CE Wells Cathedral Wed, 25th Sept 2019 [A]

[Vox Humana]

Since we aren't on the subject, I was at CE at Hereford yesterday. The choir was comprised of 8 boys, and 4 each Alto, tenor and Bass I think, some of whom looked quite young.

How was the balance? I would imagine that those numbers would produce a very acceptable one (making a few assumptions about the singers, of course). One bugbear I have with modern cathedral/collegiate choirs is that the top line is often over-prominent. NCO was a particular offender, but far from the only one. I almost hesitate to mention this because I certainly wouldn't want to campaign for any reduction in treble numbers and I also know that it's not always easy to recruit the required level of competence to the back rows - let alone the funding issue. But, purely musically, a strongly top-heavy texture surely isn't ideal.

[teamsaint]

How was the balance? I would imagine that those numbers would produce a very acceptable one (making a few assumptions about the singers, of course). One bugbear I have with modern cathedral/collegiate choirs is that the top line is often over-prominent. NCO was a particular offender, but far from the only one. I almost hesitate to mention this because I certainly wouldn't want to campaign for any reduction in treble numbers and I also know that it's not always easy to recruit the required level of competence to the back rows - let alone the funding issue. But, purely musically, a strongly top-heavy texture surely isn't ideal.

The balance seemed fine actually, although as I say, some of the back row looked young, possibly sixth formers (?) , which would have helped keep a decent balance.occasionally the organ seemed a little heavy, but we were in the nave, and it may have sounded fine elsewhere.

Interesting style from the DoM, who seems to like a good flow to everything they do.

[sturkel]

To continue off topic, business took me to Cornwall last week so I was able to attend three consecutive evensongs at Truro between Wed & Fri, the boys and adults singing on Wednesday & Friday either side of a splendid evensong by the combined choirs of Truro School & Wellington School, Somerset, who sang Byrd Second Service and Monteverdi's 'Beatus Vir' as the anthem, complete with string trio and chamber organ.

The cathedral choir (11 trebles, 12 adults - at least two boys apparently off ill. One of the lay-clerks is currently sporting a mohawk!) sang Howells 'Coll Reg' & Stanford 'Justorem anywhere' on Wednesday, Purcell in G minor and Dering 'Factus est silentium' on Friday, plus a setting of the responses by Gabriel Jackson. The chamber organ made another appearance on Friday for the Purcell.

All directed by the indefatigable Christopher Grey, who is busy training up both a new Assistant and a new Organ Scholar. Both appear to be fine players.

I've listened to Truro on CD and broadcast evensongs over the last few years and always been impressed, so I was keen to hear them in the flesh.

To be honest, I was simply blown away by the sheer musicality of the singing, and the well nigh perfect ensemble and tuning and balance. The psalmody was flawless and the Jackson responses beautifully judged. Absolutely stunning. I only wish I lived closer so I could hear them much more often.

I've yet to hear the girls except as part of the combined choirs last Thursday (I must revisit to hear them), but I see that Truro have a new CD just out, featuring the music of Dobrinka Tabakova, who was their 'composer in residence' for the girls choir for a while, and which seems to be garnering rave reviews.

[ardcarp]

Truro also has (IMVHO) an absolutely splendid acoustic in the choirstalls for singers...unlike Exeter where your voice disappears into thin air.

[DracoM]

Truro has a habit of chipping in with jewels!

[Resurgam]

Wed, 3rd August 2016 Chich Cath for Southern Caths Fest - indeed girls were front line.

It seems to me that the provincial cathedrals are increasingly treating CE as one of their special services ( eg Christmas and Easter ) for which they like to use combined boys and girls on the top line even choirs with first rate boys and men like Winchester and Truro.

Personally, although I support girls singing in cathedrals, I don't like to see the status of the boys diminished in this way after years of an all male tradition.

A certain amount of choir politics and general political correctness is involved I would imagine but I think Deans and Chapters and DOMs should be careful if they are still genuinely serious about attracting boys to sing in their choirs.

[DracoM]

Maybe a case of a choir or no choir?

[mw963]

@ Resurgam (lovely name, makes me think of one of my favourite organ works by Harvey Grace).

You've hit the nail on the head as far as I'm concerned. I've said it before in a similar way, we rarely have the opportunity these days to dip in to an "ordinary cathedral evensong" in the way that we did - with happy regularity - twenty years ago.

I know I'm treading on thin ice here, but I can certainly remember assurances that were given at the time by advocates of the introduction of girl choirs that the boys would in no way be diminished, AND that in many places the choirs would be kept separate for almost all of the time, apart from odd special occasions. As so often happens in these circumstances, it turns out that the assurances were worth nothing.....

Don't get me wrong, like you I support "girls singing in cathedrals", but the worries that many people had twenty-five years ago were well-founded and were poo-poo'd, which is a great shame.

I see we have another relatively recent Archive (so called) repeat next week. Although I enjoyed the Wells broadcast, I continue to think that it wasn't one that should have floated to the top as a choice for an archive repeat, and most certainly shouldn't have been repeated the following Sunday. Why the heck can't we have a different Archive for the Sunday repeat if the BBC are so keen to give us these recordings, it wouldn't cost much more to choose something else from their archive.

As I say, I don't think the Choral Evensong producers are doing a good day's work......

I wonder what Magnificat would have to say on the subject, whatever happened to that poster....?

[DracoM]

<< Why the heck can't we have a different Archive for the Sunday repeat if the BBC are so keen to give us these recordings, it wouldn't cost much more to choose something else from their archive. >>

Precisely.

[Triforium]

I wonder what Magnificat would have to say on the subject, whatever happened to that poster....?

I don't think he ever moved over to the for3.org boards after the demise of the old BBC boards. I recall that he identified himself in his last goodbye post.

[mw963]

I don't think he ever moved over to the for3.org boards after the demise of the old BBC boards. I recall that he identified himself in his last goodbye post.

I think he might have been on here because I don't think I was ever on the BBC boards. That said, I was going to have a quick look via the search for his last posts but the random question that the system asked me defeated me entirely, <<She doesn't fancy a run on a Sunday morning>>. I have no idea what the answer should be and neither does Google.

I thought Radio 3 was dumbed down but clearly this forum moves in either much higher or perhaps much lower circles than I do.

French Frank?

[Miles Coverdale]

He was certainly posting on here in 2016.