Song of the Day - 10th July
Summer is the season of love, of marriages and betrothals. What better time of year to share the latest recording I have received back from one of my Beta choirs? Today's Song of the Day was written on the theme of engagement, but it would be equally suitable for a wedding. It is a setting of Christopher Marlowe's poem "The Passionate Shepherd to his Love." Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593), a brilliant contemporary of Shakespeare, held the esteemed title of the preeminent Elizabethan playwright until Shakespeare took the mantle. He earned both his BA and MA from the University of Cambridge, yet his life was tragically cut short at the tender age of 29, under circumstances that remain mysterious to this day. Speculation abounds regarding the nature and reasons behind his untimely demise—ranging from a bar-room brawl to accusations of blasphemy, whispers of homosexual intrigue, betrayal by a fellow playwright, and even espionage connected to the highest echelons of Eliza...