Saturday, December 15, 2018

Redeemer, come


I’m a big fan of Catherine Winkworth, the extraordinarily accomplished 19th Century English feminist who gave the Anglophone world some of the best translations of German Lutheran hymns. Last year I gave you her Isaiah-based “Comfort, Comfort Ye My People”, which my work colleagues and fellow Metro commuters have heard from me for the past few days.

Today let’s have another of her translations, “Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates”, set to the tune “Truro”. This hymn urges us to open wide the portals of our hearts to receive the waiting King of Glory. That’s what the season of Advent is, although we’re often told that it’s a period when we’re doing the waiting, not the other way round.

I rather like it.





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