Sir Hubert Parry: Jerusalem ("And did those feet in ancient time"). Double Bill.
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- Опубликовано: 8 апр 2020
- I can no longer sing this beautiful hymn, for I choke and blubber. Still, I continue to love and treasure it, and I hope you do too. This is a double bill upload, of which more below.
Of course, during this difficult time, we all look forward to the day when we can come together again as friends, family, colleagues (and concert-goers!). Stay safe and well everyone.
BACKGROUND
Jerusalem is Parry's setting, for choir and organ, of a poem entitled "And did those feet in ancient time" by William Blake. Although Parry composed the music as a unison song, many churches have adopted "Jerusalem" as a four-part hymn; a number of English entities, including the BBC, the Crown, cathedrals, churches, and chapels regularly use it as an office or recessional hymn on Saint George's Day. It was later orchestrated by Sir Edward Elgar.
Many schools use the song, especially public (private) schools in Great Britain (it was used as the title music for the BBC's 1979 series Public School at Radley College), and several private schools in Australia, New Zealand, New England and Canada. "Jerusalem" was chosen as the opening hymn for the London Olympics 2012, although "God Save the Queen" was the anthem sung during the raising of the flag in salute to HM The Queen. Some attempts have also been made to increase its use elsewhere with other words; examples include the State Funeral of President Ronald Reagan in Washington National Cathedral on 11 June 2004 and the State Memorial Service for Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam on 5 November 2014.
THIS UPLOAD
Here, I offer two accounts:
The first is performed by the Choir of Winchester Cathedral and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. I included a few of my photographs in order to illustrate some of the hymn's sentiments.
The second is a video clip from the Last Night of the Proms 2012 performed by:
BBC Symphony Chorus
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Jiří Bělohlávek conductor
Royal Albert Hall, London
Outside broadcast in Hyde Park, London.
WILLIAM BLAKE'S POEM
And did those feet in ancient time,
Walk upon England's mountains green:
And was the holy Lamb of God,
On England's pleasant pastures seen!
And did the Countenance Divine,
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here,
Among these dark Satanic Mills?
Bring me my Bow of burning gold:
Bring me my Arrows of desire:
Bring me my Spear: O clouds unfold:
Bring me my Chariot of fire!
I will not cease from Mental Fight,
Nor shall my Sword sleep in my hand:
Till we have built Jerusalem,
In England's green & pleasant Land.
Beneath the poem, Blake inscribed a quotation from the Bible:
"Would to God that all the Lord's people were Prophets"
Numbers XI. Ch 29.v[6] 
Видеоклипы
![Hubert Parry - Suite in F (Lady Radnor's Suite) for String Orchestra (1894) [Score-Video]](/img/1.gif)
We love you, England. 👍 You odd, remarkable, beautiful people. 🤗🍀♥Your country is so rich with history, preserve it for all generations to come. The world would be less colourful and rich without you. We hope you get through your challenging times well, as always. Greetings from 🇩🇪
love England ! beautiful !
The best country on Earth.
Yes absolutely
I cannot watch and listen to these two renditions of 'Jerusalem ' without a swelling of pride, tears, love and desire welling up inside me. I remember attending the Albert Hall to see and hear this, I remember the museums of London, I remember Richmond Park and I remember Kew Gardens. It brings back all those wonderful places and the people I miss so much who filled them with love and laughter. I miss my friend Alfred Mason who is long gone but will always be in my heart. May God bless England, and all who love her.
So, today I played this video in honor of the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. And cried.
Oh .. same here .. sobbing
The earth is the Lord's and all that it contains and all the fullness thereof and it serves Him with gladness and the seas proclaim His glory and the clouds are His raiment.
God save the Queen, and the people of England !
' love you England
Wonderful !
When God created the World, the Universe he made a special place:, GREAT BRITAIN. T he seat of God, the greatest of his creations. The Land of of his servants, the KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN! May of our GREAT LAND live for EVER!
Though not my favourite hymn, I do love it! Lovely countryside photography as usual, plus the fact that any and all performances are better at the Albert! Thank you again for lifting our spirits at this time.
We all love the Albert, that's for sure!
Beautiful and glorious. God save us and our lands from the evil ones who are out to destroy us.
Such a beautiful piece of music' being a fifth generation kiwi' with English' blood' this very uplifting!!
Thank you Sir Hubert Parry, and above all thank you William Blake, the greatest of all visionaries. This was certainly, when I was young, the greatest nation the world had ever known, and everyone, including we ragged kids at Western Road Junior school knew it. Time to rebuild the new Jerusalem HERE again.
Wow, so moving, thanks for posting.... we must indeed fight the good mental fight to bring back the times of congregation in all aspects of life. Take care, Anthony, my gratitude for your uplifting words and images!
Thank you CW. This is, for certain, a "mental fight" as well as a biological war against an invisible foe. Here is a very moving performance of this piece by the Cadet Glee Club at West Point, NY. ruclips.net/video/5yaxVYNGaUU/видео.html
facebook.com/OfficialLiquidMind.Chuck is FB link if you're on there
@@AntPDC Quite frankly, speaking as a former (long time) chorister, the cadets were lousy! They were flat, they don't know how to sing, they don't blend, they don't know how to sing, their pronunciation is ghastly and over enunciated, and they don't know how to sing. Someone needs to straighten them out. Probably from the Navy School of Music!!
However, thanks for the post! Last night of the Proms is always wonderful! I just wish they would go back to Sir Henry's original arrangement of Rule Britannia. There's a recording somewhere of Sir Colin Davis directing the Last night. The crowd went nuts when they realized that there was no soloist!
Smashing
The word and Kingdom of God cannot be shaken and stand firm forever.
Then why are we allowing the satanic forces to take over our countries? Why are there so many self-hating whites who are willing to allow their countries to be completely decimated by these demons? Tragic, very tragic.
This just simply knocks me for 6.
I had friends who were great fans of Parry. My father was not, but then he steadfastly remained a fan only of Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart and Haydn, memorably referring to Verdi as Joe Green, the Italian bandmaster! They came to his eightieth birthday party and bought him a nice CD of Parry, which I inherited. I am kind of glad he isn't here now but the memories bring a tear to my eye.
LOL. How can someone like Bach and Haydn simultaneously? A mystery to me! Best wishes to you and yours Jane.
@@AntPDC Ooh, I do! The last year of Dad's life he pretty much exclusively played Beethoven's late String Quartets; I wonder why. But for me this morning it's Beethoven's Missa Solemnis to reinforce my sanctum!
Joe Green!!! Verdi will never be the same to me, ever again. Thank you for your lovely reminiscence.
This gives me chills
just wonderful !
Excellent, and a valuable test for 'patriotism'.
(Anyone one who fails the test, by 'disliking' the video, for example, or by making adverse comments, or displaying an incorrect response when shown it, should be branded a 'foreigner', vapourised on the spot, and the resulting gas used to power an electricity generator for the national grid. Thus, their final act would be of genuine, if fleeting, benefit to the nation.
*That'll* larn 'em.)
I think you missed the point of Blake's poem. He was raging against the 'satanic mills' that cruelly devoured men, women and children -- the legacy of the Industrial Revolution. He was thinking of the urban myth that Jesus once walked the green hills and will walk them again once all the blight of rampant greed is swept away.
Myth?
magnifique
Monty Python's Buying a bed sketch brought me here.
Mixed feelings about this (double) video Antony. Yes it brings back the historical memories, but it also reminds me of the bitter UK divisions caused by Brexit. Nonetheless, thankyou for your time with this. With best wishes.
Yes, the Brexit fallout will take time to heal, but heal they will. That aside, this music was composed in a very different era.
I love England. Bad teeth, sure, but I like it that way. Very real. Doesn’t hurt if you drop it and bend down to pick it up.
Parry was very reluctant to set it at all, because the first occasion was to raise funds for Fight For Right, an organisation to lobby the government not to seek peace with Germany and to raise money for propaganda. Parry was a (very) left-wing person who disliked the right-wing Fight For Right immensely. He even suggested the organisers approach George Butterworth, but he'd left for France already.
However, Parry did write this, and when he showed it to the organisers he couldn't speak, but just pointed to "O clouds unfold!" as the passage that had really got to him. The organisers were the Poet Laureate, Robert Bridges, and the conductor, Walford Davies.
To deaden the thought of writing it for Fight For Right Parry transferred the copyright to the Suffragette movement. Parry's own orchestration was made for the Suffrage demonstration in March 1918.
Reply
AntPDC Dry your eyes mate, you are not alone.
Thank you Tommy. I think I was around 40 years old when I started to go to pieces when singing various hymns and carols. It only gets worse!
gute Sendung
You might enjoy the Blake and Parry-themed pilgrimage which the British Pilgrimage Trust made in 2016:
britishpilgrimage.org/2016/10/jerusalem-pilgrimage-2016/
The whole thing is documented in videos which you can find here:
ruclips.net/p/PL8tgrEYgo22WJrl1UVASUWSsgXrfsEtD2
Let's all sing it at the top of Glastonbury Tor, where it was meant to have happened.
Sorry, how stupid of me: THANK YOU of COURSE Sir Edward Elgar!!
Composed when England/Great Britain was great, and not the shambolic state it has now become.