English Church Music

Adrian Lucas to leave Worcester Cathedral

2011-04-28T23:17:00.001+01:00

Adrian Lucas, Organist and Master of the Choristers at Worcester Cathedral, is leaving after 15 years in the job. The Worcester Standard reports that he is to concentrate on setting up his own recording company, in addition to continuing a busy freelance performing and directing career.

Very best wishes to Adrian for his future career.

More information here: http://www.worcesterstandard.co.uk/story-Organist-calls-time-on-Cathedral-career-40118.html

Music for the Royal Wedding

2011-04-28T12:42:00.005+01:00

The music for tomorrow's royal wedding has just been released.

BEFORE THE SERVICE

Fantasia in G (Piece d'orgue a 5) by Johann Sebastian Bach
Veni Creator Spiritus by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies
Prelude on St.Columba Op. 28 by Sir Charles Villiers Stanford
Sonata for Organ Op. 28 (Allegro maestoso and Allegretto) by Edward Elgar

Serenade for Strings in E minor Op. 20 (Allegro piacevole, Larghetto and Allegretto) by Edward Elgar
Courtly Dance V: Galliard from Gloriana (Symphonic Suite) Op. 53a no. 7 by Benjamin Britten
Fantasia on Greensleeves by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Farewell to Stromness by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies
On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring by Frederick Delius
Touch Her Soft Lips and Part from Henry V Suite by William Walton
Romance for String Orchestra Op. 11 by Gerald Finzi
Canzona from Organ Sonata in C minor by Percy Whitlock

PROCESSIONAL MUSIC

Fanfare by The State Trumpeters of the Household Cavalry to mark the arrival of the queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.

March from The Birds by Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry.
Prelude on Rhosymedre by Ralph Vaughan Williams will accompany the procession of the clergy.
I was Glad, by Parry, for the procession of the bride.

HYMNS

Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer
Love Divine All Love Excelling
Jerusalem

THE ANTHEM AND MOTET

"This is the day which the Lord hath made", by John Rutter and commissioned by Westminster Abbey as a wedding present and "Ubi caritas" by Paul Mealor.

SIGNING OF THE REGISTERS AND THE RECESSIONAL

Blest pair of Sirens, by Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry.

The Fanfare, called Valiant and Brave, after the motto of No. 22 Squadron (Search and Rescue Force) was specially composed for this Service by Wing Commander Duncan Stubbs, Principal Director of Music in the Royal Air Force.

The Recessional will be Crown Imperial by William Walton.
Toccata from Symphonie V by Charles-Marie Widor
Pomp and Circumstance March no. 5 by Edward Elgar will follow the Service.

It's worth noting three very clear things from this music list: (1) it's very English - Widor and Bach excepted, (2) it's very traditional, and (3) there's not a celebrity or star in sight. While it's the very definition of an extraordinary occasion, and drawing too many conclusions would be dangerous, I would say that the music here is no different from the music lists of cathedrals and greater churches up and down the land. Agreed, the sheer quantity of music and quality of the performances are going to be superlative, and most cathedrals won't use an orchestra or fanfare team that often, but the underlying principle is the same. Recently-qualified priests who didn't cover music in theological college, please note: not a worship song or clavinova in sight.

There's a Telegraph article on Paul Mealor here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/royal-wedding/8479863/Paul-Mealor-The-Royal-wedding-composer.html

Easter at Christchurch Priory

2011-04-27T00:08:00.000+01:00

Saturday 8pm Vigil and First Eucharist of Easter

Missa Brevis (Anthony Caesar)

Haec dies (Sheppard)

Sunday 9:45am Eucharist

Schubert in G

This Joyful Eastertide (Wood)

11:30am Choral Matins

Stanford in B flat Te Deum

Since by man came death (Handel)

6:30pm Choral Evensong and Benediction

Stanford in C

Blessed be the God and Father (Wesley)

Good Friday at Christchurch Priory

2011-04-22T23:44:00.003+01:00

1:45pm Veneration of the Cross

Psalm 22 (plainsong tone)

The Reproaches (plainsong)

Si iniquitates (Wesley)

7:30pm The Crucifixion (John Stainer)

Boxgrove Priory

2011-04-21T15:10:00.002+01:00

While meandering down the south coast on Tuesday, we saw signs for Boxgrove Priory and decided to make a quick detour. The sun shone, the grass was verdant and the sky richly blue, and hardly anything stirred. Apart from the distant roar of traffic on the A27, this was a beautiful and peaceful place. The interior was cool and still, with effortlessly soaring arches and richly decorated ceiling. Some of the details reminded me strongly of a small Salisbury Cathedral. The acoustic was near perfect, warmly supportive and clear, naturally suited to polyphony. I noticed that the choir is to sing Byrd's 5-part Mass for Easter Sunday morning, and the music list for Holy Week was dominated by Latin polyphony, an increasingly rare treasure outside of professional music departments. Well worth a visit if passing.

Music for Holy Week and Easter

2011-04-20T10:00:00.004+01:00

After something of a hiatus, time to catch up. These are some of the TV and radio programmes being broadcast in the UK for Holy Week and Easter that include music and liturgy:

Wednesday 20th April
1600 - Choral Evensong from Southwell Minster (BBC Radio 3)
1900 - Performance on 3: Fauré Requiem (BBC Radio 3)

Thursday 21st April (Maundy Thursday)
0100 - Through the Night: includes works for Holy Week (BBC Radio 3)
1045 - Royal Maundy Service from Westminster Abbey (BBC One)
1900 - Performance on 3: Bach's St. Matthew Passion (BBC Radio 3)
2300 - Belief: Joan Bakewell discusses faith with Tarik O'Regan (BBC Radio 3)

Friday 22nd April (Good Friday)
0100 - Through the Night: includes works for Holy Week (BBC Radio 3)
1900 - Performance on 3: Frank Martin's Golgotha (BBC Radio 3)
2000 - At the Foot of the Cross from St. Albans, inc. Fauré's Requiem (BBC Radio 2)

Saturday 23rd April (Holy Saturday)
0100 - Through the Night: Haydn and Macmillan Seven Last Words (BBC Radio 3)
1300 - The Early Music Show - the Lamentations of Jeremiah (BBC Radio 3)

Sunday 24th April (Easter Sunday)
0100 - Through the Night: includes Handel's La Resurrezione (BBC Radio 3)
0635 - Sunrise Service from Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral (BBC Radio 4)
0810 - Easter Day from St. George's Chapel, Windsor (BBC Radio 4)
1000 - Easter Day Eucharist from Salisbury Cathedral (BBC One)
1300 - The Early Music Show - Handel's La Resurrezione (BBC Radio 3)
1600 - Choral Evening Prayer from Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral (BBC Radio 3)
1745 - Easter from King's (BBC Two)
2000 - Easter Glory from Bath Abbey (BBC Radio 2)

This is, in my opinion, a reasonable effort on the part of the BBC. Radio 3 will always do well with Holy Week music, and BBC One and Radio 4 are holding up their public service broadcasting commitments well enough. It's sad, though, that even Radio 2 does better than ITV and Channel 4 together - Channel 4 has the usual series of rather superficial documentaries about Christianity, but nothing involving music or worship, and ITV seem unaware that it's Easter at all, although you expect little else from a channel whose current flagship programme is 'The Only Way is Essex'. So, in summary, enough effort from the BBC to rebut any criticism of their religious output, but a general sense that Holy Week programming is somewhat specialist.

Some common sense in music lessons

2011-01-07T23:32:00.002Z

The BBC are reporting the Education Secretary, Michael Gove, as criticising the Musicians' Union for advising teachers to avoid all physical contact with pupils. He said "By telling your music teachers that they should avoid any physical contact with children, it sends out completely the wrong message. It plays to a culture of fear among both adults and children, reinforcing the message that any adult who touches a child is somehow guilty of inappropriate contact. We must move away from this presumption and the Department for Education is taking steps to restore common sense to this whole area."

I think it's wonderful to see a bit of real world common sense at the highest levels in education again, but to criticise the MU is the wrong way to go about solving the problem. Their advice is simply a reaction - a symptom - of the underlying malaise that needs to be addressed. It's clear that Mr. Gove intends to tackle this and other fundamental problems in education, and when he succeeds, the MU can revise its advice then.

Music teachers are particularly vulnerable to accusations of impropriety because such lessons are generally given on a one-to-one basis. Choir rehearsals tend to tread a very familiar path of best practice nowadays and are unlikely to be affected directly by this announcement, but any move to restore the authority of teachers and diminish the hold that disruptive pupils can have over classes is very welcome as a culture shift.

R3 Choral Evensong 2010

2011-01-05T23:20:00.003Z

I think that the Radio 3 Choral Evensong broadcasts are a useful insight into the nature of English church music, particularly at its higher levels. As the first broadcast of 2011 goes out, here's a brief summary of the 2010 broadcasts.

There were 55 broadcast programmes - 53 services of evensong or vespers, one mass (on Ash Wednesday) and the Advent Procession from St. John's Cambridge. The three extra programmes were dedicated Sunday broadcasts on Easter and Advent Sundays, and an extra archive broadcast (Wells 2003) when the Manchester live transmission failed.

The most popular composers were Howells, Stanford and Byrd, both in terms of number of works and number of services including their works. Thirteen works by Howells appeared over eleven services. Close behind, perhaps more surprisingly, was Kenneth Leighton, with nine works being included in seven services. Among composers often associated with the English choral tradition, three - Elgar, Parry and Palestrina - were only included twice each over the whole year, and only one work by John Tavener was broadcast. Bach was the most popular composer chosen for voluntaries, with Howells and Stanford featuring as prominently here as in the choral items.

Of the 55 services transmitted, seven were services of Vespers or Mass from Roman Catholic churches, and twelve were from university college or school chapels. Four parish churches were used, but these were Tewkesbury (daily choral services), Edington (Festival of Music within the Liturgy) and two London churches hosting professional musicians.

Living composers who featured particularly prominently were Philip Moore (five works), Will Todd (several works in a single service at St. Martin-in-the-Fields featuring the Will Todd Ensemble!) and David Bednall, who had three works broadcast within a five week period. Peter Stevens was the busiest musician, appearing as an organist in four broadcasts during the year, from King's College Cambridge, the Edington Festival and Westminster Cathedral. Ten works were commissioned or performed for the first time.

This rather dry analysis gives a few interesting insights into trends and fashions in professional church music, but rather overlooks the extent to which this long-running programme contributes to and supports our living choral tradition. If it didn't already exist, I'd find it hard to believe that a twice-weekly broadcast of choral liturgy on a national radio station would be feasible. With thanks and gratitude, here's to an interesting 2011.