Andrew: When my mother was in her last illness, I asked her what she would like to have sung at her funeral. “Well,” she said, “Either ‘Crimond’ or
’Abide With Me,’ I don’t really mind.” I pointed out that we had sung
“Abide With Me” at my father’s funeral. Mum: “Oh, that’s right. ‘Crimond,’
then.” And “Crimond” it was. [Note for non-Anglican readers: “Crimond” is
the tune to which Anglicans usually sing the 23rd Psalm. The name comes
from the village in Aberdeenshire where Jessie Seymour Irvine, apparently
while just a teenager, composed the tune as an exercise for an organists’
class she was attending, circa 1855.]