August 16th, 2018

Just as we love and cherish our own mothers, and some of the most heartfelt gestures of love are given to our mothers, so I think some of the most beautiful music ever written by composers through time has been to honour our heavenly Mother.

One has only to think of the many hymns – some triumphantly acclaiming her as ‘Queen of heaven, the ocean star’…some repeating the salutation of the Archangel Gabriel ‘Ave Maria’…others asking for her intercession and indeed her protection (Sub tuum praesidium…)

And possibly one of the most beloved pieces of Marian music is, I think, Schubert’s ‘Ave Maria’ – at its essence so simple that it’s barely even there…so subtle…just a simple ethereal accompaniment like a heartbeat – constant…and an endearing melody which gently undulates its way above it…

May our Blessed Mother always watch over us and guide the minds and hands of our composers so that they may write music which moves us all to draw closer and closer to her – and in doing so, draw us closer and closer to her Divine Son.

Jacinta