CE Westminster Abbey 9th March 2016

[DracoM]

CE Westminster Abbey


Order of Service:


Introit: Hide not thou thy face from us, O Lord (Farrant)
Responses: Tomkins
Psalm 25 (Goss)
First Lesson: Jeremiah 18: 13-23
Magnificat primi toni a 8 (Palestrina)
Second Lesson: John 10: 11-21
Nunc Dimittis (Latin setting - Howells)
Anthem: Lo the full, final sacrifice (Finzi)
Hymn: O for a heart to praise my God (Stockton)



Organ Voluntary: Psalm Prelude Set 2 no 1 ('Out of the deep' - Howells)


Daniel Cook (Sub-Organist)
James O'Donnell (Organist and Master of the Choristers)

[DracoM]

Reminder: today @ 3.30 p.m.

[DracoM]

Nobody listened?

[Magnificat]

Nobody listened?

I listened Draco.

I thought the singing a bit lacklustre. There seemed to be some background coughing and I wonder if the boys have been hit by seasonal colds.

WA recently pinched St Albans' excellent Precentor to serve as their Sacrist he has a much better voice altogether than the Precentor who intoned today. I hope he will be promoted there soon - a waste otherwise.

VCC.

[ardcarp]

There seemed to be some background coughing and I wonder if the boys have been hit by seasonal colds

If that were the case, they were given no quarter by the back desks.......

[DracoM]

Real operatic stuff.
IN the Finzi, to be honest, the boys might as well not have been singing for much of the time. Grr.

Nice solo start to the Howells Nunc.

[Flay]

There did seem to be a lot of noises in the background - including a baby I think!

[mopsus]

I wouldn't want the music in CE broadcasts to be drowned out by howling children, but it was good to be reminded that it's a real service with a real and apparently all-age congregation.

[light_calibre_baritone]

Real operatic stuff.
IN the Finzi, to be honest, the boys might as well not have been singing for much of the time. Grr.

Nice solo start to the Howells Nunc.

Operatic? No it wasn't, it was just normal, healthy singing... If you mean that you could hear vibrato then say that; healthy bel canto singing will create that, if not you're doing something wrong... Or you want to sound like a boy.

I don't think you'd want to hear an opera chorus sing "Lo, the full..,"

[ardcarp]

it was just normal, healthy singing.

?

[light_calibre_baritone]

?

With proper technique.

[Pulcinella]

With proper technique.

I thought you meant that they were not the ones doing the coughing!

[light_calibre_baritone]

I thought you meant that they were not the ones doing the coughing!

Ha! No........ I see how that could be misinterpreted, though!

[LTFC1990]

A very enjoyable service, with some really fantastic singing, particularly in the Finzi!

[ardcarp]

The Finzi is a glorious piece, and I have several fave recordings by pro choirs with sopranos on top. There is also the St John's College Cambridge/Robinson CD. However, it's a bit unfair to compare a 'produced' CD with a live broadcast.

But try this:

Choral Evensong from Truro Cathedral, 3rd June 2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd1s4LtAh-I

Don't let anyone say that there is not 'proper technique' from any of the singers. There is also some magic there.