Wilt thou forgive that sin where I begun

Wilt thou forgive that sin where I begun. John Donne* (1572-1631). Written during Donne’s serious illness in the winter of 1623 and published in the collection, Poems (1633) collected by his son after his death. It was entitled ‘A Hymne to God the Father’. It is recorded that Donne had this poem set to music and sung at evening services at St Paul’s Cathedral. The tune resembled a stately pavan (a formal dance of the time). In 20th-century hymnbooks it was set to a sophisticated Dresden melody harmonized by J.S. Bach* which EH and SofPE note ‘may also be sung as a solo’. This, together with its metrical complexity and its intricate verbal playing on the name ‘Donne/done’, may have...