CE Salisbury Cathedral Wed, 27th March 2019 [L]

[DracoM]

CE Salisbury Cathedral


Order of Service:


Introit: Remember not, Lord, our offences (Purcell)
Responses: Tomkins
Psalms 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131 (Cutler, Goss, Goss, Jones, Walford Davies, Rogers)
First Lesson: Genesis 9: 8-17
Office hymn: Drop, drop, slow tears (Song 46)
Canticles: Second Service (Gibbons)
Second Lesson: 1 Peter 3: 18-22
Anthem: Let mine eyes run down with tears (Purcell)
Hymn: God moves in a mysterious way (London New)

Voluntary: Fantasia in A minor (Byrd)

John Challenger (Assistant Director of Music)
David Halls (Director of Music)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0003rsv

[ardcarp]

It's been good to have a succession of live broadcasts...and now another.

[Y Mab Afradlon]

Make the most of it, presumably the late Easter and school holidays explain the next two are from the archives.

[DracoM]

Good heavens, you mean choristers are allowed to actually go HOME?

[DracoM]

Reminder: today @ 3.30 p.m.

[jonfan]

Looking forward to this. One of my treasured recordings is of the first CE, on the theme of the Annunciation, sung by the girl choristers of Salisbury almost 26 years ago to the day. The great Richard Seal was DOM and a very young David Halls playing the organ (he must have been in short trousers).

[mopsus]

I also have a treasured recording of a broadcast from this cathedral, from the 1990s, also of these canticles and a Purcell anthem (Jehovah), and the Lloyd 2nd set of responses. It would be hard to find a combination of pieces I love more.

[ardcarp]

I thought the top line sounded great. And the Salisbury choir as a whole has a unique sound as it (usually) only has 6 lay vicars, so on each side it's either liberating or scary being the only person on the job. I only heard it on a car radio. Did they Dec and Can the unaccompanied psalms? I couldn't tell, but will LA. Good to have another live broadcast...though I gather we're in for some 'archives'. Strange that the precentor should stumble over his words. Surely he must sing them every day?

[Slammer]

They did Dec and Can.

[DracoM]

Largely Dec and Can for Psalms - plus variations!! Tiny forces which made so much very clear. Sounded like girls and boys together?
Deeply testing Purcell settings: almost every member must have had a solo of sorts - partic the back row.

Purcell always sounds spiritually reflective for the congregation but I bet for a choir, there must be a few - if not more than a few - quakings, even for the most pro. Nowhere to hide - intonation, vocal range, integration in solo groups all under serious scrutiny, concentration - partic with a relative small ensemble like this.

Intimate service. Refreshing on such a momentous day for our national life!!

[teamsaint]

Good heavens, you mean choristers are allowed to actually go HOME?

Sunday at Salisbury in the early 70’s.

8.45 / 9.00 to 9.45 full rehearsal.
10.00 to 11.00 sung Eucharist.
11.30 to 12.00 Sung Matins, Choristers leave part way through.
2.30 to 2.50 full rehearsal
3.00 to 3.45 /4.00 evensong.
7.00 to 7.20 school compline.

We played football at every available spare moment. And there weren’ t many...

[jonfan]

Yes Mr A, Dec and Can in the unaccompanied psalms and how beautiful they sounded with calm, assured declamation, enjoying the harmonic richness of each new chant. Fortunate this year to have heard this wonderful sequence of psalms twice in close succession, New Holloway singing them on 27 February.
The Canticles and Anthem were pure joy with superb soloists. It seemed we had dropped in on a Restoration Evensong, complete with earnest prayers for wisdom for parliamentary representatives!
As Mr A stated above, nowhere to hide, but they didn’t need it. The quite close balance allowed enjoyment of the felicitous intricacies of the Gibbons and Purcell, perhaps at the expense of a feel of the bigger space of the cathedral.
A heavenly hour of feeling raised aloft nearer heaven, aided by the gentle presence of the chamber organ, but falling over itself in unabashed ecstasy in the Byrd Volutary, ace!

Some serious miscalculation that both hymns were lost but a small price to pay.

[Slammer]

It was the girls, with 3 on each side singing the verse. Great job!

[DracoM]

Praiseworthy.

[GregorZednik]

Strange that the precentor should stumble over his words. Surely he must sing them every day?

Salisbury doesn’t have a Precentor at the moment. The new Precentor will be installed after Easter. In the meantime, the other Canons (including the Dean) are filling in. This was the Canon Chancellor.