CE Salisbury Cathedral Wed, 11th March 2015

[DracoM]

CE Salisbury Cathedral



Order of Service:



Introit: The ways of Zion do mourn (Wise)
Responses: Tomkins
Psalms 59-61 (Barnby, Carpenter, Howells, Stainer)
First Lesson: Genesis 9: 8-19
Office Hymn: Lord Jesus, think on me (Southwell)
Canticles: Second Service (Tomkins)
Second Lesson: 1 Peter 3:18-end
Anthem: Civitas sancti tui (Byrd)
Final Hymn: God moves in a mysterious way (London New)



Organ Voluntary: Fantasia (Gibbons)


Organist and Assistant Director of Music: John Challenger
Director of Music: David Halls

[DracoM]

Reminder: today @ 3.30 p.m.

[DracoM]

Well, the undoubted high point for me was the very fine singing of the Wise introit - Wise himself a former DoM etc at Salisbury, no less.
I say 'high point' for the singing of the Alto soloist who sounded uncannily to me like the young Alfred Deller.

Mixed voice trebles, as seems to be the wont at Salisbury in recent years - fresh, confident, disciplined. Gently paced Tomkins canticles, and oh, glory, not on the schedule at all, but a chanted litany dignified and well-sung.

My one very slight doubt was the Civitas Sancti tui / Byrd. All the notes were there, but for my money, the trebles were just a teeny bit edgy and more or less mf passim, and, while the lower voices sang with some expression clearly understanding the unadorned, repeated 'deserta' which so chills in this piece, the trebles did not so shape their lines in quite as sensitive a way. Maybe the pace was a trifle quick? Dunno. Whatever, it is a terrific piece, and any performance of it is precious, so many thanks to Salisbury for programming it.

[Magnificat]

Well, the undoubted high point for me was the very fine singing of the Wise introit - Wise himself a former DoM etc at Salisbury, no less.
I say 'high point' for the singing of the Alto soloist who sounded uncannily to me like the young Alfred Deller.

, and oh, glory, not on the schedule at all, but a chanted litany dignified and well-sung.

.

Draco,

Whenever I've heard the Wise sung at St Albans over the years it has always been with bass and boy treble.

Like you I enjoyed this piece most of all this afternoon and also the Litany. I can't remember when I last heard it sung.

VCC.

[Navalofficer99]

Mixed voice trebles, as seems to be the wont at Salisbury in recent years - fresh, confident, disciplined.

You may be surprised that it was actually the girl choristers (and lay vicars) who sang the service.

[chitreb]

Wasn't it the girls last time CE was broadcast from Salisbury? When do the boys get a chance to broadcast?

[DracoM]

I did wonder.
And I endorse your question about when the boys last sang on R3 CE. I genuinely can't remember. Can someone help?

[LJB]

I don't catch every single CE but of the ones I have over the last few years this has to have by far the best psalm accompaniment-it was like a symphony, perfectly capturing the text. Bravo Mr Challenger

[decantor]

....And I endorse your question about when the boys last sang on R3 CE. I genuinely can't remember. Can someone help?

I thought we were not supposed to concern ourselves with the gender of the treble unit. However, since a Host is asking, I dare to reveal that my records of broadcast CEs involving Salisbury since 2006 show:

The girls sang in 2006, 2014, and 2015; they also broadcast as part of the SCF in 2010 and 2014.

The boys sang in 2008, and as part of the SCF in 2012 and (possibly) 2013.

In 2007 and 2010 there was no broadcast from Salisbury. In 2009 and 2011, I found no way of determining the treble line, even though I always check the music list of the foundation singing. If one assumes that boys were singing in these two years, then the balance is pretty even, but the girls will still have had three broadcast outings since the boys’ last turn...... which may account for the currently raised eyebrows here.

I must add that I cannot myself reliably distinguish by ear between boys’ and girls’ voices in the cathedral context. If I’d had to guess, I would have said it was the boys singing in yesterday’s CE.

[DracoM]

Well, I said 'mixed' trebles because I felt that there were girls in there somewhere when listening!
I raised the question because it was raised by another poster!

Most cathedrals seem to have stopped saying on service lists which ensemble is singing. I can fully see why.

[jean]

Why?

[Miles Coverdale]

Why?

Because it gives people an excuse not to go to or listen to a particular service. This is despite the fact that most people, when tested 'blind' appear not to be able to tell the difference between boys' and girls' singing.

[decantor]

Because it gives people an excuse not to go to or listen to a particular service........

But that answer simply leads to the next ‘why?’. If, as was found at York, the boys’ services prove more popular despite the boys’ and girls’ sounds being virtually indistinguishable, what is it that makes the boys’ contribution more appealing in the main?

I’d be interested in hearing other theories, but I have my own. First, aficionados of cathedral music are generally not young, and so are probably influenced by tradition and personal expectation. Second, the counter-stereotype has an appeal of its own: boy choristers momentarily drop their “frogs and snails and puppy-dog tails” image, and do something out of character and astonishing. Third, the cathedral (and college) is almost the only place where boys sing regularly to a good standard at all, and so there is rarity value. Maybe others would make the case differently, or not at all.

Of course I grind an axe. I regard it as important that boys learn to sing, but I was never opposed to the introduction of girl choristers – they had the right, and could share the burden (and joy) of the Opus Dei. But now I fear that some cathedrals are too concerned to prove their feminist credentials by promoting their girls ahead of the boys.... perhaps: for example, the artwork on cathedral websites will more likely feature the girl choristers. The pendulum may have swung too far.

But yes, I know: I’m not supposed to be bothered. Trouble is – I am, even in retirement with no direct involvement any more. And I apologise to Salisbury, whose service I enjoyed, for hi-jacking their thread.

[Quilisma]

With apologies for prolonging the hijack, I feel I should reassure people that cathedrals certainly do not withhold information about which configuration of forces are due to sing which service. It may not be highlighted prominently on music lists (as if to say "caution: may contain females!"), and on balance that is indeed a prudent thing, because there are still a few oddballs out there whose only marker of whether a choir is valid or not is its chromosomatic composition, and such people like making a point ostentatiously while the rest of us try to get on with the Opus Dei. But the pattern of which forces typically sing on which days of the week is (I think) always explained in relevant materials, notably on the website where the cathedral's music setup is described. There is no hidden agenda to keep congregations and listeners guessing!

Using my own cathedral as an example, in a normal week, Tuesday Evensongs are sung by the boys alone, and Wednesday Evensongs by the girls alone. The girls also sing Evensong with the lay clerks most Mondays, and when they do not it is a men's voices service; the boys therefore usually have no service on Mondays, and they usually have no choir commitments on Wednesdays. Before the advent of the girls' choir here, Monday Evensong was men's voices and Wednesday was spoken Evening Prayer; there has been no change in the commitment either for the boys or for the men. The girls typically sing both Sunday services at least once a month (in which case the boys are free), and very occasionally Friday Evensong (ditto), and Friday Evensong is also sometimes a men's voices service. Thursday Evensong is almost always "full" (boys and men), as are most Fridays and Saturdays (except when there is a visiting choir instead), and on Sundays, whether it is the boys or the girls singing in the front row, we tend to sing with an expanded back row of up to twelve men. The boys and girls occasionally sing together, notably on major festivals when the girls are available to share the workload (this depends on the school) and for certain other events. The girls' choir here is functionally semi-independent, with its own director and assistant organist, and is technically a branch of the school (the girl choristers also sing with the school chapel choir), but there is a very cordial and close working relationship between each part of the choir family: the directors fairly frequently work with each other's choirs, and the assistant organists deputise for each other both as accompanists and as conductors, and sometimes sing as deps or as extra gentlemen on Sundays when they are not playing. And of course the men get to sing with both teams, which is the best of both worlds. There's never a dull moment!

So, a digest. Over here in the middle of the Fens, the general schedule is as follows. Sunday a.m. and p.m.: F (BM), or GM about once a month, occasionally GB or volunteers, GBM on big occasions; Monday: GM, or M about once a month; Tuesday: B; Wednesday: G; Thursday: F (BM); Friday: F (BM) or sometimes M, occasionally GM, very occasionally G; Saturday: F (BM), occasionally volunteers or G, very occasionally GBM; extra or otherwise special occasions: F (BM), GM, M, B, G, GB or GBM. But really we're all part of the same coordinated team, so to decide whether to come or not on the basis of what the forces will be is really rather silly.

By the way, an advance clarification that for our broadcast on Easter Sunday both sets of choristers will be singing (approximately thirty in total), and a back row of about fourteen, which is certainly not unusual for Easter Sunday. In keeping with the size of the choir on that occasion, we were due to sing Howells St Paul's (almost "authentic" numbers!), but it has been deemed slightly too long for the purposes of the broadcast, so alas it will be something else. We are thankful that this year, because of the unusually early start in advance of Evensong (which gives us very little time after Orchestral Festal Eucharist, Mozart Krönungsmesse), the Dawn Vigil and First Eucharist will be put back to the previous evening rather that 05:30, so I won't be waking my neighbours up by warming up the very highest bits of my range for Duruflé Messe cum Jubilo in the middle of the night! Anyway, when the time comes, we look forward to reading about everything we have done wrong; the anthem is likely to divide opinion, certainly...

Now I must actually listen to the Salisbury broadcast! It's a great music list, and a wonderful choir and cathedral, so I'm sure I'm in for a treat. Besides, we really like Salisbury here. Our Dean was there before he came here, and he is an excellent advert for the place.

[ardcarp]

Both the above excellent contributions...thank you.

I regard it as important that boys learn to sing,

That is a most pertinent point...tenors, basses (and altos?!) for the future.