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ancientandmodernCome, my Way, my Truth, my Life:
Such a Way, as gives us breath:
Such a Truth, as ends all strife:
Such a Life, as killeth death.
Come, My Light, my Feast, my Strength:
Such a Light, as shows a feast:
Such a Feast, as mends in length:
Such a Strength, as makes his guest.
Come, my Joy, my Love, my Heart:
Such a Joy, as none can move:
Such a Love, as none can part:
Such a Heart, as joys in love.
George Herbert: possibly my favourite religious poet (apart, of course, from all my other favourite religious poets...) This is a beautiful, compact piece, starting out with Jesus' famous saying 'I am the way, the truth and the life', and, picking up each theme in turn, encapsulating the vital parts of the faith in twelve lines. The last verse is my favourite, winding into itself like a Celtic knot.
This particular setting started out as one of Ralph Vaughan Williams' 'Five Mystical Songs', meant originally for solo voice, with or without a chorus. This one, though, is simple enough for a congregation to sing together; it may not be so polished as a solo concert performance, but it gains some power from being sung in unison. The long syllables that stretch over several notes echo mediaeval plainchant, and the rising and falling has a natural energy. If the assembly can manage the slightly different last verse, so much the better, but it is tricky, and high.
I can never grasp Herbert's meaning on a first reading - and this is one of the simplest of his poems - but this setting is lovely enough to listen to over and over again.
Such a Way, as gives us breath:
Such a Truth, as ends all strife:
Such a Life, as killeth death.
Come, My Light, my Feast, my Strength:
Such a Light, as shows a feast:
Such a Feast, as mends in length:
Such a Strength, as makes his guest.
Come, my Joy, my Love, my Heart:
Such a Joy, as none can move:
Such a Love, as none can part:
Such a Heart, as joys in love.
George Herbert: possibly my favourite religious poet (apart, of course, from all my other favourite religious poets...) This is a beautiful, compact piece, starting out with Jesus' famous saying 'I am the way, the truth and the life', and, picking up each theme in turn, encapsulating the vital parts of the faith in twelve lines. The last verse is my favourite, winding into itself like a Celtic knot.
This particular setting started out as one of Ralph Vaughan Williams' 'Five Mystical Songs', meant originally for solo voice, with or without a chorus. This one, though, is simple enough for a congregation to sing together; it may not be so polished as a solo concert performance, but it gains some power from being sung in unison. The long syllables that stretch over several notes echo mediaeval plainchant, and the rising and falling has a natural energy. If the assembly can manage the slightly different last verse, so much the better, but it is tricky, and high.
I can never grasp Herbert's meaning on a first reading - and this is one of the simplest of his poems - but this setting is lovely enough to listen to over and over again.