Sunday 8 November 2009

Lead kindly light

Lead, kindly Light, amid th'encircling gloom,
lead thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home;
lead thou me on!
Keep thou my feet;
I do not ask to see
the distant scene;
one step enough for me.

I was not ever thus,
nor prayed that thou shouldst lead me on;
I loved to choose and see my path;
but now lead thou me on!
I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,
pride ruled my will:
remember not past years!

So long thy power hath blessed me,
sure it still will lead me on.
O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent,
till the night is gone,
And with the morn those angel faces smile,
which I have loved long since, and lost awhile!

This recording put up just at the right time.

They do make a meal of the commas though. For me, words that keep saying, 'lead thou me on,' suggest not snatching the ends of phrases, particularly as in places it detracts from the sense.

I am the person derided on a singing course for loving Rheinberger - too Catholic, too sentimental... Yup that's me.

2 comments:

Mike Forbester said...

Sentimental statement coming up. I too like Rheinberger! I'd love Rudgate to sing his Mass in Eb, but we do need double choir, so it may have to wait awhile...

leutgeb said...

Always good to have a repertoire wish list though. You'll be able to pull it out at just the right moment!

If you need another alto...