Communion music
This week we shall be listening to “Here, O my Lord, I see thee face to face”, by Percy Whitlock (1903–1946), performed by the Choir of Belfast Cathedral.
In October 1855 Horatius Bonar, a minister in the Free Church of Scotland and a noted author, hymnodist and preacher, was asked by his brother to write a new text for the Communion service, which rapidly became a popular hymn. Whitlock, whose life was cut short by tuberculosis, was known for writing light orchestral works but also composed many pieces of church music for choir and organ.