"The Little Church Around the Corner"
One East 29th Street, New York
MUSIC NOTES:
Easter VI - May 20, 2001
Herbert Howells' long life (1892-1983) spanned a period of history whose church music began with the grand sweep of Elgar and Parry, and ended with the haunting, minimalist prayers of Arvo Pärt and John Tavener. Howells' music belongs ostensibly to the Elgar and Parry tradition (having been taught by Villiers Stanford and Charles Wood), yet after witnessing two world wars and the death of his only son at age 9 from polio, and with the composer's unremitting sense of self-criticism, a sense of quiet introspection flows beneath its distinctly English expansiveness.
Howells' own words concerning his service Collegium Regale provide some insight into this. The work was commissioned in 1945 by the Dean of York, and was to be what in Byrd's time would be called a "Great Service," (the morning canticles [Te Deum and Jubilate], a setting of the Office of Holy Communion, and the evening canticles [Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis]). In accepting the commission, Howells wrote to the Dean saying, "If I made the setting of the Magnificat, the mighty should be put down from their seat without brute force that would deny this canticle's feminine association. Equally, that in the Nunc Dimittis, the tenor's domination should characterize the gentle Simeon. Only the Gloria should raise its voice." It is this kind of sensitivity that marks Howells' service setting Collegium Regale as something of a bridge between the pre- and post-World War II eras in Anglican liturgical music.
It is fitting that Howells should be paired with Thomas Tallis, whose equally long life (1505-1585) also spanned an agonizing period of human history. If ye love me needs little introduction, as it has been among the best-loved anthems of the Anglican church ever since it was first penned. It is a straightforward composition, designed musically to allow the text to sound forth with clarity and beauty, a text of great promise and profundity, and one that is highly suited to Rogationtide, as we prepare for the feast of the Ascension.
Howells' own words concerning his service Collegium Regale provide some insight into this. The work was commissioned in 1945 by the Dean of York, and was to be what in Byrd's time would be called a "Great Service," (the morning canticles [Te Deum and Jubilate], a setting of the Office of Holy Communion, and the evening canticles [Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis]). In accepting the commission, Howells wrote to the Dean saying, "If I made the setting of the Magnificat, the mighty should be put down from their seat without brute force that would deny this canticle's feminine association. Equally, that in the Nunc Dimittis, the tenor's domination should characterize the gentle Simeon. Only the Gloria should raise its voice." It is this kind of sensitivity that marks Howells' service setting Collegium Regale as something of a bridge between the pre- and post-World War II eras in Anglican liturgical music.
It is fitting that Howells should be paired with Thomas Tallis, whose equally long life (1505-1585) also spanned an agonizing period of human history. If ye love me needs little introduction, as it has been among the best-loved anthems of the Anglican church ever since it was first penned. It is a straightforward composition, designed musically to allow the text to sound forth with clarity and beauty, a text of great promise and profundity, and one that is highly suited to Rogationtide, as we prepare for the feast of the Ascension.
