"Kind folks of old, you come again no more"

A recent exchange about nostalgia reminded me of this:

Home no more home to me, whither must I wander?
by Robert Louis Stevenson

HOME no more home to me, whither must I wander? Hunger my driver, I go where I must. Cold blows the winter wind over hill and heather; Thick drives the rain, and my roof is in the dust. Loved of wise men was the shade of my roof-tree. The true word of welcome was spoken in the door — Dear days of old, with the faces in the firelight, Kind folks of old, you come again no more.

Home was home then, my dear, full of kindly faces, Home was home then, my dear, happy for the child. Fire and the windows bright glittered on the moorland; Song, tuneful song, built a palace in the wild. Now, when day dawns on the brow of the moorland, Lone stands the house, and the chimney-stone is cold. Lone let it stand, now the friends are all departed, The kind hearts, the true hearts, that loved the place of old.

Spring shall come, come again, calling up the moorfowl, Spring shall bring the sun and rain, bring the bees and flowers; Red shall the heather bloom over hill and valley, Soft flow the stream through the even-flowing hours; Fair the day shine as it shone on my childhood — Fair shine the day on the house with open door; Birds come and cry there and twitter in the chimney — But I go for ever and come again no more.

"Be our strength..."

1 Father, hear the prayer we offer:     not for ease that prayer shall be, but for strength that we may ever live our lives courageously.	3 Not forever by still waters would we idly rest and stay; but would smite the living fountains from the rocks along our way.
2 Not forever in green pastures do we ask our way to be; but the steep and rugged pathway may we tread rejoicingly.	4 Be our strength in hours of weakness, in our wanderings be our guide; through endeavour, failure, danger, Father, be Thou at our side.

A peaceful interlude

All Saints'

A hymn most appropriate for All Saints' Day sung to Ralph Vaughan Williams's SINE NOMINE ("without name"):

For all the saints, who from their labors rest,
Who Thee by faith before the world confessed,
Thy Name, O Jesus, be forever blessed.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress and their might;
Thou, Lord, their Captain in the well-fought fight;
Thou, in the darkness, their one true Light.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

O blest communion, fellowship divine!
We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
Yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

The golden evening brightens in the west;
Soon, soon to faithful warriors comes their rest;
Sweet is the calm of paradise the blessed.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

But lo! there breaks a yet more glorious day;
The saints triumphant rise in bright array;
The King of glory passes on His way.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

From earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast,
Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,
Singing to God, the Son, and Holy Ghost:
Alleluia, Alleluia!

“I am this dark world’s light..."

Jonathan Aigner, at his blog Ponder Anew, has been posting a "Hymn of the Day" series. Today the selection is "I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say," one of my favorite hymns. A very good performance:

Jonathan Aigner, "I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say," Ponder Anew, Jan. 30, 2023.

Blest is the man...

Last night I pulled an all-nighter in order to watch Queen Elizabeth's funeral. I am now badly in need of a nap but staying up was worth it. Two of many very good things:

 An unfamiliar (to me) John Donne prayer read in the funeral service and then sung at the interment:

Bring us, O Lord God, at our last awakening
   into the house and gate of heaven,
To enter into that gate and dwell in that house,
   where there shall be no darkness nor dazzling,
   but one equal light;
No noise nor silence, but one equal music;
No fears nor hopes, but one equal possession;
No ends nor beginnings, but one equal eternity;
   in the habitation of Thy glory and dominion,
   world without end. Amen.

And Vaughn Williams' setting of Psalm 34:8, originally composed for the Queen's coronation:

O Taste and see how gracious the Lord is:
Blest is the man that trusteth in him.

"We shall not look upon her like again"

Elizabeth II is dead at age 96. Alan Jacobs in "God Save the Queen":

The late Queen Elizabeth II played the hand she was dealt about as well as it could possibly have been played, and this required her to exercise virtues that few of our public figures today even know exist: dutifulness; reliability; silence; dignity; fidelity; devotion to God, family, and nation. We shall not look upon her like again; her death marks the end of a certain world. Its excellences, as well as its shortcomings, are worthy of our remembrance.

This may perhaps be a good time to listen to the small but sumptuous motet that Ralph Vaughan Williams composed for the Queen’s coronation:

Alan Jacobs, "God Save the Queen," Snakes and Ladders, Sept. 8, 2022.

"The embrace of incomprehensibility"

I had the good fortune to grow up among a group of friends who knew a lot about and enjoyed classical music. One, an organist, one a countertenor, another a classical guitarist, others regularly bought recordings of Bach, Mahler, Beethoven, Vaughan Williams, early music, etc. We were expected to be quiet while listening. We engaged in silly arguments about who was greatest: Bach, Handel, or Beethoven? The college nearby had a great music department and I attended recitals and concerts. And so on... In retrospect, I realize how fortunate I was. From "The War on Music," reviewing a book on the decline in interest in that music over the last fifty years:

.... What happened? The answers are many and tangled, but nearly all critics and historians who take up the “crisis of classical music,” as it’s inevitably described, sidestep or ignore the scarcity of new music that engages the public today and instead dwell on the decline in cultural pre-eminence of classical music in general. Their complaints are familiar: Concert halls are full of silver-hairs, Mozart can’t compete with rock ’n’ roll, governments have cut funding to orchestras, and so on.

But these problems, if they are problems at all, are tertiary concerns next to the near-total inability of post-World War II America and Europe to produce more than a small number of classical works that any normal person would want to hear. ....

...[S]omething went badly wrong in music in the 20^th century, and especially after 1945. The time has come, Mr. Mauceri writes, “to ask why so much contemporary music played by our greatest musical institutions—and supported overwhelmingly by music critics—is music that the vast majority of people do not want to hear—and have never wanted to hear.”

Mr. Mauceri, an accomplished conductor and music scholar, blames the two world wars and the Cold War. ....

The War on Music is fluently written and often cogent. Mr. Mauceri shows no patience with critics who sneer at the film music of midcentury composers such as Waxman, Korngold, Bernard Herrmann, Miklós Rózsa and Elmer Bernstein. Particularly delightful is the scorn he heaps on the idea of a perpetual, institutionalized avant-garde.

But I am not persuaded by the book’s central argument. The world wars were horrible, but they don’t explain the embrace of incomprehensibility, obscurity and repugnance by the composers and musical institutions of Western nations. The 18^th and 19^th centuries were full of wars, too, but no one concluded from them that music should consist largely of dissonant harmonies, inhuman rhythms and charmless sound patterns. The rise of the 12-tone compositional method, invented by Schoenberg and elaborated by his many imitators, produced nothing of greatness and signified a sickness at the heart of Western music. That the book’s survey of 20^th-century music begins with Igor Stravinsky’s revolting ballet “Rite of Spring,” which glorified pagan savagery and premiered a year before the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, suggests that Mr. Mauceri, too, suspects the war on music began well before the guns started firing in 1914.

About one thing, though, he is absolutely right. He writes with derision about the “trinity” of postwar music: the donor (usually the government), the critic (not infrequently an idiot) and the institution (the university that employs the composer, the orchestra that commissions his music). It’s a nice arrangement, Mr. Mauceri remarks, but it “leaves out something quite significant: the audience.” (more)

Barton Swaim, "‘The War on Music’ Review: Songs Without Listeners," The Wall Street Journal, June 16, 2022.

Have mercy upon us

This was my introduction to Ralph Vaughan Williams. I heard it first in the living room of the Rood family in Milton, Wisconsin in the early 1960s. Dale Rood (later Pastor Dale) played the LP. I have been and continue to be grateful for that introduction to Vaughan Williams' music, especially his sacred music. Here is the Mass in G Minor (about 25 minutes).

An English translation:

Kyrie Lord have mercy Christ, have mercy.

Gloria Glory be to God on high and in earth peace, good will towards men. We praise Thee, we bless Thee, we glorify Thee, We give thanks to Thee for Thy great glory O Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father Almighty O Lord, the only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ; O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, That takest away the sins of the world, Have mercy upon us, receive Thou our prayer. Thou that sittest at the right hand of God the Father Have mercy upon us. Receive Thou our prayer. Thou that sittest at the right hand of God the Father Have mercy upon us. For Thou only art holy; Thou only art the Lord; Thou only, O Christ, With the Holy Ghost, art most high In the glory of God the Father. Amen.

Credo I believe in one God, The Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible: And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, Begotten of the Father before all worlds; God, of God; Light of light; Very God, of very God; Begotten, not made; Being of one substance with the Father, Through whom all things were made: Who for us men, and for our salvation came down from heaven. And was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, And was made man, and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried, And the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures, And ascended into heaven, and sittethat the right hand of the Father And He shall come again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead: Whose Kingdom shall have no end. And I believe in the Holy Ghost, The Lord, The Giver of Life, who proceedeth from the Father and the Son, Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified, Who spake by the Prophets. And I believe One, Holy, Church. I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins. And I look for the Resurrection of the dead, And the Life of the world to come. Amen.

Sanctus—Osanna I—Benedictus—Osanna II Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts, Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.

Agnus Dei Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us, grant us peace.

Respectability

On the anniversary of Roger Scruton's death in 2020, Patrick Kurp:

In England: An Elegy (2001), Sir Roger Scruton aligns himself with one of the summits of the English conservative tradition. If such a tradition were a church, Johnson would number among its saints. ....

Johnson’s life represents a mingling of poverty-induced bohemianism (“the shabbiest of English eccentrics”) and a dignified respect for traditional norms. Scruton identifies an “anti-bohemian respectability” strain among such modern writers as T.S. Eliot, Kingsley Amis, Philip Larkin, and such composers as Vaughan Williams and Edmund Rubbra:

—all of them respectable citizens, often with conservative, even reactionary, opinions, upholders of the moral order, and unassuming members of the long-suffering middle class. This anti-bohemian respectability was not a novel feature of the national culture. The leading artistic spirits among Englishmen have almost always been prepared not only to belong to the respectable classes, but also to defend the values which make respectability respectable.

(more)

"The Values Which Make Respectability Respectable," Anecdotal Evidence, January 12, 2022.

"I am this dark world's light"

Posted before, a perfect performance of a great hymn with music by Ralph Vaughan Williams: "I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say"



I heard the voice of Jesus say,
"Come unto me and rest;
lay down, thou weary one, lay down
thy head upon my breast."
I came to Jesus as I was,
weary, and worn, and sad;
I found in him a resting place,
and he has made me glad.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
"Behold, I freely give
the living water; thirsty one,
stoop down and drink, and live."
I came to Jesus, and I drank
of that life-giving stream;
my thirst was quenched, my soul revived,
and now I live in him.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
"I am this dark world's light;
look unto me, thy morn shall rise,
and all thy day be bright."
I looked to Jesus, and I found
in him my Star, my Sun;
and in that light of life I'll walk
till traveling days are done.

Words: Horatio Bonar, 1846, Music: Kingsfold, Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1906
Oremus Hymnal: I heard the voice of Jesus say

True saving faith

Re-posted:

Ralph Vaughan Williams, "Herefordshire Carol," Choir of St. John's College, Cambridge:

This is the truth sent from above, The truth of God, the God of love; Therefore don’t turn me from your door,    But hearken all both rich and poor.	And at that season of the year Our blest Redeemer did appear; He here did live, and here did preach, And may thousands he did teach.
The first thing which I do relate Is that God did man create; The next thing which to you I’ll tell Woman was made with man to dwell.	Thus He in love to us behaved, To show us how we must be saved; And if you want to know the way, Be pleased to hear what He did say.
And we were heirs to endless woes, Till God the Lord did interpose; And so a promise soon did run That He would redeem us by his Son.

There are more verses, including:

"Go preach the Gospel," now He said,
"To all the nations that are made!
And he that does believe on me,
From all his sins I'll set him free."

O seek! O seek of God above
That saving faith that works by love!
And, if He's pleased to grant thee this,
Thou'rt sure to have eternal bliss.

God grant to all within this place
True saving faith, that special grace
Which to His people doth belong:
And thus I close my Christmas song.

Hearken all!

Ralph Vaughan Williams, "Herefordshire Carol," Choir of St. John's College, Cambridge:

This is the truth sent from above, The truth of God, the God of love; Therefore don’t turn me from your door,    But hearken all both rich and poor.	And at that season of the year Our blest Redeemer did appear; He here did live, and here did preach, And may thousands he did teach.
The first thing which I do relate Is that God did man create; The next thing which to you I’ll tell Woman was made with man to dwell.	Thus He in love to us behaved, To show us how we must be saved; And if you want to know the way, Be pleased to hear what He did say.
And we were heirs to endless woes, Till God the Lord did interpose; And so a promise soon did run That He would redeem us by his Son.

There are more verses, including:

"Go preach the Gospel," now He said,
"To all the nations that are made!
And he that does believe on me,
From all his sins I'll set him free."

O seek! O seek of God above
That saving faith that works by love!
And, if He's pleased to grant thee this,
Thou'rt sure to have eternal bliss.

God grant to all within this place
True saving faith, that special grace
Which to His people doth belong:
And thus I close my Christmas song.

Prelude on Three Welsh Hymn Tunes

"For all the saints..."

A hymn most appropriate for All Saints' Day sung to Ralph Vaughan Williams's SINE NOMINE ("without name"), perhaps referring to all those saints whose names are not remembered on earth.

For all the saints, who from their labors rest, Who Thee by faith before the world confessed, Thy Name, O Jesus, be forever blessed. Alleluia, Alleluia!	The golden evening brightens in the west; Soon, soon to faithful warriors comes their rest; Sweet is the calm of paradise the blessed. Alleluia, Alleluia!
Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress and their might; Thou, Lord, their Captain in the well-fought fight; Thou, in the darkness, drear, their one true Light. Alleluia, Alleluia!	But yonder breaks a yet more glorious day; The saints triumphant rise in bright array; The King of glory passes on His way. Alleluia, Alleluia!
O blest communion, fellowship divine! We feebly struggle, they in glory shine; Yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine. Alleluia, Alleluia!	From earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast, Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host, Singing to God, the Son, and Holy Ghost: Alleluia, Alleluia!

And all the trumpets sounded for him

After this it was noised abroad That Mr Valiant for Truth Was taken with a summons And had this for a token that the summons was true   'That his pitcher was broken at the fountain.' When he understood it, He called for his friends, and told them of it. Then, said he, 'I am going to my Father's, And though with great difficulty I am got hither, Yet now I do not repent me of all the trouble I have been at to arrive where I am. My sword, I give to him that shall succeed me in my pilgrimage And my courage and skill, to him that can get it. My marks and scars I carry with me to be a witness for me

That I have fought his battles Who now will be my rewarder.' When the day that he must go hence, was come Many accompanied him to the riverside, Into which, as he went, he said 'Death, where is thy sting?' And as he went down deeper, he said, 'Grave where is thy victory?' So he passed over And all the trumpets And all the trumpets Sounded, sounded Sounded, sounded Sounded for him Sounded for him Sounded for him All the trumpets sounded for him... On the other side

After this it was noised abroad that Mr Valiant-for-truth was taken with a Summons by the same Post as the other, and had this for a Token that the Summons was true, That his Pitcher was broken at the Fountain. When he understood it, he called for his Friends, and told them of it. Then said he, I am going to my Father's, and tho' with great difficulty I am got hither, yet now I do not repent me of all the Trouble I have been at to arrive where I am. My Sword I give to him that shall succeed me in my Pilgrimage, and my Courage and Skill to him that can get it. My Marks and Scars I carry with me, to be a witness for me that I have fought his Battles who now will be my Rewarder. When the day that he must go hence was come, many accompanied him to the Riverside, into which as he went he said, Death, where is thy Sting? And as he went down deeper he said, Grave, where is thy Victory? So he passed over, and all the Trumpets sounded for him on the other side. (Pilgrim's Progress, by John Bunyan, [1678], Section X)

Lord have mercy

Ralph Vaughan Williams, Mass in G Minor, About 25 minutes.

"Come unto me and rest"

Jonathan Aigner, is doing a series of blog posts about "Hymns of Hope and Comfort," today: "I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say." Some time ago I posted this performance of that great hymn:



I heard the voice of Jesus say,
"Come unto me and rest;
lay down, thou weary one, lay down
thy head upon my breast."
I came to Jesus as I was,
weary, and worn, and sad;
I found in him a resting place,
and he has made me glad.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
"Behold, I freely give
the living water; thirsty one,
stoop down and drink, and live."
I came to Jesus, and I drank
of that life-giving stream;
my thirst was quenched, my soul revived,
and now I live in him.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
"I am this dark world's light;
look unto me, thy morn shall rise,
and all thy day be bright."
I looked to Jesus, and I found
in him my Star, my Sun;
and in that light of life I'll walk
till traveling days are done.

Words: Horatio Bonar, 1846, Music: Kingsfold, Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1906

The Lord is my Shepherd

The King of love my Shepherd is, Whose goodness faileth never; I nothing lack if I am His And He is mine for ever.	In death's dark vale I fear no ill With Thee, dear Lord, beside me; Thy rod and staff my comfort still, Thy cross before to guide me.
Where streams of living water flow My ransomed soul He leadeth, And where the verdant pastures grow     With food celestial feedeth.	Thou spread'st a table in my sight; Thy unction, grace bestoweth: And O what transport of delight From Thy pure chalice floweth!
Perverse and foolish oft I strayed, But yet in love He sought me, And on His shoulder gently laid, And home, rejoicing, brought me.	And so through all the length of days Thy goodness faileth never; Good Shepherd, may I sing Thy praise Within Thy house for ever.

"You take the high road..."

From Alan Jacobs' newsletter this morning:

Does anyone arrange music for voices more beautifully than Ralph Vaughan Williams? If you doubt his mastery, take 90 seconds — 90 seconds, that’s all it takes — and listen to “O Taste and See,” the glorious motet RVW wrote to be sung at Holy Communion during the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Abbey, 2 June 1953. Just that minute-and-a-half is a complete education in vocal arrangement.

RVW has an amazing knack for balancing three musical forces: the lead voice alone; the lead voice supported by a choir; the full power of the choir. Notice how beautifully he weaves together those forces in his utterly simple but also utterly perfect arrangement of “Loch Lomond.” It’s just a faux folk song, but one of the loveliest melodies in the world, and RVW knows better than to over-elaborate his arrangement. I especially admire the way he changes the pattern in the third verse: the first two had been solo-and-then-choir, the third is choir-and-then-solo. The lead tenor at the end does so much to emphasize the grief and longing of the song.

Is it a piece of Victorian sentimentality? Maybe. But Victorian sentimentality doesn’t always go astray. ....

Opinionlessness • Buttondown