Communion music
During Communion this week, we shall be listening to “A Hymn to the Virgin” by Benjamin Britten (1913–1976), performed by The Sixteen.
Benjamin Britten composed this remarkably accomplished piece at the age of just 16, to keep his mind active while laid up sick in the school infirmary. The mediaeval text, dating from around 1300, is a “macaronic”, i.e. a poem written in an interweaving mix of languages. The main choir sings the English, while a solo group interjects with brief Latin phrases.