Communion music
This week we shall be listening to “Lord, for thy tender mercy’s sake” probably by John Hilton (1565–1609), performed by the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge.
This anthem has been attributed both to Hilton, whose musical career took in Lincoln Cathedral and Trinity College, Cambridge, and also to Richard Farrant (c. 1525–1580), a playwright as well as Master of the Chapel Royal Choristers and organist at St George’s, Windsor. It sets, in the very simple and straightforward style characteristic of the era, a text from “Lidley’s Prayers”, a devotional volume published in 1566.