by Cordelia Hobbs
Receiving last minute tickets to hear world renowned choir
Tenebrae perform at Wigmore Hall was a dream. Especially considering that they
were performing my favourite choral piece, Herbert Howells’ ‘Take Him Earth For
Cherishing’. The reason I love this piece so much is the compelling words but
what makes it momentous is its motivation. Although the piece was commissioned
for J.F. Kennedy’s funeral, Howells’ real stimulus was the sudden death of his
own son, Michael who died whilst the family was on holiday by contracting polio
aged nine, dying three days later. This was in 1935, and afterwards, Howells
found he was unable to work for a period of time. The piece is filled with
lush, uplifting and mysterious chords and harmony that endeavor to portray the
link between paradise and Earth. Earth is personified and the piece goes
through many emotional turns. The music gains some clarity in the fugal section
beginning ‘once again’ and the most moving and majestic harmony is set to the
words “Take, O take him, mighty leader,”
with the heart warming quirk of modulating back to the home key on the
words “return again” making for a effulgent moment of word painting.
Furthermore, Howells was intimately intertwined with the this poem and the
poetry of Prudentius in general, writing in his diary in May of 1958, ‘Rain and
Gloom. But the rain turned away with a sheer beauty of light. Prudentius’. When
looking at the text, I can understand why:
Take him, earth, for
cherishing,
to thy tender breast
receive him.
Body of a man I bring
thee,
noble even in its
ruin.
Once was this a
spirit’s dwelling,
by the breath of God
created.
High the heart that
here was beating,
Christ the prince of
all its living.
Guard him well, the
dead I give thee,
not unmindful of his
creature
shall he ask it: he
who made it
symbol of his mystery.
Comes the hour God
hath appointed
to fulfil the hope of
men,
then must thou, in
very fashion,
what I give, return
again.
Not though ancient
time decaying
wear away these bones
to sand,
ashes that a man might
measure
in the hollow of his
hand:
Not though wandering
winds and idle,
drifting through the
empty sky,
scatter dust was nerve
and sinew,
is it given to man to
die.
Once again the shining
road
leads to ample
Paradise;
open are the woods
again,
that the serpent lost
for men
Take, O take him,
mighty leader,
take again thy
servant’s soul.
Grave his name, and
pour the fragrant
balm upon the icy
stone.
The text comes from a translation by Helen Wadell of a Latin
poem by Prudentius (AD 348–413). Being the nerd I am for this piece, I was
thrilled to get to see Howells’ own annotated copy of this poem last year in
all its aged beauty. Singing this piece brings goosebumps to the surface my
skin and it was a deeply emotional experience hearing it sung borderline
perfectly. In addition to Tenebrae, I listened to renowned mezzo-soprano Dame
Sarah Connolly sing war songs. I don’t often like to comment on the qualities
of clothing when reflecting on a concert, however it has to be said that I
appreciated that Dame Connolly did not look like an archetypal mezzo soprano.
She reminded me of a beautiful and dignified tropical bird in a crushed velvet
nehru jacket with very short, platinum blonde, swept back hair. Although an odd
comment, granted, it reminded me that classical music is not set in the
traditional and a concert didn’t have to fit a paradigm of look or atmosphere.
Her dark timbre was infused with sorrow as she sang Parry’s Songs of Farewell and some Ivor Gurney
too. Her voice and vibrato gave a
sonorous and nuanced quality to the music with a particularly aureate line “I’m
homesick for my hills again” from In
Flanders by Ivor Gurney. Another line that jumped out at me too was “But I
cherish my freedom” which was set to soaring high notes making it extremely
emotive. Both Tenebrae and Connolly came together to perform Judith Bingham’s A Walk with Ivor Gurney. There is
something worth noting when hearing a professional choir accompany an
expressive soloist, there is a delicacy to the accompaniment and an awareness
of blend that particularly Tenebrae has. Overall, the experience was one I
won’t forget for a long time and I urge you to listen to Howells’ music as it
truly is the best.
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