Here’s how we are going to get along.
As I read that lament on Sunday, I was singing inside my head the wonderful Tomkins’ setting of the lament. As an alto, I could be accused of bias – the suspensions between the two alto parts are hair-raising in their beauty – but to me nothing can match it. You can hear it here
Oh dear me, yes. Let’s all wear pink and have a celebration.
Your video camera however does not let one get anything like the quality of the voice in space experience of last Sunday. And I write as one not musical.
I think, too, it always would work best for a single male voice, because it is so heavily tied to a single male figure. It is superb writing, superbly put to music.
I don’t want to ‘dis’ your only-too-correct comments on the space between our understanding and that of the Iron age. But I think that two things may offer a little light on how and why we read the succession narrative.
The first is that it is an outstanding piece of writing by any standards at all. The terrible attempt by the lectionary to cut it on Sunday just pointed that up (not the first time I’ve wondered what the editors of it thought they were doing). Good story has its own power.
Secondly, one has to ask who commissioned this account and why. I think the answer has to be Solomon’s court, as ’twere – thus not only does one have to explain why Solomon succeeded one also has to paint a very flawed but still in some ways great David. A man one might be glad to have as a father, and a man who it would be possible to offer a better alternative to. The last King, if a relative, should neither be too good or too bad. QED.
Oh my word! Why have I never heard this before? It is glorious and I am in love with it. There is absolutely nothing like a good lament. Dido’s Lament had better look out.
What a fantastic morning we had at St Mary’s. A few glum looking protesters stood outside the church bearing hateful banners whilst hundreds streamed into the warmth and light of the morning Eucharist. In many ways, it was business as normal. A larger crowd than normal, but it was us being who we are at…
I’ve an opinion piece in the Scotsman this morning on why I invited +Gene Robinson to come to St Mary’s. It is available on their website. Or here – text below. ——————- THE bishops of the Anglican Communion are all gathered at Canterbury this weekend. It is the last weekend of the Lambeth Conference, the…
At the moment, I think that St Mary’s is one of the most exciting churches in the UK. This year, we’re meeting people like John Bell, James MacMillan, Richard Coles and Gene Robinson. (Did I mention that +Gene is here on Sunday?). We are also having exciting happenings like the art installations called Stations of…
I know, such a dull headline isn’t it. However, sometimes we need to express our support and appreciation for the things our bishops do and the things our bishops say. For example, just before he went off to Lambeth, +Idris (our bishop and primus) said this: “The vision of our communion is that ‘The truth…
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