Songs of Farewell
Saturday 8th November, 2025 at 7:30pm
St Paul's Church, Winchester SO22 5AB
£18 (age 21 and under £10)
“There is an old belief
That on some solemn shore
Beyond the sphere of grief
Dear friends shall meet once more”
-- John Gibson Lockhart – Songs of Farewell No. 4
Programme:
| When David heard | Thomas Tomkins (1572-1656) |
| How are the mighty fallen | Robert Ramsey (1590-1644) |
| Songs of Farewell | Hubert Parry (1848-1914) |
| - My soul, there is a country | (text: Henry Vaughan) |
| - I know my soul hath power | (text: Sir John Davies) |
| - Never weather-beaten sail | (text: Thomas Campion) |
| - There is an old belief | (text: John Gibson Lockhart) |
| - At the round earth’s imagined corners | (text: John Donne) |
| - Lord, let me know mine end | (Psalm 39: 5-8, 13,15) |
| I will lift up mine eyes | David Briggs (1962-) |
| Holy is the true light | William Harris (1883-1973) |
HOPE is at the heart this concert as we move through a programme taking us through themes of death and grief, to songs of farewell and finally the hope of an eternal rest in heaven and peace.
We open with two of the finest, sacred madrigals of the 17th-century:
When David heard is the sublime masterpiece, by Thomas Tomkins, capturing heart-felt grief of King David when he learns of his son’s death. The purity of message and the brilliant, economical setting of the text still pristine and perfect to this day.
How are the mighty fallen, Robert Ramsey, moves our thoughts on from death itself to the lament of lost heroes with the repetition of the phrase “How are the mighty fallen” and concludes with a call for weapons of war to be destroyed…
Prior to the First World War, Hubert Parry had long been a fan of Germany and German culture. He was therefore deeply troubled by war with the Kaiser and the catastrophic loss of so many of his pupils in action. The Songs of Farewell (composed 1908-1918) focus this immense, personal grief on the setting of six texts from the British Isles that speak of the parting and passing-on of souls to another, purer land taking the listener, ultimately, through billowing, celestial clouds, to arrival in heaven with the simplicity of the closing setting of Psalm 39.
We then move on to two anthems and thoughts of God and a final resting place:
I will lift up mine eyes offers an intensely beautiful and profoundly moving setting of Psalm 121: 1-4 by David Briggs. The ethereal setting of the text ‘I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills – from where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth’ will leave you spell-bound.
Holy is the true light William Harris sets a powerful expression of faith, taken from the Salisbury Diurnal, ‘Holy is the true light and passing wonderful…’. As we draw to the conclusion of our journey, the music returns to the more familiar style of a solemn hymn bringing us neatly to a final and simple ‘Alleluia’.
Conductor: Jamal Sutton
