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Track(s) taken from CDP12105

There's a wideness in God's mercy – Corvedale

First line:
There's a wideness in God's mercy
composer
author of text

Wells Cathedral Choir, Malcolm Archer (conductor), Rupert Gough (organ)
Recording details: November 2003
Wells Cathedral, United Kingdom
Produced by Mark Brown
Engineered by Julian Millard
Release date: August 2004
Total duration: 3 minutes 56 seconds
 

Other recordings available for download

St Paul's Cathedral Choir, John Scott (conductor), Huw Williams (organ)
Jesus College Choir Cambridge, Richard Pinel (conductor), Jordan Wong (organ)

Reviews

‘The Wells Cathedral Choir again shows its stuff—and it's glorious … because of this choir's sturdy, full-bodied singing, both exuberant and reverent, and its natural, sensible, unaffected phrasing and enunciation. Hymn lovers need no encouragement or further discussion; these inspiring texts and timeless tunes speak for themselves’ (Classics Today)
In his work among the poor, first in London and then in Birmingham, Faber knew the need to plead with people who felt themselves rejected by society and by the respectable and judgemental churches around them. His hymn expresses his message to such people with a mixture of themes. In this selection of verses from the longer hymn he pleads with them not to limit their thoughts of how great God’s love can be; he points to the suffering of Christ on our behalf. In more controversial mode he says that we limit that love by imagining that God is more strict on our sins than is really true. It is probably truer that for much of the time it is we ourselves who are soft on our sins. It is doubtful too whether all Christians would recognize his description of their lives in the last verse. For much of the time the Christian pilgrimage is a hard trudge with little light as we ‘walk by faith and not by sight’ (2 Corinthians 5: 7). Nevertheless this hymn says some important things with simplicity and directness.

The tune was written by Maurice Bevan to be sung in St Paul’s Cathedral, of whose choir he had been a member for forty years. It is named after the area in Shropshire around the River Corve, and near the village of Stanton Lacey where his father had been vicar. It is set here in an anthem arrangement, but the sweetness of the tune is still plainly to be heard, carrying these unique words.

from notes by Alan Luff © 2004

Other albums featuring this work

Praise my soul
Studio Master: SIGCD545Download onlyStudio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available
The Music of St Paul's Cathedral
SPCC2000Super-budget price sampler
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