“A voice is heard in Ramah: Rachel weeping for her children,

and she will not be comforted because they are lost . . .”

(Isaiah and the Gospel according to Matthew)

The children and young people reflect on the plight of children through time

and invite us to follow them on their path, ‘making new’ our world.

The joyful hymns and songs extend the invitation

to see again through the eyes of a child.

(Watermead Music 1996)

Background to the Music

In our birth parish of St Theresa’s, Birstall, the children had taken a very active role in the liturgy of the mass. In 1982, on the first Sunday of the month, Fr Joe, the parish priest, invited the children of the parish to lead the prayers. This became a regular monthly celebration know as the “Children’s Mass” and by 1983 a thriving children’s music group had begun to provide an accompaniment to the singing. Over the years this grew into a small orchestra, comprising an assortment of instruments - recorders, flutes, clarinets, violins, cellos, guitars, keyboards, percussion, etc. - played by children from four years old upwards. When it began the eldest young person involved was fifteen, but we found that the youngsters didn’t want to leave after they left school and by 1997 the age range was 4 - 26 years with many of those that had begun as little ones were now returning to help teach the new generations.

When we started composing our Watermead hymns and songs we included writing for the children’s mass, including a children’s mass setting, named after Fr Joe and dedicated to St Joseph Cottolengo - famous for founding a hospice including severely handicapped and deformed children in Northern Italy, during the nineteenth century.  (Click on the orange arrow below to listen to the title ' A Little Child Shall Lead'  track as sung by the children who made the recording with us - most are all now parents themselves).