Songs For All Seasons

Today's Song of the Day is a celebration of summer and of love. Set to a poem by Robert Fuller Murray (1863–1893), A Summer Morning starts with the narrator celebrating the beauty of  the summer morning, declaring that the sun had never been so bright, the birdsong never so sweet, or the grass so green, and we learn that this particular summer day is so lovely because of the presence of his beloved. Although born in the United States, Murray moved with his family at the age of six to Kelso, Scotland and from then on lived most of his life in the United Kingdom, most notably in St Andrews, Scotland. He attended grammar school in Ilminster and Crewkerne and in 1881 he entered the University of St Andrews. He wrote two books of poetry and was published occasionally in periodicals. He sadly died young, most likely from tuberculosis, "dying with his work scarcely begun"*. This poem was published in the volume referenced below, which was published posthumously in 1894, the year...

Today's Song of the Day is seasonally out of sync, but I wanted to share the latest recording I have received from one of my partner Beta choirs.  Maundy Thursday, set to a poem by Christina Rossetti, was recorded by the Cathures Chamber Choir on Tuesday 17th June 2025 as part of WestFest , Glasgow's biggest cultural and community festival. When Cathures first approached me to be part of the Beta testing they explained that their summer concert, called "Windows of Wonder", was to be held at Kelvinside Hillhead Parish Church, Glasgow, and that the songs were to be relevant to the beautiful stained glass windows in the church. Together, we chose the song Maundy Thursday with its reference to Jesus as "The Great Vine" because of the window described on the church's website as: "Jesus turning water into wine at the marriage in Cana (by Cottier, 1893). Appropriately, the background is of vines and grapes." The windows appear as the first image in t...

Today is Saint John's Eve, the eve of the feast day of Saint John the Baptist. It is one of only two feast days marking a saint's earthly birth (the other being the nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on 8 September). The Gospel of Luke states that John was born six months before Jesus; thus, the feast of John the Baptist’s birth was fixed on 24 June, six months before Christmas. In the Roman calendar, 24 June was the date of the summer solstice, and Saint John's Eve is closely associated with Midsummer festivities in Europe. Traditions are similar to those of May Day, and include bonfires (Saint John's fires), feasting, processions, church services, and gathering wild plants. The poem I have set is not remotely religious, but it is called St. John's Eve by Madison Julius Cawein. It tells a tale of elves and wizards, trolls and Nis (a household spirit in Norse folklore) revelling on Saint John's Eve, trying to tempt the narrator into who knows what, but he was t...

Today's Song of the Day is one I have been looking forward to sharing with you as it is one of my favourites. Today is the midsummer solstice (in the Northern hemisphere anyway), the longest day and the shortest night. The word ‘solstice’ comes from the Latin words for sun (sol) and to stand (sistere). It is also known as "Litha", which is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word for "midsummer”. It's the time of year when the position of the rising or setting sun stands still in its movement along the horizon. The summer solstice has been recognised and celebrated since prehistoric times. Stonehenge in Wiltshire, UK, was built to align with the sun on the solstices. On the summer solstice, the sun rises behind the Heel Stone in the north-east part of the horizon and its first rays shine into the heart of Stonehenge. Even today, people often gather at Stonehenge to mark the summer solstice, echoing the joyous festivities of our prehistoric ancestors. The poem I have cho...

Today's Song of the Day was actually written for the theme of "Becoming an Adult" but it works just as well for a summer occasion. Entitled "When I Was Twenty", it tells the story of a man looking back at his youth (when he was twenty, strangely enough!) at one June day in particular, reminiscing about the carefree moments of his youth as he fell in love with the enchanting, "melting, wayward, wistful, shy" Madeline, before the demands of the "hurrying world" pulled him away. This poem is a wistful story of regret and missed opportunities, but it also caused me to learn the meaning of the Latin phrase Festina lente - make haste slowly. It was written by William Bliss Carman FRSC (1861 – 1929) and first published in 1896 in the collection "More Songs From Vagabondia". Carman was a gifted Canadian poet who spent much of his life in the United States, where his talent blossomed into international acclaim. In his later years, he was cel...

Happy Father's Day to all those Dads: biological Dads, adoptive Dads, foster Dads, step-Dads and father figures. Men often get a bad rap these days. There's a lot of anti-men rhetoric, and talk of the patriarchy and toxic masculinity, and sometimes with good cause. But there's not enough talk about the good, decent men out there. The ones who don't want to take us back to the time when "men were in charge and women knew their place." The ones who just quietly get on with their lives, being decent human beings and respecting others, the ones who understand that the world has changed, and the ones who have changed with it. One such is my Dad, Bill Cavanagh. He was born in 1940 and turns 85 this year. Although I credit my mum for giving me my first musical teaching, I credit my Dad for getting me into choral singing (and also Star Trek). As a small child I would watch him sing in the church choir every Sunday and long to be up there with him. At the age of 8 I wa...

Today's Song of the Day is the second live recording I have had back from one of my lovely partner Beta Choirs. Appropriately summer-themed, the song is called Invocation to Summer and is sung for you here by the Thames Vale Singers . As a composer, it is difficult to properly imagine one's music how it should sound. Playing it on the piano or even a computer-generated recording is not the same as hearing it sung by real choirs. I am indebted and truly grateful to all my Beta Choirs for helping me to hear my music as it should be performed. And I can only apologise for those long high notes! Scroll to the end of the blog entry to see their very kind feedback! The first green shoots of Thames Vale Singers appeared in the late forties as a choir formed by Mary Richards from Women’s Institute members. By 1953 the WI were meeting in the newly built Purley Memorial Hall and as time went by Mary decided she would like to expand the cho...

Today is Pentecost in the Christian calendar, a Christian holiday which takes place on the 49th day (50th day when inclusive counting is used) after Easter. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles of Jesus while they were in Jerusalem celebrating the Feast of Weeks, as described in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2:1–31). Pentecost is one of the Great feasts in the Eastern Orthodox Church, a Solemnity in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, a Festival in the Lutheran Churches, and a Principal Feast in the Anglican Communion. Many Christian denominations provide a special liturgy for this holy celebration. The poem I have set for this sacred day is called Pentecost (or Whitsunday) by John Keble. John Keble (25 April 1792 – 29 March 1866) was an English Anglican priest and poet who was one of the leaders of the Oxford Movement. Keble College, Oxford, is named after him. His father was vicar of Coln St...

It has been a month since I last posted - I didn't mean to leave it so long, but the new day job is a lot busier than the old one!!  I should have posted today's Song of the Day on May 29th - it is for Ascension Day. Ascension Day is a Christian remembrance of the bodily Ascension of Jesus into Heaven. Following the account of Acts 1:3 that the risen Jesus appeared for 40 days prior to his Ascension, Ascension Day is traditionally celebrated on a Thursday, the fortieth day of Easter according to inclusive counting, although some Christian denominations have moved the observance to the following Sunday, sometimes called Ascension Sunday.  The observance of this feast is of great antiquity. Eusebius seems to hint at the celebration of it in the 4th century. At the beginning of the 5th century, Augustine of Hippo says that it is of Apostolic origin, and he speaks of it in a way that shows it was the universal observance of the Catholic Church long before his time. The poem I...