Williams conducted the first performance of his
Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis for strings in Gloucester Cathedral, at the Three Choirs Festival in September 1910, he unveiled a masterpiece that was to renew an entire musical tradition. Compiling a new edition of the English Hymnal, he had been impressed by the sombre splendour of a Phrygian-mode tune contributed by Tallis to the 1567 Psalter for Matthew Parker, the first post-Reformation Archbishop of Canterbury. Vaughan Williams also knew the Baroque concerto grosso, with its contrasted solo and collective string groups. Based on Tallis’s magnificent theme, the
The Church of England’s purging of school hymns is reckless cultural destruction
New guidance instructing faith schools to abandon overtly religious songs is yet another lunatic assault by the C of E on its own heritage
15 May 2021 • 2:00pm
What s up with hymn? New Church guidance calls for an end to confessional singing in schools
Credit: David Burges
It’s a long-standing joke that the Church of England exists largely to remove any idea of religion from our national life. The more the Church has sought to make its services more “inclusive” and “relevant”, the more Christians have converted to other denominations where they think things are done properly (notably Roman Catholicism), and the more those curious about Christianity have avoided the C of E.
Nadya Miryanova explores the stories behind some of the nation’s most loved Christmas carols
by Nadya Miryanova Tuesday December 22 2020
Christmas carols carry a distinctive kind of midwinter magic, conjuring images of snow-tipped forest trees and candle-lit beginnings. They’ve undoubtedly become a central part of the festive season, ringing out in churches and homes while brightening Christmases all round the nation.
With Christmas fast approaching, what better time is there to reflect on their origins? Many themes swirl round their mystical beginnings, from dubious author attributions to continuously evolving traditions. Much is unknown, yet there is much to be found.
December 14, 2020
It’s time for Christmas music! Technically, of course, if you’re traditional about these things, it’s time for Advent music. Advent is the beautiful four-week season that
precedes Christmas, a time of waiting in darkness for the light of Christ to dawn. During this tumultuous year of 2020, the season of Advent, and all that comes with it, has much to say to worshippers (read an essay I wrote on Advent and the hymns and carols particular to that season here).
Today we must admit that Advent and Christmas are often somewhat jumbled in our minds. In this year of unique trials and tribulations especially, many of us may feel, alongside Mame, that we “need a little Christmas, right this very minute.”