A Composer with Carmelite Connections

We were talking about musicians with Carmelite connections in one of our groups recently.  Sir Lennox Berkeley (1903-1989) was actually born on Boars Hill in the vicinity of the present Carmelite Priory (though it was not there at the time of his birth).  He was born into the aristocratic Berkeley family and his son, Baron Berkeley of Knighton (b.1948), is also a composer.  Sir Lennox wrote symphonies, operas, and choral works and was a professor in the Royal Academy of Music from 1946 to 1968.  Of particular interest to us is that he was a convert to Catholicism and set four poems of St Teresa to music for contralto and string orchestra in 1947.  There exists on the market a recording from a BBC Programme of the wonderful contralto Kathleen Ferrier singing these. I will mention another English convert Catholic composer of the same era with a Carmelite connection in another blog soon.     

Intercessions:

Louise Aldred OCDS RIP – a long-time member of the Nottingham Secular community

Brian Davis – cancer

Marie, Bernard (and wife Angela caring for him) - cancer

Siena, Elara – sick children

Wojtek – massive heart attack leaving him incapacitated

David - housebound

Sophia – blind infant

Rebekah – in hospital