Read Kate’s latest for The Tablet – Choosing Hymns for Special Occasions
This is the time of year for several special services. First Communions, Confirmations, Mothers’ Day, Lady Day all seem to be in spring or early summer, and we aren’t even into the wedding season yet, especially with the weather we’ve been having recently. Most people expect music at a celebratory service of whatever nature in church, and quite right too. Music brings people together, it wakes them up and calms them down, it can be a source of great comfort and solidarity. It is a prayer in itself; it gives a sense of community that is hard to beat (and that’s why people sing at rugby matches). It is powerful, but this power can also work negatively; people can be bored or irritated by music beyond what seems reasonable (imagine being stuck in a lift, or the dreaded holding on for a line to a doctor’s surgery)…
