A compendium of musical delights by Alan and Margaret Ashworth
THIS hymn, like many others, was written by an Anglican clergyman, but there cannot be many priests with a background like that of John Newton. He was born in Wapping, … Continue readingGlorious Things of Thee are Spoken
WE tend to think that Left-wing bias is a relatively new phenomenon at the BBC, but it has been going on for a long time. The difference is that decades … Continue readingThe Brains Trust
IN recent decades the wonderful hymn Onward, Christian Soldiers has come under attack from the PC brigade, who (wrongly) perceive it as militaristic. Most attempts to drop it from hymn … Continue readingOnward, Christian Soldiers
THIS is a sentence you will not often read: The BBC admitted it was wrong. It happened in 1975, after the decision was made to end Down Your Way, one … Continue readingDown Your Way
BEFORE I started writing this series, I didn’t realise that there is a sort of hymn snobbery. Growing up in an evangelical C of E church (Christ Church, Beckenham, Kent) … Continue readingWhat a Friend We Have in Jesus
THIS is the first in a series recalling BBC radio programmes from the 30s, 40s and 50s, when the corporation was a much-loved institution broadcasting material the listeners wanted to … Continue readingMusic While You Work
AFTER I wrote about O Love That Will Not Let Me Go last week, reader Roy Davey-Jenkins commented that ‘Great declarations and heart-stirring hymns often come out of deep trauma’, … Continue readingIt Is Well With My Soul
IF ever a work resulted from divine inspiration, it is the hymn O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go, requested by TCW reader ‘Starshiptrooper’. It was written by George Matheson, … Continue readingO Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go
WHILE I was wandering around YouTube for yesterday’s Midweek Hymn, I discovered the largest fully playable musical instrument in the world, the Wanamaker Grand Court Organ, and I thought it … Continue readingThe Mighty Wanamaker
PROBABLY not many hymns derive from a poem about making and taking drugs, but that is the unusual background to Dear Lord and Father of Mankind. The poem, The Brewing … Continue readingDear Lord and Father of Mankind