Arthur Bliss thought Bliss's music competent but unremarkable. In 1961, Bliss and Hassall collaborated on a cantata, "The Beatitudes", commissioned for the opening of the new Coventry Cathedral. Reviews were friendly, but the work has rarely been performed since, and has been eclipsed by another choral work written for Coventry at the same time, Britten's "War Requiem". Bliss followed this with two further large-scale choral works, "Mary of Magdala" (1962) and "The Golden Cantata" (1963). Throughout his life, Bliss was vigilant on the state of music in Britain, about which he had written extensively since the 1920s. In 1969 he publicly censured
Maria Coventry, Countess of Coventry ladies to have pale white skin and red rouged cheeks; to achieve this look, lead-based Venetian ceruse was often used. The noxious effects of lead caused skin eruptions, which then encouraged ladies to apply more ceruse to cover the blemishes, eventually causing blood poisoning. Originally known simply as a beautiful but vain woman, Maria eventually became known in society circles as a "victim of cosmetics". Maria Coventry, Countess of Coventry Maria Coventry, Countess of Coventry ("née" Gunning; 1733 – 30 September 1760) was a famous Irish beauty and London society hostess during the reign of King George II. She died