There is a very long tradition of composers borrowing secular tunes for sacred purposes; for example the medieval folksong L’homme armé has provided melodic material from Josquin des Prez in the fifteenth century to Karl Jenkins much more recently. And sometimes, particularly in Renaissance times, composers delighted in concealing secular (sometimes downright rude) songs within serious religious works by stretching then out into slow moving notes only recognisable to the initiated.
When I was editing the Oxford Flexible Anthems series I tried a similar approach, by ‘borrowing’ traditional melodies and fitting them to appropriate religious words. One tune that particularly took my fancy was ‘Bruton Town’, an English folksong – hundreds of years old – collected and notated by Cecil Sharp in the early twentieth century. It tells a very bloodthirsty story of how two brothers murder a servant who was courting their sister to rescue her from the ‘shame’ of marrying below her class – ending with the sister following her lover to the grave. Here is the beginning:
In Bruton Town their lived a farmer
Who had two sons, and a daughter dear;
By day and night, they were contriving
To fill their parents’ hearts with fear.
One told his secret to none other,
But unto his brother this he said;
I think our servant courts our sister,
I think they have a mind to wed.
(another eight verses follow)
In choosing this song, I think I may have had in mind the saying ‘Why should the devil have all the best tunes?’ – variously attributed to Luther, Charles Wesley, General Booth, or others!
So, now forgetting the original words, the song has a beautifully wide-ranging modal tune which sweeps across the vocal range in a way that suggested to me the wind bringing revitalisation and restoration; and thus it seemed ideal for a Pentecost anthem or for a service of renewal. So now in steps Bessie Porter Head (1850-1936), the Belfast-born missionary and hymn-writer, whose words facilitated the reincarnation of this tune. They begin like this:
O breath of life, come sweeping through us,
Revive your church with life and pow’r;
O Breath of life, come cleanse, renew us,
And fit your church to meet this hour.
O Wind of God, come bend us, break us,
Till humbly we confess our need,
Then in your tenderness, remake us,
Revive, restore; for this we plead.
(one more verse)
The performance linked to here is a remarkable one. Produced during the Covid lockdown in 2020, it brings joyfulness and togetherness to a scattered congregation in Scotland’s Highlands and Islands – the Presbytery of Aberdeen and Shetland – truly a message of revival, renewal, and love, sung and played with enthusiasm and commitment. Hope you enjoy it!
The anthem is published (for voices in up to three parts and keyboard) in The Oxford Book of Flexible Anthems.