BIRMINGHAM - 22 February 2008 - 400 words
Musical Oratory celebrates Newman's birthday
Peter Jennings
A Musical Oratory to commemorate the 207th anniversary of the birth of the Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman, on 21 February 1801, was held at the Birmingham Oratory, Edgbaston, yesterday.
Newman was born at 80 Old Broad Street in the City of London. on February 21, 1801. The site is now marked by a blue plaque on what was the visitors' entrance to the London Stock Exchange.
The Musical Oratory, a service of music, preaching and prayer, based around the theme "Newman On Lent" was led by Fr Gregory Winterton, the former Provost and Vice Chairman of the Friends of Cardinal Newman.
Dr Francis Jackson, Organist Emeritus of York Minister, the doyen of English church music, now aged 90, played instrumental organ music by César Franck, Johann Sebastian Bach, Dr Hathcote Statham, Francis Jackson, Camille Saint-Saëns and C. Hubert Parry.
The Musical Oratory dates back to the 16th century, the time of St Philip Neri (1515-1595) and is a combination of prayers, music (choral or instrumental) and short addresses or Fervorini as they are known in Italy. These Fervorini were much used by St Philip Neri who founded the Congregation of the Oratory in Rome during 1575.
The three Fervorini were given by Fr Philip Cleevely on the sermon "Lent the Season of Repentance", Fr Guy Nicholls, Parish Priest, "The exercises of Lent: Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving" and Fr Winterton, "The End of Lent Passiontide".
The Oratory Choir, directed by Nicholas Johnson, sang the motets, "Miserere mei" by William Byrd, "Adjuva me, Domine" by Jean Conseil and "Salvator mundi" by John Blow.
Towards the end of the service Fr Winterton led the congregation in the special prayer for the beatification and canonisation of the Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman.
John Henry was the eldest of six children born to John Newman and Jemima Fourdrinier, who had been married on September 24 1799 in St Mary's church in Lambeth.
He was baptised on April 9, 1801, in the church of St Benet Fink, no longer in existence. His bothers and sisters to whom he became close were Charles, Harriett, Francis, Jemima and Mary. Their father was a partner in a small banking firm. Their mother was the daughter of a paper manufacturer of Huguenot ancestry.
The Newman family moved to 17 Southampton Street (now Southampton Place) in Bloomsbury in 1803 and also owned a country house at Ham where young John Henry lived for the first few years of his life. Mr and Mrs Newman were members of the Church of England. John Henry was brought up with a love for the Bible, taught by his mother.
© Independent Catholic News 2008
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