WHY ME? Andrew Wells. 25 February. St John the Baptist, Holland Road, W14
WHY ME? Andrew Wells. 25 February. St John
the Baptist, Holland Road, W14
When I was first asked if I felt able to talk about my faith,
I had some serious doubts and reservations.
I suppose I’m not naturally particularly good at expressing myself, I
was always rather shy and not very good at holding company. Then, when I reflected on my strong Christian
and musical background, things started to fall into place and that maybe I
could find a way of discussing my journey of faith with others.
My Christian background within my family is very strong. My grandfather was a vicar who helped build
the church of St James, Lammas Road, Watford, and my father considered going
into the priesthood himself when he came back from serving in the army after
the war, but felt unable because of his serious hearing impairment. His working life was destined to be a manual
one, first working in market gardening, then in the dockyard (when I was a
child in the ‘60s in Plymouth) and then as a verger and freelance
gardener. Both my father and mother’s
faith were strong, and never did they miss church. I remember our vicar in Truro saying to me he
found it difficult finding new sermons to preach because he was always aware
that my parents had probably heard the same sermon again and again over the
years! My mother was a Sunday school
teacher and a committed member of the Mother’s Union. My brother (who is two years older than me),
like me, has always gone to church since Sunday school in Plymouth, and is
still now a leading member, as server and on the PCC, of our church in Truro. As a church-goer myself, there was no question
that I should follow in their footsteps.
My family were all artistic and musical. One of my abiding
passions is researching artists such as Paul and John Nash and Elisabeth Frink,
who were distant cousins. Likewise, as
a musician, there was no question that I should follow in the path of my
ancestor’s. We number professional organists,
pianists, choristers and composers amongst our family, and I myself was always
going to be involved in music. Aged five,
one Christmas, at the end of my bed, with the Christmas stocking, was a
beautiful toy drum. I was going to be in
the Royal Marine band then, I think. I
had seen them parading on Plymouth Hoe.
Then I got my first descant recorder; my first violin at primary school,
and at secondary school I was enlisted to play for school assembly and was soon
called ‘piano fingers’ and ‘Liberace’ by my peers! I was co-opted to play the piano for the
Methodist church Sunday school. Then,
aged fourteen, came the need for an organist at our daughter church in Truro,
so organ lessons were soon arranged. I
was also writing music for the school choir.
First came a carol, then a ‘March’ for the school orchestra.
It was certainly from my early teens that I thought I could
best express myself through music. It
was at this time I was also confirmed into the Christian faith. It was only
later that I felt I could best express my Christian belief through music and
the creation of music. Composition has
been, and still is, essential to my spiritual journey. It is in the creating of music that I feel my
soul speaking and get close to God’s presence.
Mark [Denza], our organist, will now play an organ prelude I wrote on
the Compline plainsong ‘CHRISTE QUI LUX’
ORGAN – PRELUDE ON ‘CHRISTE QUI LUX’
[3’00]
My journey in faith has been a questioning one, and for me,
it’s overwhelmingly resolved in music.
Who cannot be assured and stirred of the wonder of God in the mighty B-minor
Mass or the Matthew Passion of Bach, or even in the questioning late quartets
of Beethoven? It is in these master-works
that we truly feel his presence and his love for us.
In 2010, the Archbishop’ of Canterbury’s Lent book by Lucy
Winkett was entitled ‘Our Sound is Our Wound – Contemplative listening to a
noisy world’. [show book to congregation]
The book features on its cover Edvard Munch’s famous painting ‘The
Scream’. Inside its covers, the book
deals with the spiritual implications of sound, and particularly music.
It has been said that music and art is central to the human
condition. Certainly, in times of
anxiety and loss, music is a great healer, and I feel blessed that music has
been central to my life and essential to my faith.
Let’s finish with another piece for organ which I composed
called ‘Jardin de Meditation’ (Meditation garden), for it is only when we
meditate in that tranquil place that we truly understand the nature of God’s
presence and the nature of the divine.
ORGAN
– JARDIN DE MEDITATION [2’15]
[11’00]