CE The Old Royal Naval College Chapel, Greenwich 11th April 2012

[DracoM]

CE The Old Royal Naval College Chapel, Greenwich
Trinity Laban Chapel Choir and the Athenian Ensemble of Viols



Order of Service:



Introit: Haec Dies (Byrd)
Responses: Byrd
Psalms: 59, 60, 61 (Barnby, Howells, Stainer)
First Lesson: Song of Solomon 3
Office Hymn: Love's redeeming work is done (Savannah)
Canticles: The Second Service (Gibbons)
Second Lesson: Matthew 28: 16-end
Anthem: My beloved spake (Julian Anderson - Choirbook for the Queen)
Final Hymn: The strife is o'er (Victory)



Voluntary: In Nomine 5 à 5 (Byrd)



James Grainger (Assistant Organist)
Richard Tanner (Director of Music)





Slightly confusingly, on the ORNCG's own website, the anthem is listed as being 'Sing unto the Lord' / Simpson.

[Simon]

Haec Dies, Gibbons 2nd, Byrd responses. About as good as it gets, as long as it's a men & boys' choir.

Richard Tanner did an excellent job at Blackburn; I'm surprised he's chosen this repertoire for the forces he's working with down there.

[Caussade]

Haec Dies, Gibbons 2nd, Byrd responses. About as good as it gets, as long as it's a men & boys' choir.

Richard Tanner did an excellent job at Blackburn; I'm surprised he's chosen this repertoire for the forces he's working with down there.

It won't be boys; the choir is mixed adult, partly students at Trinity Laban (whose vocal department turns out some really excellent voices) and partly volunteer/pro (as you probably realise, having first mentioned boys then talked about 'the forces he's working with down there'). Why it should be a surprise for Trinity Laban to sing Gibbons and Byrd I don't know; the music remains wonderful, whoever is performing. Is it really 'only as good as it gets' as long as boys are singing it? Bit like saying the Frank Martin Mass is as good as it gets, as long as adults are singing it.

[DracoM]

Reminder today @ 3.30 p.m.

[DracoM]

Neat, small-scale, quiet [ahem!!] little service. Liked the viols, particularly in that acoustic. Choir had very decent top, mostly pretty accurate but diffident tenors and basses, and well disciplined by Mr Tanner. A 'precentor' about as far from any microphone as you could get, and very fast!

Very jolly introit. psalms fairly tidy, and I loved the Gibbons canticles, and the small instrumental ensemble helped give the whole service a 'chamber' feel.

But I was puzzled by the anthem. Completely out of character with all the music on the service sheet, and it was so fragmentary with wisps of this and silences and bits of that, and then sort of petered out. Very odd. The tempo seemed extraordinarily slow to me too - but of course that's only an instinctive reaction to what we heard, and not based on any sight of the MS. But I just kept wondering what this would be like if there was more forward propulsion in it. Would it have more grit and graspability? It had moments when it did think I might be heard sung round the nation, and then............. and then......

Thought the choir et al did astonishingly well against the noises off and crashing and banging at the door. At first I thought an interloper had been quietly put out - there had been noise and chat at one point - and had then taken revenge by hammering aggressively to be let in to serve the Lord. But unfortunately not.

[ardcarp]

Yes indeed the noises off were most unfortunate, and the precentor suffered from premature articulation. But I very much liked the scale of this ensemble. It was IMO very musically directed with no silly mannerisms, and yes, the viols were a delight.

A thing I like about young voices is the great clarity they produce. You could hear everything, both in the Gibbons and especially in the Julian Anderson anthem. It is not easy to assess a new work at first hearing, but I liked a lot of the ideas in this one and especially the sometimes lean textures.

A very interesting and well-done CE. I do hope the choir was not too upset at having their big moment accompanied by 'goings on'.

[underthecountertenor]

DracoM
You say 'unfortunately not'. Do you know what actually was going on (was there an announcement, or something?) I haven't managed to listen to it yet, so don't know if anything was said, but I gather from what you say that you are aware, from some source or other, of what the 'goings on' were.
Ardcarp: 'premature articulation' - very good!

[Wolsey]

DracoM
...(was there an announcement, or something?) I haven't managed to listen to it yet, so don't know if anything was said, but I gather from what you say that you are aware, from some source or other, of what the 'goings on' were.

Yes, the continuity announcer gave an explanation at the end of the service. Apparently, the noises were from the film set for Les Misérables outside the chapel (http://broadwayworld.com/article/TWITTER-WATCH-First-Images-of-LES-MISERABLES-Set-20120411).

[underthecountertenor]

Thanks, Wolsey. How absurd.

[MrGongGong]

I guess it makes a change from the endless Russian spies meeting outside !
I'm always amazed that I never hear TCM in the background on Spooks