After eleven days of reveling in renaissance polyphony, I should like to inaugurate the second part of “Everything English Month.” This next set readings and musical selections come from the years after the English Civil War, anti-Catholic legislation passed by Puritans, and the “Glorious Restoration” of the English monarchy in 1660. We pick up our exploration in the era now typically called “Baroque.”
The first dose of Anglo-Catholic/Roman-Catholic Baroqueness will be a selection of pieces from the illustrious composer Henry Purcell, who lived from 1659 until 1695, preceding Handel, whose work we shall hear later this month. Enjoy!
One piece featured in the music bar to the right is “Come Ye Sons of Art Away,” and adroitly describes the sentiment of Rochester Catholics when the countdown reaches 0 . Even though Purcell himself wasn’t a Catholic, I think we can all agree he got music spot on, if not doctrine. The lyrics are:
Come, come ye sons of art, come, come away.
Come, come ye sons of art, come, come away.Tune all your voices and instruments play,
To celebrate, to celebrate this triumphant day.Tune all your voices and instruments play,
To celebrate, to celebrate this triumphant day.
Tags: Orthodoxy at Work
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