CE Hereford Cathedral Wed,13th April 2016

[Op. XXXIX]

Utterly accomplished. A real pleasure to listen to.

Agreed on both counts!

I'm fine with the subito piano in the Nunc. It was such a small part of the service I'm not sure it merits much discussion.

Initially I was a bit startled, but what-the-heck, considering the respect I have for the music making at Hereford, it won't need to merit much discussion.

[Nevilevelis]

It's something John's tend to do quite a lot, almost for the sake of doing it; the effect isn't known as 'pressing the John's button' for nothing. But if it's only done occasionally, I can't say I object to it. And here it was done for a good enough reason: it's not easy to make an effective crescendo from f to ff, but if you start from p ...

Anyway, music-making would be a bit monochrome if you always played only what was in the score, wouldn't it?

Yes, but it's a good place to start! Their singing was vibrant enough with out extra special effects.

[Nevilevelis]

Utterly accomplished. A real pleasure to listen to. I'm fine with the subito piano in the Nunc. It was such a small part of the service I'm not sure it merits much discussion.

Thankfully, it's not up to you or anyone else to decide what merits musical (NB) discussion on this forum!

[ardcarp]

Er, excuse me???!!! Anyone on the Forum can decide what merits musical discussion!! If I can turn your rather rude assertion round, it is thankfully not up to you to boss people around and tell them what they can or cannot decide to do.

Now, back to Hereford.........

[chitreb]

Hereford was great. There.

Hereford (and Hymn) were answers in one of The Times Cryptic crosswords today. What did they know?

[DracoM]

I keep thinking maybe the Taverner has not come in for as much praise as it deserved?
CCCO have collected a few pieces from the Eton Choir Book which contextualise material like the Dum Transisset, and I really do feel that choirs - particularly men and boys' choirs - that really get musical heads and tongues round it should be thanked and praised.

Maybe only a handful of cathedral choirs regularly attempt such pieces, preferably not live I'd venture [!!], and I must applaud Hereford for their skill and enterprise.

[Pulcinella]

Maybe only a handful of cathedral choirs regularly attempt such pieces, preferably not live I'd venture [!!], and I must applaud Hereford for their skill and enterprise.

Eh?
Do you mean 'not in a live broadcast'?

PS: might have misunderstood the concept of 'live' you mean here.
Perhaps you intended that they might do a recorded version (in several takes, maybe) but seldom 'live' in a service.

[light_calibre_baritone]

Let's be honest here, Dum transisset is not really that hard to sing, particularly when compared to similar pieces from that era; or even Tav's own oeuvre.

Yes, trying to get a decent blended top line and a gumby part that aren't bored to death by the end might be the main challenges, but that's about it really...

I struggle to see any merit in suggesting it isn't performed much by cathedral choirs - it just IS.

[mopsus]

...was he Thomas Tunnard, erstwhile organist of Birmingham Cathedral where Roy Massey later presided? If so that would explain how they came into Hereford's repertoire.

Yes he was. According to BBC Genome (gosh, I love that site!) the choirs which broadcast the responses between 1976 (when they were published) and 2009 were: Llandaff (1977), York (1978), Ex Cathedra (1980, 1981 and 1987, from St Paul's Birmingham - when did that choir last do a CE broadcast?), Hereford with Roy Massey (1982, 1988 and 1989), Durham (1983 and 1985) , and Ripon (1996).

But in the years around and after publication a number of other settings of the Responses were published (in my collection for example are Francis Jackson (pub. 1979), Richard Lloyd I (pub. 1975), Richard Lloyd II (pub. 1995, but I'm sure they were circulating earlier), Neary (pub. 1976), Piccolo (pub. 1980), Sanders (pub. 1989), Shephard (pub. 1973), Spicer (pub. 1985), Walsh (pub. 1988)) and I think Tunnard's never really became standard repertoire.

Roy Massey also broadcast them from Birmingham in 1973 and with an RSCM choir in 1974 so they are clearly a favourite of his (though not of mine I'm afraid).

I think Dum transisset is in much wider circulation! I've sung it with a couple of choirs.

[ahinton]

Let's be honest here, Dum transisset is not really that hard to sing

I imagine that fhg will be along in a moment to point out that Dum transisset is supposed to be played, not sung!...

[Miles Coverdale]

I imagin that fhg will be along in a moment to point out that Dum transisset is supposed to be played, not sung!...

?? Are you sure you're not thinking of Quemadmodum?

[ahinton]

?? Are you sure you're not thinking of Quemadmodum?

Er - yes.

[light_calibre_baritone]

I imagine that fhg will be along in a moment to point out that Dum transisset is supposed to be played, not sung!...

Right...

[Vox Humana]

... a gumby part...

Gosh, I haven't heard that term for over 30 years. I'm glad to see it is still current (but shouldn't the G be capitalised? :) )

[jean]

I've never heard it. What does it mean?