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!
at

22 comments:

  1. renilde24 December 2011 at 02:10

    happy christmas Deborah, enjoy the music and the holidays, x

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous24 December 2011 at 02:35

    Joyeux Noël à toi aussi, Deborah!
    Profite bien de cette belle journée!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Kenza24 December 2011 at 03:09

    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

    ReplyDelete
  4. K24 December 2011 at 05:01

    This is beautiful. A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you! x

    ReplyDelete
  5. Bunched Undies24 December 2011 at 05:41

    Beautiful Deborah, thanks for posting it. Merry Christmas.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Muriel24 December 2011 at 05:46

    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!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Karen Wojcik Berner24 December 2011 at 06:32

    That was so lovely. Merry Christmas and all the best in the New Year.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Kelly Hashway24 December 2011 at 06:55

    Merry Christmas to you and your family, Deborah!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Maureen24 December 2011 at 07:35

    May you and yours enjoy the delights of this Christmas season. Wishing you much continued writing success in the coming new year.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous24 December 2011 at 07:55

    Beautiful. Bonnes fêtes, Deborah.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Elizabeth Young24 December 2011 at 08:25

    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.

    ReplyDelete
  12. litlove24 December 2011 at 09:00

    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.

    ReplyDelete
  13. lesapeamusings.blogspot24 December 2011 at 09:19

    Thank you so much for your blog. Have a happy holiday to you and your family.

    Lisa x

    ReplyDelete
  14. Marion Williams-Bennett24 December 2011 at 13:00

    Glorious! Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful spirit!

    Happy Christmas!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Adiante24 December 2011 at 23:22

    Joyeux Noël !!!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. BookGeek25 December 2011 at 16:18

    Merry Christmas! :) Love this music you posted on the blog - gorgeous.

    ReplyDelete
  17. aguja26 December 2011 at 01:30

    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.

    ReplyDelete
  18. DMS26 December 2011 at 09:06

    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

    ReplyDelete
  19. Lisa Erin26 December 2011 at 11:45

    Hope it was a lovely one! Beautiful song.

    Very low-key here...and it was very welcome.

    ReplyDelete
  20. ;)27 December 2011 at 04:10

    Superbe ! Je te souhaite une très belle année 2012 et je t'écris bientôt ;)

    ReplyDelete
  21. James Kiester27 December 2011 at 11:24

    Hope you had a great Christmas. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  22. sell wow accounts31 December 2011 at 01:11

    Happy Holidays!

    ReplyDelete