Secretary’s Newsletter 91 Winter 2022
The Secretary’s Newsletter:
No.91: Winter 2022
From the Secretary:
Revd Robert A. Canham
Windrush
Braithwaite
KESWICK
CA12 5SZ
Phone: 017687 78054
Email: Please see our Contact page
The Hymn Society Website: www.hymnsocietygbi.org.uk
The Hymn Society 2022 Annual Conference
Our resumed Annual Conference remains on schedule to take place Tuesday-Friday, 26th-29th July 2022 at the Preston Leyland Hotel; a three-day Conference. The Festival of Hymns will be in Blackburn Cathedral on the evening of Thursday, 28th July.
Information/Application forms with full details will be individually mailed to UK members in the next few weeks. For overseas members, the information will appear on the website, with an alert also being sent to those members for whom we have email addresses.
The cost of the Conference will be £300.00 and inclusive of all that is happening. As there are only fifty rooms allocated to the Society you are strongly advised to book early if you would like to come. We anticipate there being opportunities for members to contribute to a Short Metre Session (12 minutes each maximum) and Sectionals (30 minutes); if you would like to be considered for either of these please contact the Secretary with an indication of what hymn-related theme you would like to speak about.
IAH Conference
As indicated in my previous Newsletter (No.90: Autumn 2021) there will be an IAH Conference at the University of Mainz, Germany, Thursday-Saturday, 8th-10th September 2022 on the theme: ‘The Societal Relevance of Hymnody’. Mainz, birthplace of St Boniface and home to the Gutenberg Museum, is well-served by swift transport links from Frankfurt. There is no further information at present.
The 2022 International Hymn Societies Conference
Registration is now open for the 2022 International Hymn Societies Conference, hosted by The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada (HSUSC) and to be held 17th-21st July at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. The Conference theme is: Sing the World God Imagines. Join members, leaders, and friends of HSUSC at this International Conference celebrating 100 years of Song! If you’re not able to attend in person, a digital option will be available:
- More than 60 sessions, including 5 plenaries, 5 hymn festivals, 4 worship services, 6 featured sessions, more than 40 sectionals, 3 short metre sessions, and an organ recital;
- An international roster of speakers and leaders from 10 countries on 6 continents, including Antigua, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Nigeria, Norway, Taiwan, the U.S.A., the U.K., and more;
- A Tuesday evening banquet and gala celebration of The Hymn Society’s 100 years of song (included in registration);
- Connecting with colleagues and friends who share your passion for congregational song;
- Singing together!
- Four and a half days to learn, talk together, and reflect on how we can “Sing the World God Imagines”.
The Conference will formally begin and conclude with Hymn Festivals on the Sunday and Thursday evenings but in all there will be five exciting Festivals, led by Stanley J. Thurston, Carlos Colon, Peter Kolar, Adam Tice and the compilers of Voices Together, Benjamin Brody, and Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra.
Plenary speakers unpacking the conference theme will be Cynthia A. Wilson, Tanya Riches, Mikie Roberts, and Martin Hoondert. Some of our other speakers and leaders will include I-to Loh, FHS, Marcell Silva Steuernagel, Patrick Alston, Makihiko Arase, and Sarah Eyerly.
To watch the Invitation/Promotional Video and to Register to reserve your place at this historic conference, go to:
https ://thehymnsociety. org/event/
Early bird rates are available through 15th March.
Vintage Hymns in Salisbury
If you are within the vicinity, don’t miss the Vintage Hymns Singing Day in Salisbury on Saturday, 5th March 2022. The enclosed flyer has all the information; an excellent opportunity to sing classic hymns and rediscover lost gems. Please book in good time if you are able to go.
Available for listening to shortly
30 hymns to enrich our singing is a collection of podcasts with introductions by Christopher Idle and readings by the late Lance Pierson (poetry performer) and his wife Sue. They cover a variety of topics, combining Biblical truths with contemporary relevance poetically expressed. They should be available to listen to from midFebruary on www.jubilate.co.uk
We regret having to report the deaths of members:
Mrs Joyce Beechey (Northam, Bideford, Devon)
Dr Geoffrey A. Brammall (Offerton, Stockport, Cheshire)
Joyce died in December, she was the wife of composer Dr Gwylim E. Beechey who died in 2015; both were valued members of the Society which they joined in 2008. Geoffrey died on 14th August 2021; he had been a member for twenty or more years.
Dr Francis Jackson
Whilst not a member of the Society, Francis Jackson, Composer and former Master of Music at York Minster, died on 10th January 2022 aged 104. I have two personal reminiscences of Francis Jackson. Around the middle 1950s, whilst still a Primary School and a treble in the School Choir, we used to compete with other schools in Chelmsford at a music festival. On this occasion, gathered in the Chelmsford Corn Exchange, a fine old building sadly long-since demolished, Francis Jackson was the Adjudicator; we won one of the cups and I was nominated to receive it on behalf of the school from the great man’s hands! The other occasion was on 9th June 2001 in Wesley’s Chapel, London, where we were gathered at a Service conducted by Revd Dr Leslie Griffiths to celebrate and give thanks for the life and work of Fred Pratt Green (1903-2000). The Director of Music was Revd Canon Alan Luff. All the many hymns sung were, of course, by Fred Pratt Green. The third, For the fruits of all creation was sung to Francis Jackson’s EAST ACKLAM and he was there to play it on the organ; he would have been 83 at the time. It was, I think, the only hymn he played for, but I am afraid that the only recollection I have of it, apart from seeing Francis Jackson himself in the organ loft, was the inordinately slow speed at which we sang it!
Our member, Marylynn Rouse, speaks about Amazing Grace
Recently on Sunday Night Live our member Pam Rhodes introduced another of our members, Marylynn Rouse of The John Newton Project, speaking about John Newton, Amazing Grace, and its origins in 1 Chronicles 17:16-17.
The United Reformed Church at 50 – Worship Resources Competition
To celebrate its 50th anniversary, the United Reformed Church (URC) is inviting choirs, bands, individuals, songwriters, composers, and poets within the URC to submit an entry into the ‘URC at 50: Worship Resources Competition’. There are four categories for entries: Traditional hymn/song, Poem, Contemporary hymn/song, and Rap. Judges will select a winner from each category. Winning entries will be included in a digital version of the URC at 50 resource pack for local churches for them to use in jubilee celebrations and/or Sunday services.
The Judging Schedule
The closing date for entries is 8th April 2022.
Judges will assess each entry in May 2022.
Winners will be informed in June 2022.
Winners will be announced at the URC General Assembly in July 2022, where the hymns, songs, recordings etc. will be performed/ played/sung. The Winning entries will also be recorded and/or filmed in July 2022 for sharing online.
Criteria
Applicants must be a member or active adherent of a URC or a URC Local Ecumenical Partnership, or URC Youth.
Entries can be new lyrics submitted to existing music within the public domain.
Entries must have a Jubilee/URC at 50 anniversary theme and be suitable for use in collective worship.
Musical entries to new tunes must include lyrics plus musical score (PDF or JPG) and/or an audio recording (MP3 or MP4).
The competition is open to people of any age.
One entry per person/group.
Submit entries to: mission@urc.org.uk
For further information: www.urc.org.uk/50