Two Hymns to St. Cecilia, and a Sermon

I have good memories of singing the Howells Hymn to St. Cecilia at RSCM Courses: for example, this. Also this.

Here is a recording from the cathedral choir of Haderslev, a city of some 21,000 in southern Denmark., by a fine large choir of men and boys. This is a better performance than the ones by English-speaking choirs.

It is for the likes of this that I have grown to love YouTube: there are magnificent performances of choral and organ music that one would never otherwise encounter. They are almost never the YouTube items with hundreds of thousands of views. A few hundred is more likely.

But here is one that does indeed have over sixty thousand views: the Benjamin Britten Hymn to St. Cecilia, on a poem by W. H. Auden, performed by the Cambridge Singers and John Rutter.

Blessed Cecilia, appear in visions
To all musicians, appear and inspire:
Translated Daughter, come down and startle
Composing mortals with immortal fire.

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As for C.S.L.: Seeking to read something by this gentleman who shares November 22, I settled on "Prince Caspian." The Narnia books were not part of my childhood, and I have not read any more than "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe," which was the topic of a Vacation Bible School in our parish some years ago. I started "Prince Caspian" on the bus this morning, and it is a delight.

Here is the "sermon" that I delivered at the end of that Bible School:

"This has been a special week for me. I hope it has been equally special for you. But now, it is time to let our experiences of Narnia blend into the experiences of our daily lives. This morning, I saw a young deer run across a field, and I thought of our friend Mr. Tumnus. I have never met anyone quite like Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, but the next time I see a beaver, or a beaver's house, I will not see it as I did before. Thank goodness, I have never seen the White Witch, but I have felt her spell at times.

"You see, we cannot stay in Narnia. Our journeys into Narnia and other places of the imagination such as Hogwarts, the Hundred Acre Wood, the Shire of the Hobbits -- are meant to strengthen us for our lives here. We must return to plain old [name of our city], and the rest of this mundane world -- a world that is sometimes perplexing and dangerous, but also full of beauty and grace, for its Creator lavished much care on its making and gave his life to redeem it.

"There will be times when we realize that we are Lucy and we are Edmund, and perhaps Peter and Susan. Or there may be times when we are the White Witch, or the evil creatures who followed her. There is no doubt in my mind that Aslan is with us here just as much as he was in Narnia. We know him here by another name.

"We should return from Narnia with new insight into what it means to be a Christian in this world. We are called to proclaim a new kingdom, to live as Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve, all of us children of a heavenly Father, because this story, the one WE live in, is real. The Professor's friend Mr. Tolkien wrote about the sort of story that we have heard this week and compared it to the Christian story: Here is a paraphrase of some of what he wrote:

The Birth of Christ is the 'happy ending' of Man's history. The Resurrection is the 'happy ending' of the story of the Incarnation. This story begins and ends in joy.... There is no tale ever told that we would rather find was true, and none which so many sceptical men have accepted as true on its own merits. For the Art of it has the supremely convincing tone of Primary Art, that is, of Creation. To reject it leads either to sadness or to wrath.

But in God's kingdom the presence of the greatest does not depress the small. Redeemed Man is still man. Story, fantasy, still go on, and should go on. The Gospel, the Evangelium, has not abrogated legends; it has hallowed them, especially the 'happy ending.' The Christian has still to work, with mind as well as body, to suffer, hope, and die; but he may now perceive that all his bents and faculties have a purpose, which can be redeemed... All tales may come true; and yet, at the last, redeemed, they may be as like and as unlike the forms that we give them as Man, finally redeemed, will be like and unlike the fallen creature that we know.

"Here we are, back on this side of the wardrobe door. We are fed now at this Table with the food that will sustain us on a new adventure. We move on toward a meeting with the Lord of all kingdoms. Though it is tempting at times to look back and long for the good times of the past rather than facing the unknown road ahead, we should recall the words of the Professor to the children at the end of the book, after their return from Narnia when they came to him to apologize for losing the four coats from the wardrobe:

"Yes, of course you'll get back to Narnia again someday.... But don't go trying to use the same route twice. Indeed, don't try to get there at all. It'll happen when you are not looking for it."