THE
P RTAL
October 2016
Page 23
Letters to the Editor
Comment
I have been reflecting on the article that Damian
Thompson recently wrote for the Catholic Herald
about the Ordinariate. Someone was perhaps overly
harsh and described it as “summertime journalism”,
lacking depth or breadth of research.
What bothered me is the sense of being drawn into
a confrontational battle with the Catholic hierarchy
on a long-standing agenda which is not ours.
Those of us who stayed in the CofE post 1992 “and
all that” spent 30 years, the best years of our lives, in a
battle of wits with Anglican Bishops and the General
Synod. We were given Bishops by the hierarchy who
were of their choice and biddable but never able to
see us flourish.
We fought a battle alongside people who, it turned
out, never did yearn with their whole hearts for unity
with the Holy See; they now find endless excuses for
not following their once infallible logic.
And here we are, now in the Catholic Church, and
I certainly don’t want the Ordinariate to be fighting
other people’s battles against the hierarchy. It is a
failing of the Ordinariate that we have left a gap for
outsiders to try to determine the direction of the
Ordinariate. “Ordinariate II” is in fact “Ordinariate
I”; we just need to be better at it and the CDF may
need to be told firmly that this local Church ain’t so
wedded to Divine Worship as our colonial cousins.
Oh, and the 30 years, not at all wasted, just a
preparation for the joy which we could never imagine
in the CofE. We knew the theory, we knew the
Catechism of the Catholic Church, we could perform
the liturgy of the Roman Rite with style and panache
but we could not, in all honesty, say “Our Pope”.
Name and Address supplied
The views expressed in these letters are not necessarily those of the Editors
Letters for publication should be sent to:
The Editors, The Portal, 56 Woodlands Farm Road,
Birmingham B24 0PG
[email protected]
Music Review
Bernardino de Ribera:
Magnificats & Motets
Robert Macneil’s CD of the month
Bernardino de Ribera is a much overlooked
Spanish composer of the 16th century. Born in 1520, his musical
interests were inspired by his father, Pedro Ribera, who for many years
was Maestro de Capilla at the Collegiate Church in Játiva in the Spanish
province of Valencia. Bernardino went on to study under his father’s successor, Jayme López. In 1559, he
became Maestro de Capilla in the great Cathedral fortress in Ávila in the south of Spain.
Very few of Bernardino’s compositions have survived the passage of time and this recording is an excellent
collection of what has. The manuscripts survived in the archives of Toledo Cathedral despite the works
suffering from an act of vandalism around the 18th century, when the most beautifully decorated pages of
the folios were removed. It is wonderful that the works on this recording are being heard again, all but one
of the 19 pieces being first time recordings.
They are beautifully sung by De Profundis, the early music vocal ensemble based in Cambridge. The low
pitch voices of these all male singers under the direction of David Skinner, conductor, all add to the magic
of this recording, which was made in St George’s Church in Chesterton, Cambridge. The cover artwork
(above) is the Pietà by Luis de Morales (1547-1586).
It is almost impossible to single out one track from this excellent recording but the Regina caeli from the
Magnificat Primus Tonus is, for me, certainly amongst my favourite tracks. I heartily suggest that this CD
from Hyperion is well worth adding to your collection.
Bernardino de Ribera: Magnificats & motets - Hyperion Records - CDA68141 - www.hyperion-records.co.uk