CE St Davids Cathedral Wed, 29th May 2013

[DracoM]

CE St Davids Cathedral
The 2013 Cathedral Festival


Order of Service:


Introit: Ave verum corpus (Colin Mawby)
Responses: Matthew Martin
Psalms: 110, 111 (S.S.Wesley, Elvey)
First Lesson: Exodus 16: 2-15
Canticles: St Davids Service (Neil Cox) (first performance)
Second Lesson: John 6: 2-35
Anthem: Lo! God is here! (Philip Moore)
Hymn: All for Jesus (Stainer)
Festival Te Deum in E (Britten)


Organ Voluntary: Allegro Agitato (from Organ Sonata) (Philip Moore)


Simon Pearce (Assistant Organist)
Daniel Cook (Organist and Master of the Choristers)





NB: the omission of the apostrophe in "St Davids" is in accordance with the cathedral’s own website.

[DracoM]

The other day, the BBC broadcast a big concert from the cathedral's patronal festival with BBCS, organ, choir and orchestra. For some reason, the acoustic we had then sounded much bigger IIRC than we heard this afternoon on CE, and I think that's a shame. All the material this p.m. seemed to be hungry for bigger spaces to hang and grow in. But the choir seemed pretty close-miked for my money.

The Cox canticles were eminently singable, particularly liked the up-tempo Glory be after lingering verses.

But for me, once again, the star was the Philip Moore. The choir responded magnificently as a team, gave it everything from the hushed opening to almighty wellie finale, as well as having some very fine, confident young treble soloists. The Britten was just a bit 'after the Lord Mayor's Show' - odd to be saying that about Britten's Te Deum, but after that Moore, it actually felt like a bit of an anti-climax strangely enough! Yet it played admirably into the Moore voluntary, sparklingly played by Simon Pearce one presumes.

I just wish the sound had been a bit more atmospheric for music like that.

Many thanks to St Davids.

[DracoM]

Crumbs! did no-one else listen?

[Magnificat]

Crumbs! did no-one else listen?

Draco,

I listened to the broadcast but I am afraid I wasn't that impressed by the choir. For older girls I found their tone very screechy.

The choir never really got the rhythm of the Britten - a favourite piece of mine.

Also, I usually like Philip Moore's pieces but this one I found so dreary it did nothing for me I'm afraid.

I feel sorry for St David's, they seem never to keep their DoMs very long ( Daniel Cook is off to WA as sub-organist I believe and he's hardly been in Wales five minutes. Back to being an Assistant after running his own show for such a short time - very strange to me. Perhaps he feels he is a better organist than choir trainer. He must be as there were some very very talented people in for that job - better not say any more as FF doesn't like it! ). If DoMs stayed longer at St David's they would no doubt be able to develop the girls' sound quite a lot.

Similarly,they might also be able to bring on the boys' choir too. Geraint Bowen did start to make some progress here but he was obviously destined for greater things.

VCC

[DracoM]

" The Dean & Chapter of St Davids Cathedral is delighted to announce that Oliver Waterer, Assistant Director of Music at Chelmsford Cathedral, has been appointed to the post of Organist & Master of the Choristers."

[Thomas Kelway]

Neil Cox also had a piece broadcast last year for the SCF in Salisbury. I wonder if Daniel's Salisbury connection had anything to do with this one?
It's a great way to get your music out there.

[french frank]

He must be as there were some very very talented people in for that job - better not say any more as FF doesn't like it! ).

What FF 'does not like' is people publicly but anonymously tittle-tattling or speculating on matters about which they may or may not have information and/or an axe to grind.

Also, whereas professional musicians may be disappointed - but resigned - to others disliking their work, individual tastes and preferences parading as 'criticism' must be very annoying.

Daniel Cook is off to WA as sub-organist I believe and he's hardly been in Wales five minutes. Back to being an Assistant after running his own show for such a short time - very strange to me.

I am unfamiliar with such issues, but isn't Westminster Abbey a slightly bigger outfit than St Davids (no disrespect). The French have a saying: 'Reculer pour mieux sauter.'

But back to Choral Evensong - 'Revenons à ces moutons'

[jonfan]

I attended the evensong on Wednesday and the concert with BBCS the night before and found the singing of the top line absolutely stunning. The age range is 8 to 18 but the tone is even throughout. They attack the peaks with great gusto and didn't seem to tire even though there was a full run through of the evensong an hour earlier. I've attended this festival for several years now and found the standards have improved each year despite changes in DoM. The constant is Simon Pearce who shows long term commitment to the area's music, his wife gracing the alto section. I've heard it said that DoM's find it hard to make ends meet in this far western corner where opportunities for other work is limited.
After the service the congregation was invited to join the dean in the marquee on his lawn for PIMMS, or lemonade for the younger choristers, to mark the launch of a new CD on the Priory label of music for the feast of St David; much of it recent commissions by Neil Cox, Alexander Mason and Matthew Martin.
The cathedral is not particularly resonant especially when there is a full congregation as was the case on Wednesday. The choir was placed in front of the screen facing down the nave which certainly helped to project the sound to the congregation.
I always enjoy listening to this choir live or on CD/radio. The boys choir is going great guns as well. And it's not the free PIMMs that's swayed me.

[DracoM]

< The choir was placed in front of the screen facing down the nave which certainly helped to project the sound to the congregation. >

For the concert, or for CE, or both?

[jonfan]

< The choir was placed in front of the screen facing down the nave which certainly helped to project the sound to the congregation. >

For the concert, or for CE, or both?

For the service and for the concert. For the performance of Paul Mealor's 'The Farthest Shore' the cathedral choir, that is the trebles, sang far away at the high altar and then for the latter part of the piece came and stood in front of the BBCS and behind the brass group. This is probably why you thought the acoustic 'bigger' as the whole cathedral space was used.

[DracoM]

Well, sorry, but I still think that with that particular repertoire for that particular CE, the Beeb might have been a bit more imaginative in how the miked it.

If you've got music that sets up those kinds of resonances, that kind of mystery and enigma, and you have a robust treble line as up for it as that, AND soloists who are required to sing pp into the space, then IMO you need to give it a bit more air, let the music hang a bit in the spaces. It really did sound in places as if they were singing in a small, brick room. I've heard material from St Davids before, and it didn't sound like that. I just envy all those on site - I'd imagine it was a much richer experience.

[jonfan]

Well, sorry, but I still think that with that particular repertoire for that particular CE, the Beeb might have been a bit more imaginative in how the miked it.

If you've got music that sets up those kinds of resonances, that kind of mystery and enigma, and you have a robust treble line as up for it as that, AND soloists who are required to sing pp into the space, then IMO you need to give it a bit more air, let the music hang a bit in the spaces. It really did sound in places as if they were singing in a small, brick room. I've heard material from St Davids before, and it didn't sound like that. I just envy all those on site - I'd imagine it was a much richer experience.

For those on site both the concert and service were very moving. The place was littered with mikes; I wouldn't have thought the cathedral was a problem place for a sensitive engineer. A case for 'less is more' and let the building do the rest.

[Gabriel Jackson]

. It really did sound in places as if they were singing in a small, brick room.

The quire in St David's is tiny.

[Magnificat]

. The constant is Simon Pearce who shows long term commitment to the area's music, his wife gracing the alto section. I've heard it said that DoM's find it hard to make ends meet in this far western corner where opportunities for other work is limited.
The boys choir is going great guns as well. :

jonfan,

It's a shame then that the DoMs don't seem to have the same commitment. They must know the situation regarding employment opportunities when they apply for this job.

The Dean and Chapter should take some steps to counteract this problem, it seems to me, as it cannot be in the long term interest of the cathedral's music to have such a rapid turnover of DoMs.

It is also not fair on the Dean and Chapter for prospective DoMs just to see this job as a stepping stone to greater things unless they are prepared to give a reasonable number of years to the cathedral. How can they possibly make any impression and achieve anything of note in just three or four years?

When the great Barry Rose came to St Albans ( with all his ability and where his achievements were immense ), he agreed to stay for at least seven years ( he stayed for nine in the end ).

It's good to hear that the boys' choir are in great shape ( they had certainly started to sound very good under Geraint Bowen ). Perhaps they will get a chance to broadcast CE with the lay clerks soon under Oliver Waterer.

VCC.

[ardcarp]

I listened to the Sunday repeat in the car. I agree with Draco that the acoustic was less than generous. But it was a very musical, competent, well-tuned and enthusiastically delivered evensong! The soprano line seemed capable of soaring up without effort, They were more like choral scholars really...and I'm sure some will be just that. I think VCC was a bit harsh on this choir. I do accept that the top-line was a little 'edgy' at times, but much of this may have been due to acoustics/recording. But this was an ambitious repertory from a small establishment done with, IMO, considerable professionalism. I was personally not expecting anything as good as this.