The text for this movement of Brahms’ requiem was written by Heinrich Schütz (1585–1672) and is taken from the Psalms of David (psalm 84) … More Wie Lieblich Sind Deine Wohnungen (Brahms Op 45, mvt 4)
I think most readers of these articles know that for me, music is a key component of worship. This came up in a recent Bible Study discussion about worship, and I commented how frustrating it is when congregants complain that they didn’t know all the hymns … More When all else fails, Listen
The Lord’s Prayer has to be amongst the best known texts in the world. Whether there was a preference for the traditional or new version, chances are, you learned it at school – as do many, many UK children, even now … More The Lord’s Prayer Mark and Helen Johnson (2011)
This article comes to you against a backdrop of chemical attacks and reprisal bombings in Syria, protracted Brexit negotiations, teenage mental health issues at an all time high, endemic loneliness amongst the elderly in our society, poverty and food banks as a norm in the UK, the world’s oceans clogged up with plastics, more high school shootings in the USA, grotesque power-posturing by political world leaders, and countless other atrocities at home and around the world … More A Place at the Table
“Leaving Lismore” is a traditional Scottish folk song that I was introduced to about a year ago. These words were set to it by Helen Kennedy and seem appropriate at the Easter season and the coming of Pentecost … More “Spirit of God” (Church Hymnary 4, no. 722)
A week or two ago this was given out at a rehearsal of the Manchester Chorale. Although not an obvious choice for the Easter issue of our parish magazine, it called to me … More Locus Iste – Anton Bruckner (1824-1896)
This is probably the hardest song I have taught the Children’s Choir during Sunday School singing practice, for three reasons … More Jesus is Alive! (Mark and Helen Johnson)
I learned this contemporary setting of the Ave Maria in the autumn of 2016, ready for a tour to Belgium with the Manchester Chorale. We were due to sing it during a mass at a large church in Beveren, near to Antwerp. Written in Latin by a young Norwegian composer, the text is … More Second Eve – Ola Gjeilo (b. 1978)
When I was a child, I had piano lessons. I longed to be able to play Chopin and Mozart as beautifully as my grandmother could and was disappointed to find that there was an awful lot of practice of the basics, such as scales, before what I was doing would become a thing of beauty … More Relationship
The “Gloria”, or Greater Doxology is sung in churches every Sunday all over the world, unless of course it is either Lent or Advent. As you probably know, this hymn begins with the words that the angels sang to announce the birth of Christ to shepherds in Luke 2:14 … More Gloria
St Margaret's Church Prestwich 