Never weather-beaten sail

Thomas Campion’s Never weather-beaten sail is a sprightly text that powerfully evokes the sailor’s plea for God’s calming presence upon the sea’s unrelenting rushing waves. At the opening of this work for unaccompanied mixedvoices, the jaunty alto/tenor movement in thirds symbolises the curling waves of the undulating sea, the mellifluous soprano melody represents the boat’s sails, and the bass section’s never-changing ‘A’ provides the anchor. Allfour voices then come together in homophony, urging God to “come quickly...and take my soul to rest”. Rather than a simple repetition of thematic material in the manner of a standard hymn, the texture alters through the rest ofthework until the very end where all voices gradually fade away into the distance, leaving what seems like a lone voice in the wilderness to cry “to Thee”.

Contrasting to other well-known setting of this text, this newwork provides a fresh interpretation, suitable for intermediate choirs.