artsyhonker – Page 14 – The Artsy Honker

To Sail Beyond the Sunset

Byartsyhonker March 25, 2014 0 Comments

Here's one I made earlier! I wrote this in autumn 2006; I'd asked for texts to set, and my then-sweetheart suggested these lines by Tennyson: Come, my friends, 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world. Push off, and sitting well in order smite The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths Of all the western stars, until I die. It may be that the gulfs will...

Moss and Jones — “Let us Demonstrate”

Byartsyhonker March 24, 2014 0 Comments

I think I first heard of Moss and Jones on Twitter, through a mutual friend. I am always pleased when they record more music. Their latest recordings are no exception. In fact, I think they may be the best yet. The high, pure, clarity of Ruth's voice really comes through on this demonstration. The strength of the musical ideas is also clear, without losing the quirky, folky aesthetic of ukelele,...

Thaw

Byartsyhonker March 23, 2014 0 Comments

I wrote this for the Sing for Our Planet songbook -- but it was just too short, one minute instead of five, and I didn't like any of the things I tried to lengthen it. So, I submitted something else instead. In the meantime, this piece might make a good encore piece for a small community choir, or fit well with other pieces about spring or awakening. Thaw Over the land freckled with snow...

Lent: Read the Bible in 40 Days

Byartsyhonker March 4, 2014 0 Comments

I've been humming and hawing for a while about what to take up, or give up, as a Lenten discipline. I'm not a huge one for giving up 'naughty' foods; it's too easy for these fasts to become, for me, about conformity to the world's ideas about what my body should look like, rather than about faithful engagement with God. But various disciplines I've taken up in previous years don't seem to be...

Trinitie Sunday

Byartsyhonker March 2, 2014 0 Comments

A few weeks ago when Fr Duncan and I were discussing hymn lists, he said he'd like to have a lot of George Herbert this Sunday. It seemed like as good a reason as any to write an anthem. I launched into a setting of "Love (III)" but it didn't quite "sit" right, wasn't working out, and was perhaps a little long. So instead I decided to set the poem "Trinitie Sunday" as an anthem. It isn't Trinity...

Addendum — Prayer

Byartsyhonker February 17, 2014 0 Comments

In my previous post I wrote about factors that contributed to my return (or maybe even my initial approach?) to Christian faith and practice. Somehow, I neglected to mention other people praying for me. I would be hard pressed to say that anyone was praying for my conversion, as such. If they did, they had more sense than to tell me about it. I am certain I would not have reacted well. But I do...

Why I came back: factors in church membership

Byartsyhonker February 17, 2014 0 Comments

This is the third in a series of posts examining my own experiences of leaving church and later returning to Christian faith and practice as a sort of case study, to see what can be learned about why people leave churches and why they come back. I’ve been thinking about this for a while, but some of it is triggered by recent comments about church growth. The previous post is about what kept me...

Pied Beauty

Byartsyhonker February 6, 2014 0 Comments

A few weeks ago I spied a call for scores with a theme of nature, one or two parts and accompanied by piano. I asked on Twitter for suitable texts, preferably not too church-y because the context wasn't a liturgical one. One text that caught my eye is "Thaw" by Edward Thomas; I will post about it separately once it is complete. I believe Pete Phillips is the person who first suggested this text...

Music and Livelihood

Byartsyhonker February 4, 2014 3 Comments

I am not going to be able to work as a performer for the rest of my life. There are a number of reasons for this, and none of them are up for discussion in this post, but my current strategy is not working and is unsustainable. However, I am a musician through and through: when I am not making music I am pretty miserable. So I've been thinking lately about how to make a living as a musician,...