CE York Minster June 13th 2012

[DracoM]

CE York Minster


Order of Service:


Introit: O Lord, make thy servant Elizabeth (Byrd)
Responses: Smith
Psalms: 69, 70 (Noble, Naylor, Talbot)
First Lesson: Genesis 42: 17-38
Canticles: The Great Service (Byrd)
Second Lesson: Matthew 18: 1-14
Anthem: Wonder (David Sawer) (Choirbook for the Queen) first broadcast
Final Hymn: Take up the song, and sing the praise of God (Radcliffe Square)


Organ Voluntary: Praeludium in E minor (Bruhns)



Ben Horden (Organ Scholar)
David Pipe (Assistant Director of Music)
Robert Sharpe (Director of Music)

[DracoM]

Reminder: today @ 3.30 p.m.

[mw963]

Nice to be back in a cathedral setting (although I haven't listened to last week's yet).

Spell binding psalms, and a sound balance which is much more to my personal taste, ie not in-yer-face as some have been in the last few years. Yes there's a minor cost in terms of how the clarity of diction is conveyed but at least one knows one's in a cavernous building (but not with ALL the attendant problems!).

So often (a bit like the Proms, it no longer sounds like the RAH to me) one could be anywhere....

Well done all round.

Shame though that Pres have to jump in so quickly. I can remember a relay (c 1981) where it was obvious that the birds round the cathedral were audible, and someone (probably Tony Scotland) left the faders open for 30 secs after the reverb had died away, painting this wonderful soundscape of the gathering dusk round the building.

Can't imagine the current regime even thinking about that sort of thing nowadays.....

[ardcarp]

Probably the best treble line we've heard from York for a long time. It may have been a mike-problem or my radio, but I found the alto line a bit prominent throughout the Introit, Psalm and Responses, which were otherwise enjoyable. I did not however relax into the Byrd canticles. They sounded very 'big', as if the word 'Great' had been taken a bit literally. It struck me that the men were all singing their whatsits off and the organ (again, maybe the mikes) sounded 'boomy' and clogged up the texture rather than supporting it. Rather than having an intimate 'chamber' feel, it was a bit like being dragged at high speed by a team of horses through thick undergrowth. Sorry, York, that's just my gut response. The anthem, though....AH!! Very well prepared and sung. Quite a difficult piece; and here the men sounded a lot more measured and blended. And well done divisi trebles.

[DracoM]

Terrific treble line and I'd say it sounded like all boys with that REAL indefinable, take it to the wire boy sound, slightly arrogant, enjoying their undoubted skills, evidently been told to lead and did exactly that, taking on all comers. Loved it. Altos sounded a tad over-anxious to me.

Byrd canticles taken at a decent pace, some good solo work. Once or twice I felt the ensemble in small solo groups was a bit muddy, but that York acoustic is immense, and a nightmare for engineers, who by and large did pretty well.

Liked the sense of the Minster too. Organ a bit loud in the canticles for my taste, but this was a non-nonsense cathedral service, beautifully articulated, sense of occasion, but the sense too that this is what York Minster is everyday.

Sawer anthem eminently repeatable and singable to my ears, and sung with fantastic assurance. Cracking voluntary, just right for that mighty space.

Robert Sharpe is doing one heck of a job in York.

Why so few people listened to it / have commented on it, i do not know! For me, one of the best CEs we've had in months. No tricks, no precious special sounds, just top class, get-on-with-it praise and music making.

[ardcarp]

No tricks, no precious special sounds

....and no cock-ups in transmission!

[DracoM]

AND an on-air job ad for the new Dean! What else can you want?

[Magnificat]

Terrific treble line and I'd say it sounded like all boys

Can you be sure Draco? You thought once before that the York choir we heard was boys and men but it turned out to be mixed boys and girls!

Once again the Minster music list is silent on this point. Why do we have to guess all the time?

I haven't listened to the broadcast yet but it would be nice to know, for sure, what forces I will be hearing. Any comments I may have will then be much more meaningful.

VCC

[nytseiyork]

I hate to break your bubble, but it was actually the girl choristers broadcasting this year!

[Double Diapason]

I hate to break your bubble, but it was actually the girl choristers broadcasting this year!

Poor Draco gets it wrong again! Yet to listen but looking forward to it now with these glowing reports.....