Secular Hymns

The Torino Ms J.II.9 codex, kept in the National University Library of Turin, is a sumptuous manuscript consisting of 159 sheets, each measuring 377x270 mm. We may safely assume that the person responsible for putting together the musical works of this codex was a Frenchman resident at the Court of the Lusignan family long enough for the codex to be completed; the period in question must have been sometime between 1413 and 1430 CE.

Jesus rock pioneers the Wilson McKinley are a fascinating footnote in the annals of psychedelia – minor legends in their native Pacific Northwest, they are generally considered the first secular band to forsake the ample pleasures of the flesh in favor of forging lives and music devoted to spreading the Christian gospel…

The Torino Ms J.II.9 codex, kept in the National University Library of Turin, is a sumptuous manuscript consisting of 159 sheets, each measuring 377x270 mm. We may safely assume that the person responsible for putting together the musical works of this codex was a Frenchman resident at the Court of the Lusignan family long enough for the codex to be completed; the period in question must have been sometime between 1413 and 1430 CE.

The Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge, an exclusive Chandos artist, here presents its third release on the label. Established in the 1670s, the choir has a long and distinguished tradition of performing religious music and here offers distinguished interpretations of sacred works by Orlande de Lassus. Of its most recent release, Hear My Words: Choral Classics from St John’s (CHSA5085), The Telegraph wrote: ‘The boy treble voices bring lustre and freshness to the sonority and the singing throughout is stirring and polished.’

The line dividing black gospel and so-called secular music has always been a thin one, and musicians have rarely been afraid to step over it. In the 1920s, the blind singer “Arizona” Juanita Dranes wed ragtime and boogie—rhythms associated with saloons and barrelhouses—to Holiness movement hymns. Later, Mahalia Jackson, who refused to record secular records, nonetheless achieved massive popularity outside the sanctified confines of the gospel scene. A true pioneer, Sister Rosetta Tharpe scandalized the church by performing in nightclubs, practically inventing rock & roll in the process. By the early 1970s, blockbuster Stax singles by the Staple Singers proved artists could exist comfortably in both worlds, or suggested that perhaps these distinct spheres actually overlapped.