General:
| Huw Edwards celebrates the centenary of 'The English Hymnal'. Composer Ralph Vaughan Williams chose the music for this hymn book which has given us many of our best-loved traditional tunes. The Hymnal's 'birthplace' was St Mary's, in London's Primrose Hill, where favourites like 'Come Down, O Love Divine' and 'For All The Saints' were premiered - and, 100 years on, the church's 200-strong congregation are still 'singing from the same hymn book'!
|
| THE REV PAUL NICHOLSON
Curate at St Mary the Virgin and professional harpsichordist. Rev Nicholson talks of how Rev Dearmer's wide choice of writers for the English Hymnal including social commentators such as G K Chesterton reflected The Rev. Percy Dearmer's belief that the church's main concern should be service and action. He goes on to talk of the folk tradition of the Hymnal eg the tune Kingsfold and how these tunes depict the personal narrative. PAUL PERKINS Youth and Community Worker at St Mary the Virgin Paul talks about St Mary's social inclusion project and the church's notion of service and community, quoting St Francis of Assisi 'Preach the gospel and, if necessary, use words'. MICHAEL WILLFORD Director of Music at St Mary the Virgin Michael talks of the Hymnal's value in terms of its tradition of music and liturgy and also in its diversity; in 1906 Dearmer included not only new tunes but brought back traditional melodies largely ignored by the Victorians. DR SIMON LINDLEY Leeds City Organist. Simon Lindley is Organist of Leeds Parish Church and of Leeds Town Hall. He is also a compiler of New English Praise and a director of the English Hymnal Company. He talks of how Ralph Vaughan Williams and Gustav Holst took the very best of traditional tunes available from rural communities and also sea shanties and which were ripe for arrangement for The English Hymnal. http://www.simonlindley.org.uk/ FATHER ROBERT ATWELL Father Atwell, Vicar at St Mary the Virgin, gave the Prayer and Blessing Father Atwell also writes about The English Hymnal on the following web page, which is part of the St Mary the Virgin website:- http://www.smvph.org.uk/content/view/29/157/ |
| All hymns can be found in 'The English Hymnal', published by Oxford University Press.
COME DOWN, O LOVE DIVINE English Hymnal # 152 Tune: Down Ampney Music: Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) Words: Bianco da Siena, d. 1434. Tr. R. F. Littledale Performed by the congregation of St Mary the Virgin, Primrose Hill with assistant organist Bryan Almond, conducted by Noël Tredinnick. THEE WE ADORE, O HIDDEN SAVIOUR, THEE The English Hymnal #331 Tune: Adoro Te Music: Proper Melody (from the Solesmes Version) arr. J.H.A Final verse organ harmonisation by Bryan Almond Words: St. Thomas Aquinas, 1227-74 Tr. Bishop J.R. Woodford Performed by the congregation of St Mary the Virgin, Primrose Hill with assistant organist Bryan Almond, conducted by Noël Tredinnick. O GOD OF EARTH and ALTAR The English Hymnal # 562 Words: G. K. Chesterton Music: English Traditional Melody Tune: Kings Lynn Performed by the congregation of St Mary the Virgin, Primrose Hill with assistant organist Bryan Almond, conducted by Noël Tredinnick. HE WHO WOULD VALIANT BE The English Hymnal #402 Tune: Monks Gate Music: adapted from an English Traditional Melody by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) Arranged for this programme by Dr Francis Roads from the West Gallery Society Words: J Bunyan 1628-88 and others Performed by members of the congregation of St Mary the Virgin, Primrose Hill with assistant organist Bryan Almond and musicians (see below) conducted by Noël Tredinnick FOR THE BEAUTY OF THE EARTH The English Hymnal # 309 Tune: England's Lane Music: adapted by Geoffrey Shaw (1879-1943) from an English Melody Words: F. S. Pierpoint 1835-1917 Performed by the congregation of St Mary the Virgin, Primrose Hill with assistant organist Bryan Almond, conducted by Noël Tredinnick. FOR ALL THE SAINTS Tune: Sine Nomine The English Hymnal #641 Music: R. Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) Words: Bishop W.W. How 1823-97 Performed by the congregation of St Mary the Virgin, Primrose Hill with assistant organist Bryan Almond, conducted by Noël Tredinnick. SEMPITERNA Based on 'Creator of the Stars of Night', The English Hymnal #1 Performed in the Latin by Libera Music: Traditional arranged by Libera's Director, Robert Prizeman For more information on Libera see below. INCIDENTAL MUSIC We featured 'The Lark Ascending' composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams and 'Kingsfold', a traditional English melody collected and arranged by Vaughan Williams. |
| We filmed our congregation at:-
THE PARISH CHURCH OF ST MARY THE VIRGIN Elsworthy Road, Primrose Hill, London, NW3 3JD Tel: 020 7722 3238 www.smvph.org.uk We filmed our drama re-construction with 'Ralph Vaughan Williams' and 'Gustav Holst'at the following locations:- THE OLD POST OFFICE, HIGH STREET, WANGFORD, NR SOUTHWOLD,SUFFOLK, NR34 8RA These are holiday apartments recently restored in the Arts and Crafts style by owner Tony Geering http://www.puritanvalues.co.uk/house.htm Mobile: 07966 371676 The Dome: 1502 722211 THE ANGEL INN, HIGH STREET, WANGFORD, NR BECCLES SUFFOLK, NR34 8RL Tel: 01502 578636 THE CHURCH OF ST PETER and ST PAUL, WANGFORD, SUFFOLK, NR34 8RH ST ANDREW'S CHURCH, COVE HITHE Contact: Rev Leonard Payne. Tel: 01502 675208 We filmed Libera at:- HOLY TRINITY CHURCH, BLYTHBURGH, SUFFOLK, IP19 9NQ Contact: Church Warden Alan Pegg Tel: 01502 478459 http://suffolkchurches.co.uk/Blythburgh.htm |
| The Ralph Vaughan Williams Society
http://www.rvwsociety.com/ Membership Secretary: David Betts davidbetts@tudorcottage.plus.com 'There was a Time' a pictorial journey from the collection of Ursula Vaughan Williams. Published by The Albion Music Company (http://www.albionmusic.co.uk/), a division of the RVW Society and available by emailing Cynthia Cooper. cjc@cooper94.plus.com Or write to Cynthia at 4 Guthrum's Meadow. Golf Lane, Aldeburgh, Suffolk, IP15 5PN Albion Music Limited Meadow Golf Lane Libera www.libera.org.uk Sempiterna is available commercially on Libera's CD 'Visions' on the EMI Classics label. Noël Tredinnick Noël is one of our regular Songs of Praise conductors. He is also Organist and Director of Music at All Souls Church, Langham Place 2 All Souls Place, London, W1B 3DA Tel: 020 7580 3522 Musicians Our musicians at St Mary the Virgin were:- Organist: Bryan Almond Cello: Josephine Abbott Bassoon: Mike Brain Fiddle: Vic Godrich Oboe: John Miles Actors Ralph Vaughan Williams: Mark Ranawake Gustav Holst: Julian Field Oboe player: John Miles Other publications to mark the centenary of the English Hymnal are:- Strengthen for Service: One Hundred Years of the English Hymnal 1906-2006 Published by Canterbury Press Norwich in November 2005 ISBN: 1853116629 and New English Praise Published by: Canterbury Press Norwich in May 2006 ISBN: 1853117242 The West Gallery Music Association www.wgma.org.uk |