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RSCM Area Chamber Choir weekend in St Albans

An enjoyable singing weekend in St Albans Cathedral with the RSCM Area Chamber Choir which I started ten years ago.

Walmisley in D minor and  Stanford in B flat were the evergreen evening canticles. Britten’s Hymn to the Virgin, Byrd’s Sacerdotes Domini and Bairstow’s Save us, O Lord were the anthems and the Choral Eucharist was sung to Darke in F.  And what better Responses can you have other than those by Bernard Rose.

Next Evensong is on Saturday, 29th December at 4pm.

St Albans Cathedral position

I’m delighted to have been appointed St Albans Cathedral Parish Organist and Director of the Parish Choir starting in September.

I have accompanied the Parish Eucharist on many occasions over the years and occasionally rehearsed and conducted the Parish Choir.  With Marie Price moving on as Director of Music at St Nicholas Church, Harpenden, I will take over responsibility for the choir which sings every Sunday at 9.30am and rehearses fortnightly.

Song Recital in Berkhamsted

Two of my former colleagues at Haberdashers, Alex Courtney (tenor) and Christopher Joyce (piano)  are giving a Song Recital in St Peter’s Berkhamsted on Friday 6th July at 1pm in aid of Save the Children and Magic Breakfast.

The poster is here  St Peters recital poster 

Do support them if you can!

Three weddings and a funeral

Whilst practising in St Albans’ Cathedral last night in preparation for accompanying the Abbey Girls Choir’s first Evensong of term on Wednesday this week, the phone rang twice in the organ loft to ask me to play for, firstly three weddings and then a funeral.  Needless to say, until I finished my practice session, I was waiting for the clinching fourth wedding! Well….

I’m currently enjoying an extended session accompanying at the cathedral whilst Tom Winpenny (Assistant Master of the Music) is on study leave. Also looking forward to directing a few rehearsals with the Cathedral’s Parish Choir which sings at the 9.30 Sunday Parish Eucharist.

Holy Week

A busy week coming up full of so many contrasts

Monday: 10.00am, Organ lesson for adult pupil in Finchley; 12.30pm, Funeral in St Etheldreda’s, Hatfield; 1.30pm, Organ lesson for adult pupil in Hatfield.

Tuesday: 10.15am, Funeral in St Mary’s, Apsley; Abbey practice

Wednesday: 5.30pm, Organ lesson for Year 11 student in Finchley; 7.30pm, Choir practice in Hatfield

Maundy Thursday: 7.30pm, High Mass, Foot-washing and Procession to the Altar of Repose in St, Peter’s, London Docks, Wapping, East London (travelling on the Brompton cycle if dryish weather).

Good Friday: 12noon, St Nicholas’, Harpenden, Liturgy of the Cross; 2pm, St Mary’s, Apsley, Stations of the Cross; 7.30pm, St Augustine’s, Broxbourne, Rutter’s Requiem with the East Herts Church Choirs’ Association conducted by Derek Harrison

Holy Saturday: 8.00pm, St Albans Cathedral, Easter Vigil with Baptism and Confirmation by the Bishop of Hertford

Easter Sunday: 9.30am, Sung Eucharist for Easter, St Etheldreda’s, Hatfield

 

RSCM Honorary Award

I am very proud and humbled that the RSCM Council (Royal School of Church Music) have conferred upon me an Honorary Award for my work in the St Albans, Hertford and Bedford Area over the past 40 years.

The Certificate of Special Service is awarded for a significant contribution to church music and/or liturgy at a local level.

As the local chairman over the past 17 years, it has been good to meet with so many affiliates, to listen to their concerns, and then to try to respond with innovation (e.g. Area Conventions) and through the bread-and-butter desired for regular events.  I’ve particularly enjoyed taking the Area Choir Festival Rehearsals over the past 20 years and also conducting the Festival on two occasions.  I am particularly delighted that our local Area Chamber Choir continues to go from strength-to-strength, celebrating its tenth anniversary in February.

All this sits on top of working back from  the mid-1970’s as a leader on 3-day courses, many other events, and with ten years responsibility for the Area’s Bishop and Dean’s Awards.

Alas, I can’t attend the RSCM Celebration Day in Salisbury Cathedral on 8th September when the Awards will be presented.  The “local level” Area Chamber Choir has a full singing weekend in St Albans Cathedral!

Thank you, RSCM, and good luck to the new Director who starts work in September.

High above all things

A little “indulgence” means I can now take photos and videos from on high.

Herewith St Albans Cathedral and Verulamium Park from near King Harry Lane in January 2018.

Click on picture for video

Christmas and New Year in St Albans

After all the numerous musical events leading up to the big birthday, with concerts, carols, preparation and performance, I look forward to the relative simplicity of Christmas Eve and the following day.  I also look forward to having four generations (93yrs-2yrs) of family at home for Christmas Day lunch.

Once the final burps of Christmas pudding have sailed into the ether I’m conducting our local RSCM Area Chamber Choir for Evensong in St Albans Cathedral on Saturday 30th December at 4pm.  Rose Responses, Howells Collegium Regale and Leighton’s Coventry Carol.  Nicholas King our RSCM Area secretary will be playing the organ.  Do come if you can.

And the following day (Dec 31st) I’m at the Cathedral’s organ console for the 10am Eucharist and 4pm Carols whilst the cathedral’s musicians enjoy a well-earned break.

Cheers!

“This is the BBC ” – On Christmas Day in the morning

Yesterday I played the organ for the Royal Masonic School for Girls’ Christmas Carol Service.  In their resonant chapel in Rickmansworth, with lively 3-manual, Hill, Norman and Beard  organ,  I accompanied their two choirs and a congregation of over 700 in the carols that everyone wants to hear, plus a number of well-known and lesser-known choir carols.   BBC Three Counties Radio recorded the service and this will be broadcast twice on Christmas Day at 6am and 1pm.

The service was short in length by a few minutes and, to fill time, I improvised a Voluntary on Christmas Carols.  I will probably regret what came out of the fingers after a morning rehearsal followed by a recording session and rush-hour stationary traffic.  Merry Christmas to all my readers!

Carols for Choirs

‘Tis the season to be jolly (busy).  

December is the time of year when carols flow frequently along with the mulled wine.  I’m accompanying Knebworth Community Chorus and Hertford Choral Society on the concert front.

For carol services I’m with Boxmoor Primary School, Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ School in St Albans Cathedral, The Royal Masonic School, Rickmansworth, St John’s Boxmoor Festival of Nine Lessons plus a similar service at St Ethelreda’s, Hatfield.

Whether we shall see, as well as sing, “See, amid the winter’s snow” will become apparent as we journey towards the shortest day.  Merry Christmas everyone!

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