Songs For All Seasons

Today is Mother's Day in the UK, or Mothering Sunday as it is more properly known. Although it has become a day to spoil, pamper, honour and generally show love to our mothers, Mothering Sunday was originally a day when Christians historically visited their mother church—the church in which they received the sacrament of baptism. Constance Adelaide Smith revived its modern observance beginning in 1913 to honour Mother Church, 'mothers of earthly homes', the Virgin Mary (mother of Jesus), and Mother Nature. It gained popularity in response to the American Mother's Day, established in 1914 by US President Woodrow Wilson. Aa a mother myself, I have been properly looked after today by my children with chocolates, flowers, a couple of new dresses for the upcoming summer, a lovely scented candle and some Lego daffodils!! Today's song is a setting of a poem called "My Mother" by Ann Taylor (1782 – 186...

Today's Song of the Day is one I actually should have posted on 25th March. 25th March in the Christian calendar is the Feast of the Annunciation, which commemorates the visit of the archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary, during which he informed her that she would be the mother of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  The poem I have set to celebrate this feast day is called The Annunciation by American poet Alfred Joyce Kilmer (1886 - 1918), known as Joyce Kilmer. As well as writing poetry, Kilmer was also a journalist, literary critic, lecturer, and editor. He is probably best known for his poem "Trees" which begins with the lines "I think that I shall never see / A poem lovely as a tree." Kilmer enlisted in the New York National Guard and was deployed to France with the 69th Infantry Regiment (the famous "Fighting 69th") in 1917. He was killed by a sniper's bullet at the Second Battle of the Marne in 1918 at the young age of 31. He was posthumously awa...

Today's Song of the Day is being posted later than usual as I have been out all day in Leeds doing work (the kind that pays the bills!) But I couldn't let the Spring Equinox go by without taking note of it. It is midway between solstices - today is the day when daylight and dark hours are equal. An important day in the countdown to summer, the spring equinox is celebrated by festivities world-wide. There are mass water fights in Thailand, sun worship at Mayan pyramids in Mexico, egg-standing battles in China and feasting in Iran. Many of the celebrations happen amid a riot of music, colour and dancing and have become treasured customs, and in some places, controversial tourist attractions. For the likes of pagans and druids, the spring equinox (Ostara) is celebrated as a time of renewal and rebirth – and 5000-year-old Stonehenge in Wiltshire is the best known place to gather in the UK. It attracts people from all over the world (including many curious tourists) who congregate a...

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!! Although I am not Irish by birth, my great-grandparents on my dad's side did come across from Ireland around the turn of the 19th/20th century. And I have the hair! I think Saint Patrick is one of the most widely celebrated saints , certainly in the English-speaking world so the day itself needs little introduction.  However, I have found a few facts about Saint Patrick that you may not know. Saint Patrick wasn't actually Irish. Despite being the patron saint of Ireland, he was born in Britain in either Scotland or Wales (accounts tend to vary on that point). His parents, Calpurnius and Conchessa, were both Roman citizens and his mother gave birth to him in 385AD. As a teenager, St. Patrick was kidnapped by a pirate raiding party and sold into slavery in Ireland. As a slave, he looked after and herded sheep for many years before fleeing to a monastery in England. While there, he became a devout follower of Christianity and was ordained a bishop, ...

Continuing the Spring theme, as the days get longer and begin to get warmer, today's song of the day is another spring poem by John Clare called "'Tis Spring, my Love, 'Tis Spring". The theme of this poem is that Spring time, whilst lovely and described in great detail, is not so fine or beauteous as the poet's beloved.  From Helpston in rural Northamptonshire, John Clare was born in 1793. He is now regarded as the most important poet of the natural world from Britain. He wrote many poems, prose and letters about love, sex, corruption and politics, environmental and social change, poverty and folk life. Even in his 'madness', his talents were not diminished. Ronald Blythe, past President of the Clare Society, saw Clare as "... England's most articulate village voice". Clare died, aged 71, in 1864. This song is being beta tested by my friends at Burgess Hill Choral Society . 'Tis Spring, My Love, 'Tis Spring By John Clare 'Tis ...

The weather is warming, the daffodils are out, the cherry is blossoming and the trees are budding! It is Spring!! To celebrate the warming of the seasons, I would like to share today my setting of a poem simply called "Spring" by English poet John Clare (1793 – 1864). The son of a farm labourer, he became known for his celebrations of the English countryside and his sorrows at its disruption. His work underwent major re-evaluation in the late 20th century; he is now often seen as a major 19th-century poet. His biographer Jonathan Bate called Clare "the greatest labouring-class poet that England has ever produced. No one has ever written more powerfully of nature, of a rural childhood, and of the alienated and unstable self." Like many creative types, his mental health was unstable, possibly initially as a result of his impoverished childhood, and latterly an inability to financially sustain his family: a wife and six children. He turned to alcohol and in 1837 was ad...

Today's Song of the Day is to celebrate Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday marks the first day of Lent, the six weeks of penitence before Easter. Many Christians attend special Ash Wednesday church services at which churchgoers receive ash on their foreheads or the top of their heads, as the wearing of ashes was a sign of repentance in biblical times. The ashes are prepared by burning palm leaves from the previous year's Palm Sunday celebrations. The poem I have chosen to set for today's song is simply called "Ash Wednesday" by Canadian poet Rosanna Eleanor Leprohon (1829 - 1879). This poem is written in the context of the tradition of Christianity, particularly during Lent, and the narrator observes the transition from the indulgence of the Shrove Tuesday Carnival to the austerity of Ash Wednesday, a time of penance and reflection. The poem conveys the message of the importance of repentance and the promise ...

Today is Shrove Tuesday, also known as Pancake Day or Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) in different parts of the world. The general impression I get from social media is that non-UK folk are bemused by our calling it Pancake Day, especially in countries where they frequently eat pancakes on any day they choose. Shrove Tuesday is the final day before Lenten begins on Ash Wednesday. During the season of Lent, Christians have historically abstained from rich foods such as meat, eggs, dairy products, and alcohol. Shrove Tuesday provides Christians with the opportunity to use up these foods prior to the start of the 40-day fasting season of Lent. The tradition of making pancakes on Shrove Tuesday, as well as that of pancake races, owes itself to this practice of "using up the surplus eggs, milk and butter" prior to Lent. As such, it is traditional in many societies to eat pancakes or other foods made with the butter, eggs and fat or lard that would need to be used up before the beginning ...

Happy March! March Hares! Does anyone else remember being told to say March Hares instead of White Rabbits on the 1st March, or is that a local peculiarity? No matter, it is March! Spring is approaching fast. The daffodils are blossoming, the sun is shining and although it is still chilly, the warmer weather will be here before we know it. The 1st of March is of course St. David's Day - the patron saint of Wales. It commemorates the date of St. David's death in 589 AD. Traditional festivities include wearing daffodils and leeks, recognised symbols of Wales and Saint David, respectively, eating traditional Welsh food including cawl, and women wearing traditional Welsh dress. An increasing number of cities and towns across Wales, including Cardiff, Swansea, and Aberystwyth also put on parades throughout the day. St. David is the only patron saint of the four countries that make up the UK who was actually born in the country which celebrates him. St. Andrew wasn't Scottish, St...