The Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland gathered today in Carmarthen, Wales, for its annual conference. Presentations today included excellent surveys of the life, hymns and hymn tunes of Erik Routley, and the history of the Jubilate Group, by David Thompson and Anne Harrison respectively. Some amusing “Short Metre sessions” were interspersed.
Next up tomorrow morning, the present writer introducing the Complete Works of James Quinn, SJ, and a lecture on the folk roots of Welsh hymn tunes. Succeeding days will provide lectures on Hymns and the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, the Evolution of the Welsh Hymn, an introduction to the Revised English Hymnal, and much else.