CE Gloucester Cathedral Wed, 9th Dec 2015

[DracoM]

CE Gloucester Cathedral



Order of Service:


Introit: Canite tuba (Palestrina)
Responses: Janet Wheeler
Psalms 47, 48, 49 (Lloyd, Walmisley, Walmisley)
First Lesson: Amos 9:11-15
Canticles: Second Service (Tomkins)
Second Lesson: Romans 13: 8-14
Anthem: Vox dicentis: Clama (Naylor)
Hymn: Hark what a sound (Highwood)


Organ Voluntary: Chorale Prelude on 'Nun komm der heiden Heiland' BWV 659 (Bach)



Organist: Jonathan Hope
Director of Music: Adrian Partington

[DracoM]

Gentle reminder today @ 3.30 p.m.

[underthecountertenor]

That's two Voces Dicentes in less than 6 months, by my reckoning.

[mopsus]

I think the record was the Mendelssohn anthem that once appeared twice in a month. It slipped through because it was sung once in English and once in German.
This broadcast is also the second live appearance by Adrian Partington on Radio 3 in less than 24 hours; he was acknowledged on stage as chorus-master at last night's Messiah in Cardiff.

I'm not sure whether this wonderful archive site of Radio Times listings 1923-2009 has been publicised here yet: http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/
Amongst other things, it's a treasure trove of information on what was performed on Choral Evensong broadcasts during that time.

[DracoM]

Many thx, mopsus.

[DracoM]

Did nobody listen?

[DT1]

Apparently not! What did you think DracoM?

[Pulcinella]

Did nobody listen?

Only as 'background', so not fair to comment, but I fear that I will never get used to hearing female precentors.......the recital note being at the pitch it then is just goes against the grain for me.
If anything, the whole thing sounded underpowered, but I could have turned the volume up, I suppose!

[ardcarp]

I listened. There was nothing 'wrong' with it...a perfectly competent CE...but I guess I feel no urge to comment, except to thank Gloucester for their singing.

[Y Mab Afradlon]

The Janet Wheeler Responses are a welcome addition to the repertoire. It’ll be nice to get to know them better. I somehow thought that the whole service was a mixture of a midweek evensong until the choir unleashed its full power in Vox. Sort of a long distance race where the athletes ran at training pace for the first three quarters and then unleashed some devastating Mo Farrah type pace for the finish. The Tomkins Canticles were a little rushed and may have been taken at a slightly more relaxed pace to bring out the nuances of the inner parts. They did have six minutes to spare. Gloucester are a first rate choir and the Naylor showed off their power and musicianship with everyone working hard to bring out the wonderful fugal writing in the anthem that must be everyone’s top five favourite of all time. Bravo Maestro Partington, Mr Mayor and the other Gloucester Choristers.

[ardcarp]

The Tomkins Canticles were a little rushed and may have been taken at a slightly more relaxed pace to bring out the nuances of the inner parts. They did have six minutes to spare.

My thoughts exactly.

[chitreb]

Loved the Naylor. Quite liked the Wheeler responses on first hearing. Basses sounded great but a little too loud relative to the middle parts for me. There were (imo) some odd slips of intonation in the top line, particularly noticeable in the psalms.

[Keraulophone]

Gloucester have a good reputation but IMO they sounded strangely underpowered in this broadcast, particularly the treble line. This may have been the sound engineering, as this choir seemed to be singing well, but the sound was not escaping into the resonant space of Glos. Cath. The final hymn, Highwood, fared best in this respect.

[ardcarp]

Of course you never know if at this time of year a senior treble (or two) might be hit by the lurgi and be hors de combat. But the show must go on.

[Keraulophone]

Quite so, ardcarp. There's much lurgi lurking with us at the moment, and most likely all o'er the realm.