CE Bath Abbey Wed, Jan 18th 2017

[mopsus]

Boys, girls, men, women; all should sing in such places, otherwise limitations are placed and unwelcome and antediluvian discrimination displayed.

Many Bathonians I've spoken to have been astonished that there is no longer a role for adult women in the musical life of the Abbey. There used to be a mixed choir that sang on Sunday evenings (the Abbey choir evensong is mid-afternoon) but it was treated like the poor relation - for example not doing full canticle Mag & Nung settings. There is a proposal to set up a mixed choir with an adult top line to sing once a month. Bath churches offer few options for adult female singers - there are only two C of E ones in the city that have a choir which sings every week, apart from the Abbey.

[weston752]

Many Bathonians I've spoken to have been astonished that there is no longer a role for adult women in the musical life of the Abbey. There used to be a mixed choir that sang on Sunday evenings (the Abbey choir evensong is mid-afternoon) but it was treated like the poor relation - for example not doing full canticle Mag & Nung settings. There is a proposal to set up a mixed choir with an adult top line to sing once a month. Bath churches offer few options for adult female singers - there are only two C of E ones in the city that have a choir which sings every week, apart from the Abbey.

I suspect that most Bathonians will be totally indifferent about the role of women in the musical life of Bath Abbey. If however they are, they might be pleased to know that a Bath Abbey Chamber Choir exists, comprised of adult singers of both sexes, and which inter alia sang at the midnight mass on Christmas Eve, has sung services subsequently, and has a number of future engagements.

As for the former evening choir, it made (and still makes) no liturgical sense to replicate at 6.30 pm a service which had taken place three hours previously, and there was never any expectation that that choir would sing choral settings of the canticles.

[mopsus]

I suspect that most Bathonians will be totally indifferent about the role of women in the musical life of Bath Abbey. If however they are, they might be pleased to know that a Bath Abbey Chamber Choir exists, comprised of adult singers of both sexes, and which inter alia sang at the midnight mass on Christmas Eve, has sung services subsequently, and has a number of future engagements.

As for the former evening choir, it made (and still makes) no liturgical sense to replicate at 6.30 pm a service which had taken place three hours previously, and there was never any expectation that that choir would sing choral settings of the canticles.

The Bathonians I refer to are people I meet through singing in choirs. Actually quite a few non-Bathonians I've met that way say the same thing too.

Anyway I can stop saying that there's no role for women in the music at the Abbey and I'm glad to hear the chamber choir's got off the ground. Clearly there was a gap there waiting to be filled. What sort of repertoire does it sing? Would it appeal to (say) someone who'd had a choral award at university a few years previously? If you're in touch with the relevant people at the Abbey, could you get them to put something about it on the Abbey website? I can't find anything about it in the section about music, or in 'Latest News', or any reference to it under that name in 'Abbey News' emails although most churches would shout out the news that they were starting up a new choir.

[mopsus]

How is the chamber choir doing? I can find no reference to it since Christmas 2016 online under that name, even on Bath Abbey's website, nor has it ever been mentioned in the email bulletins I get from the Abbey. What a pity to set something up and then not promote it.

I'd be interested to hear weston752's views on the recent dropping of Matins (which unlike in many places was well attended) from the Abbey's services, too.