Today I’m starting my #AdventPoem series. My recordings of six seasonal poems, four of them mine, bookended by a twentieth & a fifteenth-century masterpiece.
First, inspired by a Lancelot Andrewes sermon, TS Eliot’s glorious Journey of the Magi
#poetrycommunity #poetsonbluesky #Advent #Christmas
First, inspired by a Lancelot Andrewes sermon, TS Eliot’s glorious Journey of the Magi
#poetrycommunity #poetsonbluesky #Advent #Christmas
November 30, 2025 at 10:55 PM
Today I’m starting my #AdventPoem series. My recordings of six seasonal poems, four of them mine, bookended by a twentieth & a fifteenth-century masterpiece.
First, inspired by a Lancelot Andrewes sermon, TS Eliot’s glorious Journey of the Magi
#poetrycommunity #poetsonbluesky #Advent #Christmas
First, inspired by a Lancelot Andrewes sermon, TS Eliot’s glorious Journey of the Magi
#poetrycommunity #poetsonbluesky #Advent #Christmas
My SIXTH & LAST #AdventPoem is Adam Lay i-Bowndyn. In the thread below you can find the text & a discussion of this early 15th Century work.
#Christmas #Advent #poetsonbluesky #poetrycommunity
#Christmas #Advent #poetsonbluesky #poetrycommunity
December 14, 2025 at 7:39 AM
My SIXTH & LAST #AdventPoem is Adam Lay i-Bowndyn. In the thread below you can find the text & a discussion of this early 15th Century work.
#Christmas #Advent #poetsonbluesky #poetrycommunity
#Christmas #Advent #poetsonbluesky #poetrycommunity
The third recording in my #AdventPoem series is my #poem Come, first published by the brilliant @zoomburst.substack.com as part of his Sixty Odd Poets initiative (text in the thread below👇).
#poetrycommunity #poetsonbluesky #christmas #advent
#poetrycommunity #poetsonbluesky #christmas #advent
December 7, 2025 at 5:35 AM
The third recording in my #AdventPoem series is my #poem Come, first published by the brilliant @zoomburst.substack.com as part of his Sixty Odd Poets initiative (text in the thread below👇).
#poetrycommunity #poetsonbluesky #christmas #advent
#poetrycommunity #poetsonbluesky #christmas #advent
The second in my #AdventPoem series is a new recording of my #poem Snowscape. Not strictly a #Christmas piece but certainly a seasonal one. First published in @thewombwellrainbow.bsky.social’s The Starbeck Orion (see thread below for the text & my earlier recording) #poetsonbluesky #poetrycommunity
December 4, 2025 at 5:55 AM
The second in my #AdventPoem series is a new recording of my #poem Snowscape. Not strictly a #Christmas piece but certainly a seasonal one. First published in @thewombwellrainbow.bsky.social’s The Starbeck Orion (see thread below for the text & my earlier recording) #poetsonbluesky #poetrycommunity
My fourth #AdventPoem recording is my #poem Tree. First published by @helenivory.bsky.social in the brilliant Ink Sweat & Tears @inksweatandtears.co.uk I have put the link to the text in a portion of a thread shared below👇. #poetrycommunity #christmas #poetsonbluesky
December 10, 2025 at 8:34 AM
My fourth #AdventPoem recording is my #poem Tree. First published by @helenivory.bsky.social in the brilliant Ink Sweat & Tears @inksweatandtears.co.uk I have put the link to the text in a portion of a thread shared below👇. #poetrycommunity #christmas #poetsonbluesky
My fifth #AdventPoem recording is of my #poem Winter Wandering, first published in the brilliant @thewombwellrainbow.bsky.social’s online poetry periodical, The Starbeck Orion. A link to the text and an earlier recording is in the thread below
#poetrycommunity #poetsonbluesky #christmas #advent
#poetrycommunity #poetsonbluesky #christmas #advent
December 12, 2025 at 10:13 PM
My fifth #AdventPoem recording is of my #poem Winter Wandering, first published in the brilliant @thewombwellrainbow.bsky.social’s online poetry periodical, The Starbeck Orion. A link to the text and an earlier recording is in the thread below
#poetrycommunity #poetsonbluesky #christmas #advent
#poetrycommunity #poetsonbluesky #christmas #advent
The first two #AdventPoem recordings are in the thread below👇
The second in my #AdventPoem series is a new recording of my #poem Snowscape. Not strictly a #Christmas piece but certainly a seasonal one. First published in @thewombwellrainbow.bsky.social’s The Starbeck Orion (see thread below for the text & my earlier recording) #poetsonbluesky #poetrycommunity
December 7, 2025 at 10:00 AM
The first two #AdventPoem recordings are in the thread below👇
All my other #AdventPoem recordings are in the thread below👇
My fifth #AdventPoem recording is of my #poem Winter Wandering, first published in the brilliant @thewombwellrainbow.bsky.social’s online poetry periodical, The Starbeck Orion. A link to the text and an earlier recording is in the thread below
#poetrycommunity #poetsonbluesky #christmas #advent
#poetrycommunity #poetsonbluesky #christmas #advent
December 14, 2025 at 8:11 AM
All my other #AdventPoem recordings are in the thread below👇
The link below 👇 contains all six of my series of #AdventPoem recordings, four of my poems bookended by two classics, alongside an array of wonderful #ChristmasMusic from across the world and the centuries.
#Christmas #Poetry #Music #Advent #poetsonbluesky #poetrycommunity
#Christmas #Poetry #Music #Advent #poetsonbluesky #poetrycommunity
My SIXTH & LAST #AdventPoem is Adam Lay i-Bowndyn. In the thread below you can find the text & a discussion of this early 15th Century work.
#Christmas #Advent #poetsonbluesky #poetrycommunity
#Christmas #Advent #poetsonbluesky #poetrycommunity
December 19, 2025 at 4:41 PM
The link below 👇 contains all six of my series of #AdventPoem recordings, four of my poems bookended by two classics, alongside an array of wonderful #ChristmasMusic from across the world and the centuries.
#Christmas #Poetry #Music #Advent #poetsonbluesky #poetrycommunity
#Christmas #Poetry #Music #Advent #poetsonbluesky #poetrycommunity
As well as featuring #ChristmasMusic posted by @alexjenkinspoet.bsky.social & my own #AdventPoem cycle which includes music from mediaeval & Renaissance times & some seasonal oddities, this thread of threads now guest-stars @mrchrisaddison.bsky.social’s fine selection of #ChristmasCarols in its weft
Great #ChristmasMusic thread below from Alex Jenkins. In it he praises The Sixteen led by Harry Christophers for their performances of carols and Handel’s Messiah.
And here they are performing the incomparable Bach. His Weihnachts Oratorium. The Christmas Oratorio
And here they are performing the incomparable Bach. His Weihnachts Oratorium. The Christmas Oratorio
December 22, 2025 at 6:49 PM
As well as featuring #ChristmasMusic posted by @alexjenkinspoet.bsky.social & my own #AdventPoem cycle which includes music from mediaeval & Renaissance times & some seasonal oddities, this thread of threads now guest-stars @mrchrisaddison.bsky.social’s fine selection of #ChristmasCarols in its weft
I am also much taken by Orlande de Lassus’s Omnes de Saba Venient. Performed here by Harry Christophers and The Sixteeen #ChristmasMusic #AdventPoem #Advent #Christmas
Omnes de Saba venient (Lassus)
YouTube video by The Sixteen - Topic
m.youtube.com
December 13, 2025 at 9:14 AM
I am also much taken by Orlande de Lassus’s Omnes de Saba Venient. Performed here by Harry Christophers and The Sixteeen #ChristmasMusic #AdventPoem #Advent #Christmas
Here’s another masterpiece of French Renaissance #Christmas polyphony from Mouton’s great contemporary, Josquin des Prez, his Praeter Rerum Seriam, performed on Alamire’s award-winning album Anne Boleyn’s Songbook #AdventPoem #AdventMusic #poetrycommunity #poetsonbluesky
JOSQUIN DESPREZ: Praeter rerum seriem
YouTube video by David Skinner
m.youtube.com
December 7, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Here’s another masterpiece of French Renaissance #Christmas polyphony from Mouton’s great contemporary, Josquin des Prez, his Praeter Rerum Seriam, performed on Alamire’s award-winning album Anne Boleyn’s Songbook #AdventPoem #AdventMusic #poetrycommunity #poetsonbluesky
So that’s it for my #AdventPoem recordings, 4 of mine bookended by 20th & 15th C masterworks, all in the thread 👆, where I’ve also shamelessly exploited fine #ChristmasMusic
I’ll end where I began with great Tudor polyphony, Taverner’s Audivi Vocem de Caelo sung by the brilliant @stileantico.co.uk
I’ll end where I began with great Tudor polyphony, Taverner’s Audivi Vocem de Caelo sung by the brilliant @stileantico.co.uk
Audivi vocem de caelo
YouTube video by Stile Antico - Topic
m.youtube.com
December 14, 2025 at 9:59 AM
So that’s it for my #AdventPoem recordings, 4 of mine bookended by 20th & 15th C masterworks, all in the thread 👆, where I’ve also shamelessly exploited fine #ChristmasMusic
I’ll end where I began with great Tudor polyphony, Taverner’s Audivi Vocem de Caelo sung by the brilliant @stileantico.co.uk
I’ll end where I began with great Tudor polyphony, Taverner’s Audivi Vocem de Caelo sung by the brilliant @stileantico.co.uk
For the #Epiphany, here’s Omnes de Saba venient by Lassus, sung by The Sixteen, together with my #AdventPoem recording of T.S. Eliot’s The Journey of the Magi (thread below 👇).
Seems to me that these days the Wise Men are only bringing myrrh…
Seems to me that these days the Wise Men are only bringing myrrh…
January 6, 2026 at 5:09 PM
For the #Epiphany, here’s Omnes de Saba venient by Lassus, sung by The Sixteen, together with my #AdventPoem recording of T.S. Eliot’s The Journey of the Magi (thread below 👇).
Seems to me that these days the Wise Men are only bringing myrrh…
Seems to me that these days the Wise Men are only bringing myrrh…
And for anyone who missed it, below is the thread of the first #AdventPoem TS Eliot’s Journey of the Magi #poetrycommunity #poetsonbluesky #advent #christmas
Today I’m starting my #AdventPoem series. My recordings of six seasonal poems, four of them mine, bookended by a twentieth & a fifteenth-century masterpiece.
First, inspired by a Lancelot Andrewes sermon, TS Eliot’s glorious Journey of the Magi
#poetrycommunity #poetsonbluesky #Advent #Christmas
First, inspired by a Lancelot Andrewes sermon, TS Eliot’s glorious Journey of the Magi
#poetrycommunity #poetsonbluesky #Advent #Christmas
December 4, 2025 at 9:40 AM
And for anyone who missed it, below is the thread of the first #AdventPoem TS Eliot’s Journey of the Magi #poetrycommunity #poetsonbluesky #advent #christmas
And as a bonus piece of #ChristmasMusic for this fourth #AdventPoem recording, here’s my favourite recording of the Coventry Carol, complete with dissonance, from The Sixteen and Harry Christophers #christmas #advent #poetrycommunity #poemsonbluesky
The Coventry Carol
YouTube video by The Sixteen - Topic
m.youtube.com
December 10, 2025 at 4:47 PM
And as a bonus piece of #ChristmasMusic for this fourth #AdventPoem recording, here’s my favourite recording of the Coventry Carol, complete with dissonance, from The Sixteen and Harry Christophers #christmas #advent #poetrycommunity #poemsonbluesky
The medievalism of Vox Clara fits the visions in the latest #AdventPoem perhaps. But given its many associations, this from the great Vince Guaraldi was a close second
Vince Guaraldi Trio - O Tannenbaum (2022 Stereo Mix)
YouTube video by Vince Guaraldi
m.youtube.com
December 10, 2025 at 10:39 AM
The medievalism of Vox Clara fits the visions in the latest #AdventPoem perhaps. But given its many associations, this from the great Vince Guaraldi was a close second
Thinking about suitable music for this third recording for my #AdventPoem series, the ancient devotional works of the Winchester Troper, which I shared last night in the thread below, might be appropriate
Some days nothing works better to soothe 21st century pains than music that’s a thousand years old. Haunting, strange, utterly remote - and yet because of that sounding at times hypermodern - the music from the 11th century manuscripts of the Winchester Troper is presented beautifully on this album👇
Alleluia (Versets: Pascha nostrum - Epulemur)
YouTube video by Discantus - Topic
m.youtube.com
December 7, 2025 at 10:44 AM
Thinking about suitable music for this third recording for my #AdventPoem series, the ancient devotional works of the Winchester Troper, which I shared last night in the thread below, might be appropriate
But probably the best choice for this third poem in the #AdventPoem series is one of my favourite pieces of #ChristmasMusic Jean Mouton’s glorious canon motet Nesciens Mater, sung here beautifully by The Sixteen. If there is a heaven it sounds like this 🎶🎄 #poetrycommunity #poetsonbluesky #christmas
Mouton: Nesciens mater
YouTube video by The Sixteen - Topic
m.youtube.com
December 7, 2025 at 10:44 AM
But probably the best choice for this third poem in the #AdventPoem series is one of my favourite pieces of #ChristmasMusic Jean Mouton’s glorious canon motet Nesciens Mater, sung here beautifully by The Sixteen. If there is a heaven it sounds like this 🎶🎄 #poetrycommunity #poetsonbluesky #christmas
And thank you to everyone who has been kind about the latest #AdventPoem and the associated #ChristmasMusic thread. Much appreciated 🙏✍️🎄🎶
December 7, 2025 at 8:53 PM
And thank you to everyone who has been kind about the latest #AdventPoem and the associated #ChristmasMusic thread. Much appreciated 🙏✍️🎄🎶
But since it was a close call, here’s an especially fine version of the Ukrainian 🇺🇦 theme that became the #Christmas favourite, Carol of the Bells, from Harry Christophers and The Sixteen #AdventPoem #poetrycommunity #poetsonbluesky #Advent
Carol of the Bells
YouTube video by The Sixteen - Topic
m.youtube.com
December 4, 2025 at 4:06 PM
But since it was a close call, here’s an especially fine version of the Ukrainian 🇺🇦 theme that became the #Christmas favourite, Carol of the Bells, from Harry Christophers and The Sixteen #AdventPoem #poetrycommunity #poetsonbluesky #Advent
Finding music for this #AdventPoem wasn’t about specifics (the figures in the piece are mysterious to me) more about atmosphere. Ancient French ecclesiastical music is distinctly seasonal. Perotin was active at Notre Dame at the start of the 13th century. Here’s his Beata Viscera #ChristmasMusic
Beata viscera (monophonic conductus)
YouTube video by Tonus Peregrinus - Topic
m.youtube.com
December 12, 2025 at 11:24 PM
Finding music for this #AdventPoem wasn’t about specifics (the figures in the piece are mysterious to me) more about atmosphere. Ancient French ecclesiastical music is distinctly seasonal. Perotin was active at Notre Dame at the start of the 13th century. Here’s his Beata Viscera #ChristmasMusic
And here are the wonderful @stileantico.co.uk performing another seasonal masterpiece William Byrd’s Ecce Virgo Concipiet, live at the Wigmore Hall #Christmas #Advent #AdventPoem
Stile Antico - Byrd, Ecce virgo concipiet
YouTube video by Wigmore Hall
m.youtube.com
December 2, 2025 at 8:10 PM
And here are the wonderful @stileantico.co.uk performing another seasonal masterpiece William Byrd’s Ecce Virgo Concipiet, live at the Wigmore Hall #Christmas #Advent #AdventPoem
#AdventPoem #ChristmasMusic thread 🧵 👆🎄🌲
And just a quick note to say thank you for all the likes and reposts of this series of seasonal poems. Much appreciated. It was really great fun to do, as much fun as I have had on here, especially with all the encouragement 🙏🙏🙏
And just a quick note to say thank you for all the likes and reposts of this series of seasonal poems. Much appreciated. It was really great fun to do, as much fun as I have had on here, especially with all the encouragement 🙏🙏🙏
December 14, 2025 at 10:53 PM
#AdventPoem #ChristmasMusic thread 🧵 👆🎄🌲
And just a quick note to say thank you for all the likes and reposts of this series of seasonal poems. Much appreciated. It was really great fun to do, as much fun as I have had on here, especially with all the encouragement 🙏🙏🙏
And just a quick note to say thank you for all the likes and reposts of this series of seasonal poems. Much appreciated. It was really great fun to do, as much fun as I have had on here, especially with all the encouragement 🙏🙏🙏
Perfect addition. And if I throw in my recent #AdventPoem stuff, not for my poetry but for the music deployed to hide its deficiencies, then this is the capo di tutti capi of interwoven #ChristmasMusic threads
The link below 👇 contains all six of my series of #AdventPoem recordings, four of my poems bookended by two classics, alongside an array of wonderful #ChristmasMusic from across the world and the centuries.
#Christmas #Poetry #Music #Advent #poetsonbluesky #poetrycommunity
#Christmas #Poetry #Music #Advent #poetsonbluesky #poetrycommunity
My SIXTH & LAST #AdventPoem is Adam Lay i-Bowndyn. In the thread below you can find the text & a discussion of this early 15th Century work.
#Christmas #Advent #poetsonbluesky #poetrycommunity
#Christmas #Advent #poetsonbluesky #poetrycommunity
December 22, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Perfect addition. And if I throw in my recent #AdventPoem stuff, not for my poetry but for the music deployed to hide its deficiencies, then this is the capo di tutti capi of interwoven #ChristmasMusic threads