Duruflé’s Requiem copies in Bath

Posted on October 20, 2008 by vhk10

It’s the time of year when church choirs dust off their scores of Requiem Masses, and for us it brings round the sad thought that we can no longer sing Duruflé’s Requiem, because a few years ago our copies were borrowed or purloined, and not returned.

As I know quite a few singers in the Bath area read my blog, I’m using it to make an appeal. If your choir library has Bathwick copies of Duruflé’s Requiem, or you find yourself singing from a Bathwick copy of Duruflé’s Requiem, could you get the set of vocal scores returned to us? No questions will be asked about where they have been, and the scores can be returned anonymously, for example by slipping into one of the Bathwick churches during a service and leaving them at the back of the church. (Service times here and here). I know no choir would want knowingly to keep music in its library which really belonged elsewhere.

Less importantly (I think) the St. John’s Bathwick set of Wood in the Fridge (sorry, Charles Wood’s communion setting in the Phrygian Mode) has also been missing for a few years, and it would be nice to have that back too. We’re confident that these scores haven’t simply migrated from one of the two churches in the parish to the other.

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Vaughan Williams day

Posted on October 14, 2008 by vhk10

I didn’t get to my usual church last Sunday, but the VW anniversary was well observed at Christ Church Julian Road; we sang ‘Down Ampney’ at the morning service, and in the evening there was a concert entirely of his music. I would have liked to have joined the choir for this, but a rehearsal elsewhere meant I couldn’t, and I only caught the final half of the programme, which included the Serenade to Music and Five Mystical Songs. Congratulations to all involved. I ought to add the Serenade to my wishlist.

Coming up:
my first evensong in the new stalls at Bath Abbey
my first ever weekend of services in Wells Cathedral
evensong at St. Paul’s Cathedral
Britten’s War Requiem

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one-piece composers

Posted on October 14, 2008 by vhk10

After evensong for dedication festival we had an organ recital where requests were played. One piece was Pachelbel’s Ciacona in D minor, which set me thinking that it is unfair that Pachelbel is thought of as a one-piece composer, as it was just as good as his more famous Canon. And what other worthwhile music is there by other ‘one-piece’ composers?

(Incidentally, if you want to hear Pachelbel’s Canon played in lots of different temperaments, some deeply warped, try this page).

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taking the Episcopalian

Posted on October 8, 2008 by vhk10

I’ve enjoyed reading the site of this name but I’m going to use this post to applaud St. Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral in Edinburgh. On a weekend visit to Edinburgh last month I wondered whether to go along there on the Sunday. I rang their office out of hours on Saturday night, hoping their answerphone message might tell me service times. Not only did it do that, but I was told which service settings would be used for Eucharist and Evensong. I accordingly went along to the morning Eucharist to hear Vaughan Williams’ Mass in G minor.

I’m normally a bit better organised and look up service times on the internet before I travel so I don’t have to ring up, but I wonder whether many other Cathedrals do this?

One thing I’ve noticed and enjoyed on the broadcasts from this Cathedral is the full-blooded approach to playing the hymns, including office hymns at evensong. The introit hymn at this service was the first time in a long while, perhaps ever, that I have been unable to hear myself singing when in the congregation (in a choir this is much commoner, depending on the piece, the acoustic, the singers and the way they are arranged).

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Bristol Temple Meads to the Royal Albert Hall in under 2 hours

Posted on October 1, 2008 by vhk10

We proved that this could be done (just!) on our way to Prom 62; the train we should have been on was cancelled and the next one left very little margin as we sprinted across Hyde Park.

However we arrived in time to hear Nikolaj Znaider perform Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with the ECYO under Colin Davis (not long since my daughter last heard him conduct). This performance was definitely on the expansive side, and sometimes the soloist’s tone was a bit too restrained for my taste, but we definitely approved. The orchestra really got a chance to shine in Sibelius’ second symphony after the interval. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a symphony by Sibelius live before (probably because being married to a fan of his music I get plenty of it at home).

Earlier my husband took my daughter to Prom 58, with Lorin Maazel and the New York Philharmonic. This was also a success, although the brass got rather the upper hand in places, especially in Bartok’s Miraculous Mandarin suite; perhaps this is just the fault of the music.

The Guardian‘s reviews are here and here.

I would have liked to have gone to more Proms this year. Much of the programming appealed and the quality of the performances seems to have been uniformly high (unless there was a bad patch in early August which I missed).

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The Finance Act 2000 and choirs

Posted on September 26, 2008 by vhk10

There may not seem much of a link here, but there has been a trend over the last decade for choirs to register as charities. I attribute this at least in part to the Finance Act 2000, which liberalised the conditions under which donations could be augmented by Gift Aid. Choir subscriptions now bring in significantly more income, if you are a charity.

But there are some other consequences of such a change. Once the choir is a charity, it can no longer be the personal fiefdom of its musical director. They may continue to make the artistic decisions, but are accountable to a committee. Furthermore, charitable status depends on the affairs of the organisation (such as the administration of auditions and that of subscriptions) being in order. Certainly some experiences I’ve had in the past wouldn’t now happen under such a dispensation, or if they did it would be possible to appeal to the committee of the choir concerned and remind them of their charitable status. So I think this change is for the better. I should add that I’m involved with more than one choir which doesn’t have charitable status and which is run fairly!

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a return to Brinkburn Priory

Posted on September 25, 2008 by vhk10

The day after finishing at York I sang in Brinkburn Priory. This location has undergone a curious reversal; in the early nineteenth century the Priory church was roofless when a handsome manor house in Strawberry Hill Gothic style was built next door to it. Now the Priory is restored and usable, while the manor house is in a state of arrested dereliction, with the upper floors too unsafe to enter (where they still exist at all). You get the impression of somewhere where the money suddenly ran out.

I was at Brinkburn to sing in a short concert given by the Fitzsimons Choir, with whom I did a tour some years ago (which is when I sang in Newcastle Cathedral). Most of the pieces were familiar to me but there were a couple of new ones: a Tantum Ergo for women’s voices by Fauré and an anthem by Philip Riley, a member of the choir. It was quite a change singing with a small group after the very big turn-out at York.

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three dead ends?

Posted on September 14, 2008 by vhk10

This September is a quiet month for singing, and in general this year so far has been quieter than I’d hoped despite the number of cathedral visits I’ve managed to fit in. I fell to reflecting on some sources of singing that have dried up or just never happened.

Yesterday I received a mailshot from the Exultate Singers about their forthcoming concerts. Seeing what they’d be doing I felt a distinct twinge of regret that I don’t sing with them any more.

When I left the Chantry Singers I asked to be added to the group of former members of the choir who augment it when larger numbers are needed, usually in the spring. As many in this group are quite a lot older than me, I rather expected to be a useful addition to it, but I haven’t been included in any concerts.

One thing I have taken direct action about is the dep list for the choir of the Lord Mayor’s Chapel in Bristol. Another group apparently dominated by those of advanced years, because when I tackled John Marsh about it he said that he preferred to call on retired people to stand in as deputies! (Perhaps this also explains why the Facebook group for this list is essentially dormant.) I’m sending one of my occasional reminders that I’m still interested in singing.

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Bairstow caused the First World War

Posted on September 12, 2008 by vhk10

This was the rather startling allegation made by a member of the congregation to one of the Cathedral Chamber Choir after we’d performed Let all mortal flesh keep silence at the Sunday morning eucharist in York Minster. It seems that historians have overlooked the latent jingoism in his music when considering the origins of the Great War. ‘Think about that when you perform it!’

We didn’t have to wait long to reflect on Bairstow as warmonger because the afternoon’s anthem was Blessed City, heavenly Salem. Now I’m far from being a great fan of his music, but this was one objection to it which hadn’t occurred to me. And I can’t help feeling that if you dislike Bairstow’s music that strongly, then York Minster is probably the wrong place for you to go to church.

Our Mass setting was Rubbra’s Missa Sancti Domenici, which I remembered surprisingly well considering how long it was since I’d sung it. I’ve had a fresh chance to evaluate Rubbra’s choral music since I sang his evening canticles at Gloucester a few weeks ago, but I haven’t changed my view that writing choral music is one area where Cambridge’s academics definitely have the edge over Oxford’s (painful though it is to admit this). Although Cambridge does have to answer for Wood, whose Hail, gladdening Light we sang on Saturday and canticles in E flat (no. 2) on Sunday.

Lest this turn into a series of carps about repertoire, I’ll turn to some favourite pieces I sang at York. Friday was Gibbons night, with the Short Service and O clap your hands (I reacquainted myself with the second soprano part). Along with this was some wacky psalm pointing to keep us on our toes. On Saturday we sang the Leighton first service which I haven’t done properly for a few years; last time I sang it I didn’t have enough voice to do it justice.

A couple of Matins novelties I hadn’t sung before: Harris in A Benedicite (which tries to relieve the repetitive nature of the text by strewing little traps all along your path) and the Jubilate from Stanford in A.

The Sunday morning eucharist at York had the largest congregation I think I have ever sung to in an ordinary service. The full nave caught the Cathedral by surprise too, as the service booklets ran out. Perhaps Olympic success was having the same effect as Princess Diana’s death and causing a temporary increase in churchgoing.

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three days in Gloucester

Posted on September 5, 2008 by vhk10

The Erleigh Cantors did a long weekend this summer, including a Friday evensong. There were four services and a lot of music (we did introits) so I’ll just refer to some highlights.

The only totally new piece to me was the Langlais Messe Solennelle referred to in the last posting here. The organ was well suited to this piece, though the Benedictus must be one of the loudest pieces I’ve ever sung during communion! A few of us (myself included) put in the top C’s in the Hosannas.

New in part was Palestrina’s Tu es Petrus which I’ve only previously sung from a cut-down version, without the central section which is included in European Sacred Music.

We did again some music from previous visits, such as the Robert Fayrfax faux-bordon canticles (in fact only the Mag is by Fayrfax – the composer of the Nunc is unknown and the descant is by the editor!), Wood’s expansive canticles in F and Rubbra in A flat. This last was described by our conductor on a previous occasion as ‘a piece for organ and a piece for choir, to be performed simultaneously’! Also Lassus’ Justorum Animae, which we have been trying and failing to slip into the order of service as an introit for a couple of years!

Some things about Gloucester haven’t changed since I visited with Priory Voices in 2003. The five-and-a-half octave piano in the choir rehearsal room hasn’t been replaced yet, and it can still take a long time to get served with food and drink (I’m not especially thinking of the Cathedral refectory here).

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requirements for the Langlais Messe Solennelle

Posted on August 27, 2008 by vhk10

I sang this in Gloucester Cathedral in July (writeup to follow) and was asked by the conductor of another choir to say whether I thought it would be viable for one of his cathedral weekends. Here’s the list of minimum requirements I gave, with some specifics omitted. The choir is composed of good sight-singers and meets without prior rehearsal, but music and recordings are supplied to members in advance.

a) an organ capable of doing the work justice (Gloucester’s certainly is)
b) an organist of similar capabilities!
c) 3-4 sopranos who can reliably hit the top C’s in the Hosannas. Strictly speaking these are optional and don’t even appear in the choir scores, but congregations who’ve heard the work will expect them. It’s like interpolated high notes in operatic arias. [I’m told that when Langlais heard about this interpolated note he said that he would have written it himself, but didn’t think choirs would be able to attempt it.] I know of no other work one might sing in a church service which has a top C for the choir trebles/sopranos (as opposed to a soloist).
d) a quorum of singers who have done the work before who can lead their sections. I would say one on each part on each side. This work is hard to learn in advance from a score and a CD for reason e) below.
e) adequately annotated scores. You need a second mortgage to afford a full score, and the ‘choir’ version has no leads or anything else from the organ part in it. I had a hired copy which had some leads pencilled in, which helped a lot with learning.

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a fleeting trip to Worcester

Posted on August 1, 2008 by vhk10

I paid a brief visit to Worcester Cathedral on Saturday July 19th to sing Evensong. This was (nominally) a Priory Voices event, with a large admixture of Congleton Choral Society singers. Unfortunately I couldn’t do the whole weekend, so missed the Widor Mass on the Sunday. Saturday’s music was Noble in B minor and They that go down by Sumsion and Neary responses. The Quire organ wasn’t quite ready for us so we sang in the Nave with a temporary instrument. It was a shame not to get much chance to socialise but I’ll be back with the choir in Wells in the autumn.

Next up: a write up of the Erleigh Cantors in Gloucester.

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