Composed in 1598 upon the death of Philip II, Versa est in luctum is a suitably majestic motet for six voices - the music conjuring the heavenly harps, organs and voices referred to in the text. Filmed at St Bartholomew the Great, London. My harp is turned to grieving and my flute to the voice of those who weep. Spare me, O Lord, for my days are as nothing.

Bogoroditse Devo is the most well-known movement of Rachmaninov's exquisite Vespers, and for very good reason. It opens with beautifully contemplative, hymn-like phrases, before developing and giving way to the electric climax at the repetition of 'Rejoice, virgin mother of God'.

Fr. Scott Haynes A Meditation on History, Theology, and Holy Poverty I. A Carol Born of Winter Silence In the Bleak Midwinter  did not begin as a carol sung by choirs beneath candlelight. It began as a poem. In 1872, Christina Rossetti, one of the great devotional poets of the Victorian era, published a quiet meditation titled A Christmas Carol  in the magazine Scribner’s Monthly . Rossetti was not writing for liturgy or performance. She was writing for the soul. Her verse wa

Gesù Bambino is a beloved Christmas carol.

In dulci jubilo is not merely a Christmas carol. It is a song born on the threshold between heaven and earth, where language falters and joy overflows. From its first notes, it sounds less like a composed hymn and more like praise breaking free from the heart of the Church.