Adult Choir

Choristers

Contemporary Choir

Handbell Choir

Concert Series

Wilt thou forgive

  This lovely hymn (Hymnal 1982 #140 - click here for the text) was written by the famous Anglican priest and poet, John Donne. It is particularly Lenten in its almost despairing mood as Donne enumerates various types of sin, such as original sin and our own sins that lead others astray. Each verse ends with the same clever puns on "done" (the poet's last name) and "more" (his wife's maiden name, Ann More). These sins lead him to his ultimate fear in the last verse: the fear of death. This verse ends with hope, though: "at my death thy Son shall shine as he shines now".

  Donne married Ann More in secret, and this actually cost him his job as a private secretary to Sir Thomas Egerton. He spent years in poverty after this until he began to write and eventually become a priest. If one takes this as the central sin that haunts Donne's life, then it changes the whole tone of the poem. All the sins enumerated can be taken in relation to this marriage (and Ann's subsequent death six years before the poem was written). So when it comes to forgiveness, "thou hast not done, for I have more" speaks directly to this sin. And the hope at the end also speaks directly to it: "I fear no more".

Click here for a recording sung by boy soprano Connor Burrowes