Communion music
There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy—Maurice Bevan (1921–2006)
Choir of Jesus College, Cambridge
The words are from a hymn by Frederick Faber, a convert to Roman Catholicism who in 1849 founded the Brompton Oratory. In his work among the poor, Faber often encountered people who felt rejected by the “respectable” churches around them, and his hymn exhorts them not to limit their understanding of the greatness of God’s love. The tune “Corvedale” was written for St Paul’s Cathedral by Maurice Bevan, a long-time choir member there. Though it can be used straightforwardly as a congregational hymn, it is set here as a choir anthem.