Hymnus Paradisi uses texts from various sources, including the Latin Mass, Psalm 23, Psalm 121, the Burial Service from the Book of Common Prayer, and the medieval Salisbury Diurnal.
Composition History
An English Mass was written for Harold Darke (a leading organist and choirmaster) and the St Michael Singers in 1955.
Notable Performances
The first performance of Hymnus Paradisi was at the Gloucester Three Choirs Festival in 1950, conducted by its composer, Herbert Howells.
Composition History
Ralph Vaughan Williams (a prominent English composer) insisted that Hymnus Paradisi be performed, preventing it from remaining unknown for longer.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Herbert Howells (the composer) believed that music had the power to offer relief and comfort from profound loss, which it did for him in creating Hymnus Paradisi.
Composer Biography
Hymnus Paradisi was a deeply personal response by Herbert Howells (the composer) to the sudden death of his nine-year-old son, Michael, in 1935.
Composition History
Herbert Howells's (a composer) masterwork, Hymnus Paradisi, was composed between 1936 and 1938 but remained hidden from the public for over a decade.
