CE Worcester Cathedral Wed, 30th July 2014

[DracoM]

CE Worcester Cathedral
The 2014 Three Choirs Festival



Order of Service:



Organ Prelude: A Verse of Three Parts (Tomkins)
Introit: O praise the Lord, all ye heathen (Tomkins)
Responses: Howells
Office Hymn: Come, see the Lord in his breathtaking splendour (Barnard Gate)
Psalm 136 (How)
First Lesson: Isaiah 33: 2 -10
Canticles: Howells in G
Second Lesson: Philippians 1: 1-11
Anthem: Laudibus in sanctis (Byrd)
Hymn: Cry Freedom in the name of God (Free Indeed)



Organ Voluntary: Toccata giocosa (Mathias)



Christopher Allsop (Assistant Director of Music)
Peter Nardone (Director of Music)





NB: Worcester, Hereford and Gloucester Cath choirs are all scheduled to participate.

[Radio64]

Thanks for the tip-off.

[Simon Biazeck]

Looks nice! Howells-fest!!

[DracoM]

The Byrd will sort them out as well. I'm with Simon B that this looks very appetising.
Actually the whole prog for the 3Chs this year looks pretty impressive.

[Simon Biazeck]

The Byrd will sort them out as well. I'm with Simon B that this looks very appetising.
Actually the whole prog for the 3Chs this year looks pretty impressive.

Yes indeed! I was just thinking of making an impromptu trip down for this and concerts around it, but having done the sums I may have to listen chez moi!

[Vox Humana]

Tomkins is never to be under-rated. Nice to see an organ prelude billed.

Love Howells's reponses; not a fan of the Mag and Nunc.

Ten to one we don't hear Byrd's intended speed at the triple-time "laeta chorea" passage. I never have yet. A minor point, perhaps, though it does make a significant difference to the music.

[Triforium]

Ten to one we don't hear Byrd's intended speed at the triple-time "laeta chorea" passage. I never have yet. A minor point, perhaps, though it does make a significant difference to the music.

Gabriel may be on holiday, so allow me - How do you know what the composer intended? :p

To my mind the triple section is often too slow. Having said that, I have heard it taken to the other extreme - a certain chapel choir just off the Strand leaps to mind.

[Vox Humana]

Gabriel may be on holiday, so allow me - How do you know what the composer intended? :p

We know because, in Byrd's original, the "time signature" (to put it into modern parlance) changes at the triple time passage, but one of the voices does not change at the same time as the others. Because of the way the Renaissance proportional system works, this slight overlap leaves no doubt whatsoever about the tempo relationship intended by Byrd. You have to remember that singers of the time had only their own part in front of them; they could not see what other parts were singing and so were much less able to make the sort of spontaneous speed adjustments that we with scores might make today. In fact the proportional system positively thrived on cross-rhythms and conflicts of time - read Thomas Morley's book. Fellowes actually changed Byrd's notation at this point, masking the fact altogether that there is any change of tempo. Even choirs that are aware often misinterpret the triple time passage as a fast "tripla" proportion. David Fraser's edition on CPDL gets the notation and the tempo relationship right (as does the relevant volume of Stainer & Bell's new Byrd Edition and the edition that was published by OUP about 35 years ago). The passage should be nearer to a galliard than a jiggy dance.

The same, stately, triple-time relationship also applies in Byrd's six-part Haec dies.

[Triforium]

Yes, that makes sense, so in a way the tempo remains the same, which is a bit faster than some might take it, but not at breakneck speed. It does get rather busy, so setting the initial tempo becomes crucial.

[Vox Humana]

In an edition retaining Byrd's note values, the tempo change is, in modern terms, from 2/2 to 3/2, with a bar of 3/2 taking the same time as a bar of 2/2. Because the movement in the 3/2 section is mainly in minims rather than crotchets, it actually sounds as though the music slows and then speeds up again on reverting to 2/2. This will seem very counter-intuitive to those whose default position on seeing a triple time passage is to get all bouncy and it does take some getting used to.

In Haec dies this tempo relationship has an interesting side-effect (of which Byrd was probably well aware). In the 3/2 triple-time section, the stately long-short tread of "exultemus" in 3/2 time contrasts with a faster long-short cross-rhythm for "et laetemur" which is effectively in 6/4. The two beats of this 6/4 cross-rhythm match exactly the speed of the beats in the 2/2 sections either side of the triple-time passage. It also has the practical advantage of making that section less of a vocal scrabble than it usually is when the same speed is maintained throughout.

[Wolsey]

While we're on this thread about Worcester Cathedral, it should be recorded here that organ-builders and organists are mourning the sudden and untimely death last Thursday morning of Kenneth Tickell, the builder of the cathedral's organ. He would have been 58 next month. I understand from a source at Worcester that he was included in the prayers during evensong at the Festival yesterday.

[Thomas Kelway]

This may upset people but I don't think this is a patch on what we heard last week from Winchester.

[Radio64]

This may upset people but I don't think this is a patch on what we heard last week from Winchester.

shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

[Lento]

Thoroughly enjoyed, including the setting of Psalm136. Are triple chants common?

[Magnificat]

This may upset people but I don't think this is a patch on what we heard last week from Winchester.

Thomas,

I think you should compare like with like as far as the top line is concerned anyway.

All I will say is that last week's top line included many girls between the ages of 13 and 18 so they probably should have sounded more accomplished than a choir with much younger boys.

I liked the psalm chant. The tune by Peter Nardone for the last hymn reminded me of VW's 'Kings Lynn'.

VCC