“Now let the heavens be joyful, Let earth her song begin, The round world keep high triumph, and all therein, Let all things seen and unseen their notes together blend”
Cecil Frances Alexander
April 1818 – 12 October 1895
John Mason Neale
24 January 1818 – 6 August 1866
Christina Rossetti
5 December 1830 – 29 December 1894
Percy Dearmer
27 February 1867 – 29 May 1936
Before the icon
V. Now let the heavens be joyful
R. Let earth her song begin
A reading
Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Surely we do not need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you or from you, do we? You yourselves are our letter, written on our* hearts, to be known and read by all; and you show that you are a letter of Christ, prepared by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. (2 Corinthians 3: 1-3)
A collect
O God, whom saints and angels delight to worship in heaven: Be ever present with your servants who seek through art and music to perfect the praises offered by your people on earth; and grant to them even now glimpses of your beauty, and make them worthy at length to behold it unveiled for evermore; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Blessed Cecil Frances, John, Christina, and Percy; you show us the beauty of God, prayer for us.
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John Mason Neale Feast Day August 7 (Church of England)
24 January 1818 – 6 August 1866
Best known as a hymn writer and, especially, translator, having enriched English hymnody with many ancient and mediaeval hymns translated from Latin and Greek. More than anyone else, he made English-speaking congregations aware of the centuries-old tradition of Latin, Greek, Russian, and Syrian hymns. The 1875 edition of the Hymns Ancient and Modern contains 58 of his translated hymns; The English Hymnal (1906) contains 63 of his translated hymns and six original hymns by Neale.
His translations include:
All Glory, Laud and Honour
A Great and Mighty Wonder
O come, O come, Emmanuel
Of the Father's Heart Begotten
Sing, My Tongue, the Glorious Battle
To Thee Before the Close of Day
Cecil Frances Alexander
April 1818 – 12 October 1895[
"All Things Bright and Beautiful", "There is a Green Hill Far Away" [c] and the Christmas carol "Once in Royal David's City", are known by Christians the world over, as is her rendering of "Saint Patrick's Breastplate".
Christina Rossetti Feast Day April 27 (Church of England)
5 December 1830 – 29 December 1894
An English poet who wrote a variety of romantic, devotional, and children's poems. She is famous for writing Goblin Market and "Remember." She also wrote the words of the Christmas carols "In the Bleak Midwinter,
Percy Dearmer
27 February 1867 – 29 May 1936
“where thy saints united joy without ending” Hymnal 1
A priest and liturgist. The author of The Parson’s Handbook, a liturgical manual for clergy, and The English Hymnal. He was a socialist and an advocate of the public ministry of women. Fr. Dearmer had a significant influence on the music of the church. With Ralph Vaughan Williams and Martin Shaw, he is credited with the revival and spread of traditional and medieval English musical forms. In 1915 during World War I his wife died of a fever while serving with an ambulance unit in Serbia. Dearmer was the unit’s chaplain. A son died the same year of wounds received in battle. His ashes are in the Great Cloister at Westminster Abbey.
Translator or writer of several hymns in the Hymnal
Icon writer: Suzanne Schleck Web
The Oxford Movement and Anglo-Catholicism An exploration of the Oxford Movement and it’s impact on church music.