Category: singing

Choral Evensong – 15th August 2010

  • Introit – Chorister’s Prayer, Harper
  • Preces and Responses – Sumsion
  • Psalm 132
  • Canticles – Brewer in D
  • Anthem – Ave Maria, Parsons

We had a full hour’s break between the second Eucharist and the rehearsal for our final evensong – just enough time to go to the Cathedral Refectory and enjoy a jacket potato with cheese (a meal which I have come to associate with choir trips and cathedral refectories) and listen to some of the recordings from evensong earlier in the week.

There’s something sad about lining up in the choir vestry for the final time.  The psalm was shorter than any we’d sung earlier in the week, the reading weren’t so long, and before we knew it, we were raising the quire roof with the last hymn, and processing out for the last time.  On the positive side, we were very heartily thanked by the Dean for our singing during the week, and invited to come back again in the future.

Now, the long wait until we find out where next year’s trip will be.

Choral Eucharist (Quire) – 15th August 2010

  • Communion Setting – Darke in F
  • Motet – Ave Verum, Pearsall
  • Motet – O Sacrum Convivium, Tallis

It’s always a quick turnaround between the two morning services in a cathedral, but this morning was ridiculously short – we finished the first Eucharist at 11.20, and had to start the next one at 11.30.  That gave us just enough time to fetch our music and set it out in the choir stalls, and then rush back and collect it again after hearing that the first hymn would be a processional.  Bizarrely, after all that confusion, we ended up processing into the quire in a big fog of incense and organ music, but no hymn singing.

This service didn’t go quite as smoothly as the first Eucharist, in part because we’d not had a run through of the service beforehand, and many of the singers weren’t so familiar with the old format of the service, which has a different order compared to the modern service.  By this time we’d also been well and truly blasted with incense, which I’m sure will have killed any bugs in the vicinity, and also did a very good job of leaving me coughing for the rest of the day.  All the top D’s and E’s which I’d miraculously discovered in the first Eucharist vanished in that second cloud of incense.

Choral Eucharist (Nave) – 15th August 2010

  • Communion Setting – Prince of Peace, Lloyd Webber
  • Motet – Oculi Omnium, Andrew Parnell
  • Motet – Ave Maria, Elgar

Cathedral Eucharists are always a bit scary.  By Sunday, the routine of the cathedral evensong is familiar but the Eucharist always holds surprises – different ways of processing, slightly different orders of service, and to top it all off, you’re usually sitting up at the altar in the nave, under everyone’s view.  Today was also unusual in the fact that instead of singing for one Eucharist, we actually sang for two, the first being the family service in the nave, and the second being the old -fashioned 1662 BCP (Book of Common Prayer) service, which was held in the comfort of the Quire, where we’ve been singing evensong all week.

Actually, this first Eucharist went remarkably smoothly, no surprises when the choir wasn’t ready to sing, no unexpected organ fanfares at the wrong time, and no choir members getting lost during the procession.

Choral Evensong – 14th August 2010

  • Introit – Prayer of King Henry VI, Henry Ley
  • Preces and Responses – Morland Responses, Graham Ellis
  • Psalms 73 and 74
  • Canticles – St Andrew’s Service, Peter Aston
  • Anthem – Blessed be the God and Father, S. S. Wesley

So, yesterday I moved over to cantoris (and thus second alto) for the second half of the week.  Today, we ended up having a reshuffle, and I found myself back on decani (first alto) again.  It didn’t make too much difference in today’s service, though I got caught out a couple times in the canticles, but it does mean that I’ll have to be on my toes tomorrow when we’re singing quite a bit of music with two alto lines (some of which I’ll now be sight reading).

With 3 services tomorrow, we didn’t have much free time today, but I did manage to take a few more photos, including this one of the organ.

Choral Evensong – 13th August 2010

  • Preces and Responses – Tomkins
  • Psalms – 69 and 70
  • Canticles – Weelkes First Service
  • Anthem – I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, Tomkins

This evening’s service was the one I’ve been panicking about for the last 2 days. I had two solos – in the canticles (this was the scary, very exposed, miss the viols first chord and you’ve had it, one) and the other in the anthem (which was part of a quartet, and seemed pretty unintimidating in comparison).  Because we were singing with the viol consort today, we had some extra work trying to figure out how best to organize ourselves in the service.  In the end, the soloists had to do the walk of terror down the aisle and stand in a little huddle near the viols.  It was rather scary, but really was much easier to sing that way, and the end result was much better.

In the end, the service did have more than its fair share of dodgy moments, but my solos went as well as could be expected, considering how nervous I get.   Now I can relax a bit before tomorrow’s service, and try to regain some energy before the marathon sing on Sunday.

I’ll leave you with this picture of Anna and myself.  Despite the fact that we’re wearing different colour robes, we do actually come from the same choir, in Amsterdam.

Chester Cathedral

Despite the fact that today was our day off, I was at the cathedral doors at 9am again this morning, this time with my camera and tripod.  It took me a little while to get up and running with my new tripod head (3-way geared, as opposed to a ball head), but once I got used to it, I found it a vast improvement for architectural photography.  I managed an hour or so of quiet before the cathedral started to fill with tourists.  There were, however, a number of distractions, in the form of interesting chats with a fellow photographer and one of the chaplains, which meant that I made slow progress around the cathedral.  There are still plenty of corners I didn’t explore, so I hope I can find a bit more time to go back again between rehearsals.  In the meantime, the first photos are up on my website (it’s still very much under re-development, so treat it gently).

After my traditional day-off fish and chip lunch, I attended the organ recital, which was given by our organist for the week.  Not in the nave, along with everyone else, but up in the organ loft.  I suspect that I didn’t get the full range of sound, but the experience of being right in the middle of the music was amazing.

The rest of the day was reserved for rehearsing tomorrow’s solos with the viol consort.   Singing with the viols is a totally different experience than with an organ or piano, so it was good that we had a chance to practice separately with a little less time pressure.

Choral Evensong – 11th August 2010

  • Introit – God be in my head, Nicholson
  • Preces and Responses – Grayston Ives
  • Psalms – 59, 60, 61
  • Canticles – Sumsion in G
  • Anthem – Hail Gladdening Light, Wood

A long day today and I think we’re all ready for our day off tomorrow.  On Friday the fun really starts as we’ll be half the way through the week, but with 5 out of the 8 services to sing, in the remaining 3 days.

Choral Evensong – 10th August 2010

Our group of singers is beginning to come together a bit more today.  At the moment we have 23 singers, from about 10 different choirs, and 4 different countries.  Later on in the week, our numbers will swell yet further as the last singers arrive.

  • Preces and Responses – Morland Responses, Ellis
  • Psalms – 53, 54, 55
  • Canticles – Walmisley in D Minor
  • Anthem – Geistliches Lied, Brahms

Somewhat unnerving to find out after the fact that both Graham Ellis, the composer of the responses, and Andrew Carter, composer of yesterday’s anthem, were in the congregation, as were my own personal fan club of Mum, Dad, Auntie Jane and Uncle Tim, who have come and supported every year.

Choral Evensong – 9th August 2010

It’s time again for the annual ECS cathedral trip, this year to Chester Cathedral.  The Song School, where we rehearse is modern and spacious, and equipped with two rehearsal rooms, as well as a little kitchenette.  The cathedral itself is much smaller than many we’ve sung in, and after singing in York and Lincoln the past two years, it’s a bit strange to be singing in such small, and close choir stalls.

  • Preces and Responses – Grayston Ives
  • Psalms 47,48,49
  • Canticles – Wood in E flat
  • Anthem – God is Love, Andrew Carter

Choral Evensong – 19th June 2010

The last choral evensong before the summer break, just a shame about the football supporters and their annoying orange honking things during the prayers.  Needless to say, thanks to the World Cup, we were a couple singers down.

  • Introit: Lord, For Thy Tender Mercy’s Sake, Farrant/Hilton
  • Responses: Oxley
  • Psalm: 150, Stanford
  • Canticles: Collegium Sancti Johannis Cantabrigiense, Howells
  • Anthem: O Thou the Central Orb, Wood