CE St Paul's Cathedral 26.i.Xl

[DracoM]

CE St Paul's Cathedral 26.i.Xl

Order of Service:

Introit: Behold how good and joyful a thing it is (Vann)
Responses: Moore
Psalms: 21, 29 (Harris, Ley)
First Lesson: Isaiah 61: 1-7
Canticles: Collegium Magdalenae Oxoniense (Leighton)
Second Lesson: Luke 10: 1-9
Anthem: Te Deum (Elgar)
Hymn: Give me the wings of faith (Song 67)

Organ Voluntary: Allegro risoluto from Organ Symphony No 2 (Vierne)


Simon Johnson (Organist & Assistant Director of Music)
Andrew Carwood (Director of Music)

[Magnificat]

Lovely introit, but needs a very good treble soloist to really pull it off. I'm sure St Paul's have one amongst their talented boys.

I'll certainly be praying for Christian unity whilst they are singing it.

How I wish the churches would ditch all their disputes about doctrine etc and realise all that should matter to people who call themselves Christians is Christ's commandment to love God and your neighbour as yourself.

VCC

[Simon]

Difficult for a straightforward, basic, no-nonsense protestant christian not to dispute all that non-scriptural Roman rubbish, though VCC. However friendly one may want to be, one has to take a stand and say "sorry - that's all wrong!" 90% of it was of course to preserve the power of corrupt clergy and even more corrupt popes in the middle ages; nowt to do with Christ's teachings at all!

[Triforium]

I wonder if they will add to the back rows for this broadcast. A fairly recent visit revealed that 6 supernumerary positions, established by Stainer 138 years ago this month, were done away with. They stand at 12, occasionally adding 2 extra voices. Big room...

Below, a Google search providing information regarding Stainer’s changes to the choir in 1873 -

http://books.google.com/books?id=Tv7ZRMhNIWYC&pg=PA406&lpg=PA406&dq=%22st+paul%27s%22+WITH+supernumerary&source=bl&ots=Qv3H08W-jn&sig=34wInLEqsOoCZkHWah0sDsKKmd8&hl=en&ei=B8c8TcPgPIjEgAfpxpi_CA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CE0Q6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=%22st%20paul%27s%22%20WITH%20supernumerary&f=false

[DracoM]

Fascinating link, Triforium!

[mercia]

Wo!! they gave it some welly in the Elgar (sorry to be a bit technical)

[DracoM]

Very decent Vann start - ahem! - poised solo - boy sounded separately miked when tuttis came? Liked the stillness and discretion here.

In that acoustic, I fear, for me, the Leighton canticles, which are lively pieces, got a bit muddied, and the boys really did have to fight to be heard at all against a very powerful back row - seems to be not a new prob at St Paul's? Well, for live boradcasts at any event.......

Unlike the Leighton [only IMO], the Elgar Te Deum was rightly boisterous and on a massive scale, just fine for that kind of place, but how on earth the Beeb mike that kind of choir giving it gun and nad that kind of the organ going flat out sumultaneously, I do not know. Hit and hope? Good robust playing by Simon Johnson, lots of growl and punch.

[ardcarp]

Yes, really gutsy singing throughout...and great musicianship too. Really enjoyed the psalms. Maybe the organ was a tad loud in the Leighton, but that could just be technical balance. Unfortunately I'd have to give myself the sack if I mentioned what really spoiled, for me, an otherwise excellent CE. I might get away with saying that 'at certain moments' Mrs Ardcarp's hair stood on end, her eyeballs rotated in contrary motion and steam came out of her ears. So it ca't just be me being sexist...can it?

[DracoM]

Andy Gray, anyone? Cautionary tale.

[Magnificat]

Very mushy sound again Draco it really does spoil the listening experience doesn't it? But as I said last year, in the archive recording of the choir under BR in the 1980's the sound was beautifully clear so it can be done.

I thought the men overpowered the boys except in the hymn!

The Andy Gray thing ballooned out of all proportion IMO. I am told that when women get together on their own the things they say about men are very much worse than anything he said including the boorish joke about the microphone which his female colleague didn't seem to mind anyway.

St Paul's do seem to like lady Precentors/Succentors. She was certainly better than the one they had a couple of years ago and Worcester's earlier this academic year.

[subcontrabass]

St Paul's do seem to like lady Precentors/Succentors.

The current Succentor is male (Andrew Hammond) - one time principal baritone at Scottish Opera. The only female cleric there is Sarah Eynstone (who is Chaplain).

[Magnificat]

Which begs the question - why didn't he sing the service? Illness perhaps. Surely no other reason.

Worcester did this their Precentor being a man and a singer who must have been better than the lady we heard last September.

VCC

[Y Mab Afradlon]

I am reliably informed that she understands the off side rule so no need for resignations or sackings from this message board.

[Y Mab Afradlon]

As for my opinion of the said cantor(ess) there is certainly room for such a person in the game, the intonations were in tune and collects sung with a sense of line. Debut broadcast I suspect. I somehow feel that female cantors find this kind of intoning very uncomfortable in that range around an A flat, A B flat etc. Comfortable for a Bass, Baritone or Tenor. Excellent psalms lovely Harris chant, bright responses. Can't put my finger on why I thought there was something missing in the canticles, perhaps the slightly pondering tempo set? ...... although the Nunc was better. Big sing in the Elgar contrasted with some delightful singing in the quieter passages. Looking forward to listening again a few times this week.

[subcontrabass]

that range around an A flat, A B flat etc. Comfortable for a Bass, Baritone or Tenor.

Not comfortable for a Bass. They are more comfortable around E flat and F. Hence the parsonical 'hoot' that is sometimes heard for recitation on G or above.