Jerusalem

By March 1916 the First World War was deep into its second year, and the morale of the British public was being sorely tested. To bolster spirits, an organisation called Fight for Right asked the eminent English composer Hubert Parry to write a patriotic anthem. Parry responded with a setting of lines by the poet William Blake, referencing an apocryphal visit Christ may once have made to “England’s pleasant pastures”, and envisioning a glowing new future for the country. Parry’s setting is for unison voices with either keyboard or orchestral accompaniment. A brief, breast-swelling introduction sets the stage for the choir, whose noble, inexorably ascending line of melody peaks in both verses around the word “Jerusalem”. The tune’s stirring emotional impact and instant memorability quickly made it a popular classic, and it’s sung annually at the BBC’s Last Night of the Proms, and at a variety of national sporting events.