CE The Queen's Free Chapel of St George, Windsor Castle [A] 27.xi.19

[DracoM]

CE The Queen's Free Chapel of St George, Windsor Castle [A]
(first broadcast 19 November 1975)


Order of Service:


Introit: Holy is the true light (Harris)
Responses: Jason Smart
Psalms 96, 97 (Naylor, Goss)
First Lesson: Genesis 24: 1-27
Canticles: Stanford in A
Second Lesson: Mark 6: 7-13
Anthem: Sing we merrily unto God (Sidney Campbell)

John Porter (Organist)
Christopher Robinson (Director of Music)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000bnkk

[Pulcinella]

And the reason for this repeat from the archives is.........?

[DracoM]

Not a clue.
Money?

[subcontrabass]

And the reason for this repeat from the archives is.........?

Live broadcast scheduled for the following Sunday, so a "filler" was needed ???

[Y Mab Afradlon]

Why do we need a reason to listen to a brilliant choir led by an iconic Organist and Master of the Choristers and reminded of an Organist lost to our world far too soon and in such sad circumstance.? Looks like superb repertoire with strong Windsor links Harris, Jason Smart, who was Organ Scholar there 1969 - 1972 and his responses should be more widely sung. There's an interesting article here where he reflects on his time there. S S Campbell was also Organist and Master of the Choristers 1961–1974. So what's not to like.

[Pulcinella]

Live broadcast scheduled for the following Sunday, so a "filler" was needed ???

Fair comment!

Why do we need a reason to listen to a brilliant choir led by an iconic Organist and Master of the Choristers and reminded of an Organist lost to our world far too soon and in such sad circumstance.? Looks like superb repertoire with strong Windsor links Harris, Jason Smart, who was Organ Scholar there 1969 - 1972 and his responses should be more widely sung. There's an interesting article here where he reflects on his time there. S S Campbell was also Organist and Master of the Choristers 1961–1974. So what's not to like.

Well, maybe we don't, but all too often the choices seem completely arbitrary, sometimes not even related to the liturgical season, and very rarely with the 'correct' psalms for the day (there was a welcome exception to this recently, though!).

[Y Mab Afradlon]

Fair comment!


but all too often the choices seem completely arbitrary, sometimes not even related to the liturgical season, and very rarely with the 'correct' psalms for the day (there was a recent exception to this recently, though!).

I think there's a change in thinking as the archive library may be as you say unsustainable in terms of occasions. However, back in the day it was just a visit to an evensong .... etc. and not the travelogue and tenuous links that we have lately.

Incidentally on Barry Rose's Archive site on Youtube he often comments that the recording was the BBC Safety tape, therefore the BBC archives may not be as rich as we think.

If you look at the remaining broadcast there are two for December which were pre-recorded after visits to Rugby College and Exeter. There are already two in the can from St Albans and Keble for broadcast in the new year.

I've always thought that the Archive recordings are good in two ways. Firstly it gives the listener who wasn't around in those days the opportunity to listen to how choirs sang then and secondly how the broadcast has evolved in the interim 44 years. Recent archive broadcasts from Cathedrals within the past decade are presumably included because of availability and not as you say in the original comment for a specific liturgical reason.

It will be interesting to see how things develop in 2020 and the proportion of live to recorded broadcast. If the proportion is 50% that may mean that only 26 choirs get the opportunity to broadcast each year. I think the proportion is higher in recent years but don't want to be a statto to prove it.

[Wychwood]

Martin Handley indicated this morning that this archive CE is to be replaced by a recording of a service from KCC with Sir Stephen Cleobury. He didn't give further details, and as far as I can see, the R3 website has not been updated.

[DracoM]

Yes, according to Mr Shipton this p.m., JRR starts at 4.30 next Sunday, and not 4 p.m. next Sunday, so.............?

[Pulcinella]

Yes, according to Mr Shipton this p.m., JRR starts at 4.30 next Sunday, and not 4 p.m. next Sunday, so.............?

But that's because next Sunday is the Advent Service from St John's!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000btwt

The archive service is a Wednesday-only offering, as scb mentions in post #4.

[Wychwood]

Apologies if I didn't make this clear, but my post #8 referred to this coming Wednesday's CE, 27 November.

[DracoM]

Please note that this archived service is replaced by a service from KCC in memory of the late Stephen Cleobury.

[Resurgam]

Why do we need a reason to listen to a brilliant choir led by an iconic Organist and Master of the Choristers and reminded of an Organist lost to our world far too soon and in such sad circumstance.? Looks like superb repertoire with strong Windsor links Harris, Jason Smart, who was Organ Scholar there 1969 - 1972 and his responses should be more widely sung. There's an interesting article here where he reflects on his time there. S S Campbell was also Organist and Master of the Choristers 1961–1974. So what's not to like.

I often thought that St George's under Robinson never impressed like his choir at Worcester the boys sound was very thin I thought. Great choir at St John's Cambridge though where, I remember him saying in a broadcast interview, he was much happier.

I didn't object to the archive tribute to Stephen Cleobury which replaced the recording from Windsor but would have preferred a live broadcast by the current Windsor choir. There are far too many of these archive recordings in my opinion whatever the reason.

[Wolsey]

I often thought that St George's under Robinson never impressed like his choir at Worcester the boys sound was very thin I thought.

Judging from my four CDs of the Windsor choir under Dr Robinson (three on the Hyperion label - accompanied by a member of this forum) and from hearing them both in the quire and from the organ-loft, I would respectfully disagree. Chacun à son goût...

[Roger Judd]

It would have been particularly interesting to hear the 1975 Windsor choir. Christopher Robinson would have been in charge for only a few months by the time of the original broadcast. Sidney Campbell died in the summer of 1974, and CJR didn't arrive until early in 1975. Most regretably, Jason Smart's characterful Responses have now fallen out of use.
RJ