Major lecture address re-posted at PTB
  • melofluentmelofluent
    Posts: 4,160
    Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury, delivered a lecture on July 27 in which he thoroughly posits the constitution of hymnody vis a vis poetry. Worth a look.

    http://www.praytellblog.com/index.php/2015/08/12/hymns-poems-songs-the-lyrical-and-the-liturgical/
    Thanked by 1CHGiffen
  • CHGiffenCHGiffen
    Posts: 5,150
    Wow!
  • Liam
    Posts: 4,942
    Sondheim's preface in his Finishing the Hat: Collected Lyrics (1954–1981) with Attendant Comments, Principles, Heresies, Grudges, Whines and Anecdotes, has an illuminating discussion of the differences between poetry and lyrics. To reduce it crudely: lyrics assume musical accompaniment, poetry has its own musicality and even resists musical accompaniment. Even if you don't care about musicals in general or Sondheim in particular, this is worth buying just for his thoughts about the working craft relationship of words and music. (He also offers his thoughts on major English-language lyricists of the 20th century.)
    Thanked by 2CHGiffen Adam Wood
  • MatthewRoth
    Posts: 1,945
    The door to Rome is still open, Lord Williams Oystermouth... I particularly enjoyed his point towards the end where he criticizes “turning up the emotional temperature.” And he implicitly understands the tension between hymns as we generally know them and liturgy (I exclude Office hymns from this discussion). Williams might be focusing on lyrical quality when he mentions the impact on the shape of the sacramental action, but a Catholic ought to respond, “That is preserved by chanting the Propers!”.

    Samuel Crossman (“My Song is Love Unknown”) and John Henry Newman also fit into this discussion. I’m surprised Williams didn’t mention them.
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