CE St Gabriel's Church, Pimlico, London Wed, 27th December 2017

[DracoM]

CE St Gabriel's Church, Pimlico, London Wed, 27th December 2017
The Rodolfus Choir.


Order of Service:


Introit: Bethlehem Down (Warlock)
Responses: Piccolo
Psalm 97 (Gauntlett)
First Lesson: Isaiah 6: 1-8
Office Hymn: Of the Father's heart begotten (Divinum mysterium)
Magnificat quinti toni (Praetorius)
Second Lesson: 1 John 5: 1-12
Nunc dimittis tertii toni (Victoria)
Anthem: Mater ora filium (Bax)
Hymn: Unto us is born a Son (Puer nobis nascitur)


Organ Voluntary: Noël Parisien, Op 26 No 4 (Quef)


Tom Winpenny (organist)
Ralph Allwood (conductor)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09k6hqb

NB: this is an un-live broadcast.

[Vox Humana]

I've a feeling I'm going to end up looking stupid for asking, but where does the name Rodolfus come from?

Nice selection of pieces here (and hymns too). I'm glad to see a voluntary by Quef. He's hardly well up the list of great composers, but I enjoy the stuff that's available on IMSLP. There's a slight, attractive quirkiness to his music. The only grey cloud for me here: I dislike pick-and-mix canticles. I prefer the integrity offered by a paired Mag and Nunc. That's my problem and not necessarily anyone else's, but isn't it the musical equivalent of having each of the lessons read in two different ways, e.g. either by different sexes, or one in a neutral, uninterpretative monotone and the other with vivid drama? I guess I like my choral services to be a coherent, over-arching oasis of other-worldliness rather than a series of vignettes. Chacun à son goût.

[Keraulophone]

To paraphrase Sir Thomas Beecham, ‘What stratosphere will they be singing the responses in?’

[fsharpminor]

'I've a feeling I'm going to end up looking stupid for asking, but where does the name Rodolfus come from?'

It's a latinised (?) version of Ralph - after the founder, Mr Allwood, as I understand it.

[ardcarp]

To paraphrase Sir Thomas Beecham, ‘What stratosphere will they be singing the responses in?’

Ho ho. They're one of my fave modern settings. The tour de force of this CE will be Bax's Mater Ora Filium. What's the percentage of live broadcasts in the past 10 weeks?

[Vox Humana]

'I've a feeling I'm going to end up looking stupid for asking, but where does the name Rodolfus come from?'

It's a latinised (?) version of Ralph - after the founder, Mr Allwood, as I understand it.

Thanks. I did wonder, but in England the form I have usually seen is Radolfus. I'm no classicist.

[DracoM]

Reminder: today @ 3.30 p.m.

[DracoM]

Hmm. Well...........I imagine they enjoyed singing it.

Rpt: Sunday, 31st Dec @ 3 p.m.

[ardcarp]

I think they did rather well...and certainly didn't hang about. I imagine a lot of rehearsal time went on the Bax and possibly Piccolo, hence the 'easy' canticles. The Bax is certainly an extraordinary piece; it begins in a deceptively straightforward way and as you turn each page it becomes increasingly complicated. I often wonder what was going on in Bax's head when he wrote it.

[DracoM]

Rpt this 3 p.m.