CE Birmingham Cathedral Wed, 9th April 2014

[DracoM]

CE Birmingham Cathedral



Order of Service:



Introit: Miserere nostri (Tallis)
Responses: Sanders
Psalms 47, 48, 49 (Davy, Lang, Barnby)
First Lesson: Job 36: 1-12
Office Hymn: Sing, my tongue, the glorious battle (Pange lingua)
Canticles: Blair in B minor
Second Lesson: John 14:1-14
Anthem: Lamentations a 5 (Part 2) (White)
Hymn: We sing the praise of him who died (Bow Brickhill)



Organ Voluntary: Fantasy on the tune 'Babylon's Streams' (Harris)



Tim Harper (Assistant Director of Music)
Marcus Huxley (Director of Music)

[ardcarp]

Ooh...quite an adventure to do the White Lamentations! Not usual Brum (or any other) fodder, so I eagerly anticipate. There is no choirschool there, so Marcus is one of those who works extra hard to maintain a choral tradition.

[DracoM]

Reminder today @3.30 p.m.

[DracoM]

What a rich and varied service, beginning with the astonishing 7-part, quirkily canonic Tallis Miserere Nostri in a full, rich, genuinely big sound, very little if any vibrato in any part, thus giving the whole choir an 'unveiled' edge and exciting attack. It is a confident ensemble with robust young voices in all parts on this evidence. DoM Huxley took the Tallis daringly slowly, but the plangent textures were so well brought out that in fact one savoured every turn of the piece. I think I detected discreet organ at work here as well? Yes? No?

The psalms were dramatic, almost declaimed and acted with sudden stops for effect, all of which require fantastically tight discipline and unanimity if the line is to go on and not stop dead or founder. It didn't. It's not often in CE that we hear psalms done like that, but that surely is one of the great diverse glories of Anglican chant that it truly can be so quot homines for the DoM, provided, of course, that your singers are eagle eyed and the DoM takes them with him/her - as here.

I'm afraid that Blair in B minor doesn't really have that class of excitement to my ears, but it was neatly enough done.

I suspect they all had eyes on the rarity and complexity of the demands in the White motet. Again, rich, confident singing from ppp to fff and much between. What came through on this was the way that each line developed distinct identity and timbres - tenors a bit hard to my ears, but no doubting they were giving it stick! Basses maybe a tiny bit pushed to be quite weighty enough to anchor, but if you've got an alto and treble line this bold, maybe it matters less? Sounds quite a big choir of men, girls and boys on this occasion. Not sure the precentor had her best day, with a lot of collects to complete. Nowhere to hide!

Interesting that DoM Huxley had decided that Tallis and White Latin introit and motet have the weight, dignity and restraint to convey the gravity of the liturgical season*. Catholicity of inspiration in the best sense.

Many thanks to all at Birmingham. All in all, a fine, fine service.





*St Thomas Fifth Avenue NYC / John Scott sang Byrd's Civitas Sancti on last Sunday's CE - still available on their website.

[edashtav]

What a rich and varied service, beginning with the astonishing 7-part, quirkily canonic Tallis Miserere Nostri in a full, rich, genuinely big sound, very little if any vibrato in any part, thus giving the whole choir an 'unveiled' edge and exciting attack. It is a confident ensemble with robust young voices in all parts on this evidence. DoM Huxley took the Tallis daringly slowly, but the plangent textures were so well brought out that in fact one savoured every turn of the piece. I think I detected discreet organ at work here as well? Yes? No?

The psalms were dramatic, almost declaimed and acted with sudden stops for effect, all of which require fantastically tight discipline and unanimity if the line is to go on and not stop dead or founder. It didn't. It's not often in CE that we hear psalms done like that, but that surely is one of the great diverse glories of Anglican chant that it truly can be so quot homines for the DoM, provided, of course, that your singers are eagle eyed and the DoM takes them with him/her - as here.

I'm afraid that Blair in B minor doesn't really have that class of excitement to my ears, but it was neatly enough done.

I suspect they all had eyes on the rarity and complexity of the demands in the White motet. Again, rich, confident singing from ppp to fff and much between. What came through on this was the way that each line developed distinct identity and timbres - tenors a bit hard to my ears, but no doubting they were giving it stick! Basses maybe a tiny bit pushed to be quite weighty enough to anchor, but if you've got an alto and treble line this bold, maybe it matters less? Sounds quite a big choir of men, girls and boys on this occasion. Not sure the precentor had her best day, with a lot of collects to complete. Nowhere to hide!

Interesting that DoM Huxley had decided that Tallis and White Latin introit and motet have the weight, dignity and restraint to convey the gravity of the liturgical season*. Catholicity of inspiration in the best sense.

Many thanks to all at Birmingham. All in all, a fine, fine service.





*St Thomas Fifth Avenue NYC / John Scott sang Byrd's Civitas Sancti on last Sunday's CE - still available on their website.

What a superb crit., DracoM!
I'm in complete agreement.
I used to pop to Brum Cathedral whilst at Uni.
Then, psalms were mundane affairs, today they were terrifically exciting.

[ardcarp]

Agreed, a very full and perceptive commentary, Draco. The psalmody was indeed unusual, and if I say it was done as if by a very good parish church choir, that is no criticism.

I'm afraid the Blair is just one of those nonentities that perhaps ought to be binned nowadays. Not all the cathedral-organist-homespun canticles are bad (eg Jackson in G, Sumsion ditto and Dyson in D are sort of classics) but maybe we should have some homespun by serving DoMs instead?

You were very tactful about the precentor, Draco. I wish you could have seen Mrs Ardcarp's face during the responses/collects!

Anyway enough of hobby-horses. It was a good broadcast, Brum. And I agree, it was probably a mixed choir with students and lay-clarks in the back rows. Given St Phillip's has the very agreeable acoustic of a big classical building, I'd have preferred the mikes to be a little more distant from the voices...but maybe this was to do with eliminating traffic noise. And a minor niggle; some vowel sounds (e.g. Ah. Air, Ow) might have been more rounded and unanimous.

[Chris Watson]

Blair in B Minor is a magnificent setting of the Mag and Nunc. It was interesting to hear this early version (as it always is interesting to hear a first attempt at something that is now familiar) and my suspicion is the later version is probably better. The singing was, I thought, wonderful and I see no reason to use the words Parish Church. I loved the psalms - no nonsense, text foremost - and both the Tallis (which was quick not slow) and White were great (though I prefer my Hebrew letters slower than the surrounding Latin misery). I was listening in my car so can't comment on the sound quality, but if that's the state of music making in the non- choir school Cathedrals then I'd say there was cause for great rejoicing.

[DracoM]

<< but if that's the state of music making in the non-choir school Cathedrals then I'd say there was cause for great rejoicing.>>

Absolutely, Chris Watson, could not agree more. This was also the passionate pitch Iestyn Davies made in The Choir last Sunday - incidentally giving CE and R3 a real boost too.

[ardcarp]

I see no reason to use the words Parish Church. I loved the psalms - no nonsense, text foremost

Chris, I did say that the 'parish church' was not a criticism. In their heyday, many fine PCs sang psalms in a very direct way. Natural speech rhythm was the vogue, especially after Bairstow and Buck's English Psalter was published. Many cathedrals hung on to their idiosyncratic ways of psalm singing...and still do, as I'm sure you are aware!

Can't agree about Blair though, whichever version.