I took part in the latter part of the Cathedral Chamber Choir’s visit to York Minster. (Rather annoyingly, this meant that I missed meeting the Precentor, a college friend of mine).
The visit was a little subdued because one of the organisers of this choir had died a few weeks previously. The services I sang in were dominated by the music of two composers: Bairstow and Stanford. At least the Bairstow loony did not reappear to claim that he cause the First World War. And sadly the charmingly mad Lord Bicester (and that really was his title) died at the turn of the year.
Our Communion setting was put together from Stanford’s ‘Coronation’ Gloria (a large-scale setting previously unknown to me) and his Communion in G. The latter is at partly reconstituted from other pieces; the Benedictus comes from the Nunc in G, which we’d sung the previous day, and the Agnus from another source (responses to the Commandments, perhaps?). Then at Mattins came the old faithful Canticles in B flat (I sang the verse part in the Te Deum).
As at our last visit, we sang Bairstow’s Blessed City (the entry I used to find a problem has now been nailed thanks to some memorising) and at Mattins I sat down under his shadow. Another piece which reappeared was the Magnificat of Gibbons’ Short Service, as well as canticles by Wood (Coll. Reg. this time).
Other music new to me during my time on the tour was Tye’s Nunc Dimittis (I can’t think why this isn’t more of a repertoire piece) and Vast ocean of light by Jonathan Dove, whom we’re beginning to specialise in after doing another piece of his last year. This came together nicely in performance, despite the lack of rehearsal with the organ (as at St George’s earlier this summer; we never rehearsed the morning canticles with organ at all).
Visiting choirs at York are now rather more restricted in what they can do. Unusually, we could only use one setting of the Responses during our week (it was Clucas) and we didn’t sing Psalm 150 in procession after the Eucharist. I noticed that York has joined Liverpool in installing a lift (down to the crypt); unfortunately this obscures a carved angel holding a tablet commemorating the restoration of the song school. I hope that the angel will be liberated and moved to where she can be seen properly. I hope also that it won’t be too long before I’m back, maybe on a Priory Voices weekend.