St Margaret's Church Prestwich

This article first appeared in the March 2023 issue of our parish magazine.

So often I have written that carols are not just for Christmas – and here is another example. “As Dew in Aprille” is from Benjamin Britten’s “A Ceremony of Carols”. During Lent we celebrate both Mothering Sunday and the Annunciation of Mary – when Gabriel visited Mary to ask if she would bear God’s son. This carol is very appropriate for both occasions. The text comes from a middle English lyric poem by an anonymous author:

I sing of a maiden That is makèles King of alle kings To her son she ches	I sing of a maiden that is matchless King of all kings for her son she chose.
He came all so still There his moder was As dew in Aprille That falleth on the grass	He came as silently where his mother was As dew in April that falls on the grass
He came all so still To his moder’s bour As dew in Aprille That falleth on the flour	He came as silently to his mother’s bower As dew in April that falls on the flower
He came all so still There his moder lay As dew in Aprille That falleth on the spray	He came as silently where his mother lay As dew in April that falls on the spray
Moder & mayden Was never none but she Well may such a lady Goddes moder be.	Mother and maiden was never none but she Well may such a lady God’s mother be.

The first and last verses are loud and in 3-part harmony for upper voices (soprano I, soprano II and alto). They are proclamatory and celebrate Mary as above all other women, who chose to answer God’s call.

The middle three verses start quietly and get progressively quieter, which matches the silence with which the Holy Spirit brought Jesus to be nurtured in Mary’s womb. Silently, Mary was found where she was, where she lay, in her bower. As silently as the April dew falls on the grass and on flowers.

The music is beautiful, delicate, ethereal, with echoes suggesting a gentle breeze as the holy dove searches for and finds Mary. It is utterly perfect as a setting for these words.

There are many recordings available online, including this one by Jennifer, Carol and Tom https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3S1UrKLbeXs and I quite like this one by iSing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VM7eYH58nE4 

Carol P