Saturday, 24 December 2011
A Spotless Rose
Like many people around the world, I'll be listening later to the Carols and Readings from King's College, Cambridge which are so much part of Christmas Eve. Here's my very favourite carol, A Spotless Rose composed by Herbert Howells in 1919.
I always find this breathtakingly beautiful. The echoes of the English Renaissance drift into a perfect marriage of words and music. If you are lucky enough to hear it live, especially in one of the Cambridge college chapels, the sound swells up into the high stone vaults and seems to swirl around like so many leaves in the wind. I first heard it at school in Sussex, where the choirmaster had been a choral scholar at King's and had brought all his passion and expertise to the music there. Then, when I went to Cambridge as a student, this was the song I always longed to hear by candlelight at Trinity.
A very Happy Christmas to you all!
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22 comments:
happy christmas Deborah, enjoy the music and the holidays, x
Joyeux Noël à toi aussi, Deborah!
Profite bien de cette belle journée!
Magnifique! Merci Deborah pour ce moment divin de bonheur et de joie!
Je te souhaite un Joyeux Noël et de très belles fêtes de fin d'année!
Bisous, bisous des jours de fête
This is beautiful. A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you! x
Beautiful Deborah, thanks for posting it. Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas Deborah! I have to admit that I admire you. After 6 carol concerts I can't take it any more. How do you manage to stay so positive? I must have become far too cynical!
That was so lovely. Merry Christmas and all the best in the New Year.
Merry Christmas to you and your family, Deborah!
May you and yours enjoy the delights of this Christmas season. Wishing you much continued writing success in the coming new year.
Beautiful. Bonnes fêtes, Deborah.
I thoroughly enjoyed this with my coffee this Christmas Eve morning and listened to it several times. Thank you for this precious gift Deborah! Wishing you and your loved ones a blessed Christmas and a prosperous New Year. Elizabeth.
Happy Christmas, dear Deborah! I was listening to the carol concert along with you and it was as beautiful as always. Hope you have a wonderful festive season with your loved ones.
Thank you so much for your blog. Have a happy holiday to you and your family.
Lisa x
Glorious! Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful spirit!
Happy Christmas!
Joyeux Noël !!!!
Merry Christmas! :) Love this music you posted on the blog - gorgeous.
Perfection! Music for the soul. How fortunate you were to experience the beauty of this carol, frist hand.
Hope your Christmas Day was magical, too.
Merry Christmas! What a beautiful song and a wonderful place to have it played. I really enjoyed this moving song! It gave me the chills- I can't imagine hearing it plated there in person.
~Jess
http://thesecretdmsfilesoffairdaymorrow.blogspot.com
Hope it was a lovely one! Beautiful song.
Very low-key here...and it was very welcome.
Superbe ! Je te souhaite une très belle année 2012 et je t'écris bientôt ;)
Hope you had a great Christmas. :-)
Happy Holidays!
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