Welcome to Anthem 52 in my successful attempt to write a new choir anthem every week for a year. I’m Kevin Mulryne and I hope you have enjoyed listening to my progress throughout 2024. Please do visit the website Anthem52.com, follow along on x.com - @realanthem52 or Instagram - @realanthem52 and send me a message to show@anthem52.com.

Well, here we are at Anthem 52. It's been a great year of composition, despite the many traditional and unexpected ups and downs of family life. At times it's been a bit of a slog but I'm surprised how little difficulty I've had coming up with ideas and working them through. Whether that has resulted in any decent anthems, I'm not sure and I'll let you know exactly how I'd like you to help me decide on that in 2025.

That's to come soon but, for now, I should concentrate on the final anthem in the whole project. Its words come from Alfred Lord Tennyson, 1809-1892. It's on the theme of New Year, somewhat appropriately.

Here are the words I chose:

Words for Anthem 52:

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light,
The year is dying in the night,
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring happy bells across the snow,
The year is dying, let him go,
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Welcome to Anthem 51 in my attempt to write a new choir anthem every week for a year. I’m Kevin Mulryne and I hope you will enjoy listening to my progress throughout 2024. Please do visit the website Anthem52.com, follow along on x.com - @realanthem52 or Instagram - @realanthem52 and send me a message to show@anthem52.com.

This week, I was still on the search for more unusual Christmas carol words. After quite a bit of unsuccessful browsing, I found an order of service for King's College Chapel way back in 1918. It's fascinating to see what has changed and what hasn't since then. One of the most interesting sets of words was for a carol I had never come across before - 'Childing of a maiden bright'. From the 15th Century, the words are suitably archaic in places and each verse ends with a different Latin phrase, as we know, not a unique characteristic, but one I like.

The words are a little unusual in that they mention 'flocks of fiends' rather then sheep and a few other odd ideas. Again, I found these words intriguing and fun to set.

Here are the words I chose:

Words for Anthem 51:

Childing of a maiden bright
Life to-day hath brought to light;
And hath put that prince of might
With his flock of fiends to flight:
Christus natus hodie.

Whoso aught hath done amiss,
An it rue him sore for this,
Mary's Babe will shrive i-wis,
Gentle as a lamb He is:
Miserere, Domine.

He at Bethlehem was born,
Salem gave him crown of thorn,
Life of want and death of scorn -
All for love of man forlorn.
Ergo benedicite.

On this Infant may we call,
Born for man in oxen-stall:
He vouchsafe us bliss withal
In His everlasting hall.
Cum Maria Virgine.

Welcome to Anthem 50 in my attempt to write a new choir anthem every week for a year. I’m Kevin Mulryne and I hope you will enjoy listening to my progress throughout 2024. Please do visit the website Anthem52.com, follow along on x.com - @realanthem52 or Instagram - @realanthem52 and send me a message to show@anthem52.com.

Wow. I've made it all the way to 50 anthems. I've surprised myself - and probably you as well, I imagine. I'm also pleased to say that the 50th anthem is one of my favourites so far.

The words come from yet another Carol Service order of service, this time from Pembroke College, Oxford. The 15th Century words were set by William Matthias but I haven't listened to his version, as yet.

Here are the words I chose:

Words for Anthem 50:

A babe is born all of a may,
To bring salvation unto us.
To him we sing both night and day.
Veni Creator Spiritus.

At Bethlehem, that blessed place,
The child of bliss now born he was;
And him to serve God give us grace,
O lux beata Trinitas.

There came three kings out of the East,
To worship the King that is so free,
With gold and myrrh and frankincense
A solis ortus cardine.

The angels came down with one cry,
A fair song that night sung they In worship of that child:
Gloria tibi Domine.

A babe is born all of a may,
To bring salvation unto us.
To him we sing both night and day.
Veni Creator Spiritus.
O lux beata Trinitas.
A solis ortus cardine.
Gloria tibi Domine.
Noel!

Welcome to Anthem 49 in my attempt to write a new choir anthem every week for a year. I’m Kevin Mulryne and I hope you will enjoy listening to my progress throughout 2024. Please do visit the website Anthem52.com, follow along on x.com - @realanthem52 or Instagram - @realanthem52 and send me a message to show@anthem52.com.

By contrast to last week, this anthem was much easier to compose. In order to catch up with the rapidly disappearing weeks of 2024, I set myself the target of writing this anthem in 2 days. I wondered if I could write a carol that would fit into one of the 'standard' patterns congregations would recognise - and I think I got pretty close with anthem 49.

THe words come from another carol service, this time at St Stephen’s Church, Canterbury. It's a 15th century Kent carol.

Here are the words I chose:

Words for Anthem 49:

Today our God of his great mercie
Hath sent his Son with us to be,
To dwell with us in verity,
God who is our Saviour.

Today in Bethlehem did befall,
a child was born in ox's stall,
Who needs must die to save us all,
God who is our Saviour.

Today there spake an angel bright,
To shepherd there who watched by night,
And bade them take their way forthright,
To God who is our Saviour.

Therefore 'tis meet we kneel today,
And Christ, who died on cross, we pray
To show his grace to us alway,
God who is our Saviour.

Welcome to Anthem 48 in my attempt to write a new choir anthem every week for a year. I’m Kevin Mulryne and I hope you will enjoy listening to my progress throughout 2024. Please do visit the website Anthem52.com, follow along on x.com - @realanthem52 or Instagram - @realanthem52 and send me a message to show@anthem52.com.

It was lovely to sing in Holy Trinity Church's Advent Carol Service last Sunday - my first service back with the choir. Charlotte was also able to come along and the singing was good.

It's been a difficult week for composition. Everything seems to have gone very slowly and I basically a week behind where I should be. I'm sure I'll catch up with only 4 anthems to go.

I found the words in another Advent Carol Service booklet - this time from Belfast Cathedral - where my family are from, incidentally. I used the whole of the first long verse and part of the last.

Here are the words I chose:

Words for Anthem 48:

Rorate coeli desuper!
Heavens, distil your balmy show’rs;
For now is ris’n the bright Daystar,
From the rose Mary, flower of flowers:
The clear Sun, whom no cloud devours, Surmounting Phoebus in the east,
Is comen of His heav’nly tow’rs,
Et nobis puer natus est.

All Gloria in excelsis cry,
Heaven, earth, sea, man, bird and beast;
He that is crowned above the sky
Pro nobis puer natus est.

Welcome to Anthem 47 in my attempt to write a new choir anthem every week for a year. I’m Kevin Mulryne and I hope you will enjoy listening to my progress throughout 2024. Please do visit the website Anthem52.com, follow along on x.com - @realanthem52 or Instagram - @realanthem52 and send me a message to show@anthem52.com.

I went back to Advent this week - or at least I looked for some more Advent lyrics. It occurred to me that I could find some lyrics in service booklets for Advent Carol Services so I tried to search for those. The second one I found was from The Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Mary the Virgin of Worcester's 2020 Advent Carol Service. They performed a carol with words by John Audelay (d. c. 1426). These seemed ideal for what I was trying to write.

Here are the words I chose:

Words for Anthem 47:

There is a flow’r sprung of a tree, the root thereof is called Jesse, a flow’r of price there is none such in paradise.

This flow’r is fair and fresh of hue,
it fadeth ne’er, but e’er is new;
the blessèd branch this flow’r on grew
was Mary mild that bare Jesu;
a flow’r of grace;
against all sorrow it is solace.

When Gabriel this maid did meet,
with ‘Ave Maria’ he did her greet;
between them two this flow’r was set
and safe was kept, no man should wit,
till on a day
in Bethlehem it could spread and spray.

Welcome to Anthem 46 in my attempt to write a new choir anthem every week for a year. I’m Kevin Mulryne and I hope you will enjoy listening to my progress throughout 2024. Please do visit the website Anthem52.com, follow along on x.com - @realanthem52 or Instagram - @realanthem52 and send me a message to show@anthem52.com.

This week, in comparison to last week, was more straightforward, in terms of composing anyway. I realised that I hadn't written very many Advent carols (have I written any as part of Anthem 52?) and, considering the Advent Carol Service is my favourite of the Church year, I should remedy that situation.

So I had a look through my usual Isaac Watts source. I couldn't find any Advent words at all so I widened the search. Very soon I came across this: O Come, Divine Messiah, a French Advent song written by M. l’abbé Pellegrin (1663-1745) and translated by Sister Mary of St. Philip in 1877. These words seemed ideal to set so I was off to a good start.

Here are the words I chose:

Words for Anthem 46:

1. O come, Divine Messiah,
The world in silence waits the day
When hope shall sing its triumph,
And sadness flee away.

Refrain:
Dear Saviour, haste! Come, come to earth.
Dispel the night and show your face,
And bid us hail the dawn of grace.
O come, Divine Messiah,
The world in silence waits the day
When hope shall sing its triumph,
And sadness flee away.

2. O come Desired of nations,
Whom priest and prophet long foretold,
Will break the captive fetters,
Redeem the long-lost fold. [Refrain]

3. O come in peace and meekness,
For lowly will your cradle be:
Though clothed in human weakness
We shall your God-head see. [Refrain]

Welcome to Anthem 45 in my attempt to write a new choir anthem every week for a year. I’m Kevin Mulryne and I hope you will enjoy listening to my progress throughout 2024. Please do visit the website Anthem52.com, follow along on x.com - @realanthem52 or Instagram - @realanthem52 and send me a message to show@anthem52.com.

It was a slightly odd week for composition. I found it difficult to get going but when I did it seemed to go fairly well.

Guess where I found the words? Yes, you're correct - Isaac Watts. This time it's a very positive set of lyrics so I decided on a loud anthem, with emphatic organ accompaniment.

Here are the words I chose:

Words for Anthem 45:

Behold, the grace ap­pears,
The pro­mise is ful­filled;
Mary, the won­drous vir­gin, bears,
And Je­sus is the Child.

The Lord, the high­est God,
Calls Him His on­ly Son;
He bids Him rule the lands abroad,
And gives Him Da­vid’s throne.

Glory to God on high!
And heav’n­ly peace on earth;
At our Re­deem­er’s birth!