William Blake’s call to build Jerusalem in England could be seen as one of the greatest evangelical messages of all time. Which is why the Dean of Southwark’s decision to ban the much-loved hymn from all services at Southwark Cathedral on the grounds that “it is not in the glory of God” is utterly baffling. If the clergy is going to be so pedantic why stop at Jerusalem when there are plenty of other popular hymns which don’t quite pass muster at the high altar of political correctness? How does ‘Onward Christian Soldiers, Marching as to War’ square with Jesus telling us to turn the other cheek? And has the Dean banned all the Old Testament passages which advise us to do the precise opposite of what Jesus instructed?
Of course not. The likelihood is that Jerusalem uses the word England not once but twice which is two times too many for the Dean in these days of Anglophobia. At least we now know which part of Church of England the Dean doesn’t understand.
What saddens me is the veiled attack on the English choral tradition of which Hubert Parry, who composed the music to Jerusalem, formed such a vital part. Parry’s work – which includes ‘Dear Lord and Father of Mankind’ (another popular hymn, so catch it while you can) and the inspirational anthems ‘I Was Glad’ and ‘Blest Pair of Sirens’ paved the way for the great twentieth century choral works by Elgar, Howells, Walton, Britten and many others. The Church of England is indebted (or should be) to Vaughan Williams’ work on the English Hymnal but these hymns are seldom, if ever, sung in many trendy places of worship where the organ lies dormant, long ago replaced by any members of the congregation who can blow a recorder, strum a guitar or bang a tambourine. Nothing could be more off-putting than the happy-crappy, watered-down dross that passes for music in these churches where any sense of musical lineage has disappeared along with most of the congregation. Never has the question ‘would the last person leaving the church please blow out the candles?’ been so relevant.
We can be justifiably proud of the English choral tradition. The Church of England should be making a feature of it instead of undermining it further by banning one of our best loved and most inspirational hymns.
Strange goings on at Observer Music Magazine – that monthly paean to every kind of music except classical. Its most recent issue devoted no less than two pages to a classical singer – the Russian soprano, Anna Netrebko. Ms Netrebko is pictured sprawling – legs akimbo – on the marble floor of a Tokyo hotel bathroom. But if anyone needed a cold shower it was her interviewer who, despite identifying Netrebko as “the hottest diva in the world right now”, seemed similarly smitten by her Australian-born counterpart, soprano Danielle De Niese.
Reviewing what appears to be a perfectly innocuous CD of music by Handel, the same gentleman purred: “This one should have an X certificate. Niese’s sizzling, delectable debut features arias like Endless Pleasure which is pure eroticism, while she makes Myself I Shall Adore practically a hymn to the joys of self-abuse.” Seems like classical music’s too hot for Observer Music Magazine to Handel.
It’s festival time again and the delectable Ms De Niese will be much in evidence, not least at the Proms where she appears in the Glyndebourne production of Monteverdi’s The Coronation of Poppaea on July 31st. The Proms has a new supremo this year in Roger Wright and it is gratifying to see that he values Britain’s heritage a good deal more than some in the Church of England. An impressive range of contemporary British music is on offer and the fiftieth anniversary of Vaughan Williams’ death is properly celebrated with performances of five of his symphonies and ten other works besides – no token gesture there. And guess which piece of music brings the seventy-six concert festival to a close? Answers on a postcard please to the Dean of Southwark.
