CE Collegiate Church of St Mary, Warwick [R] Wed, 29th Dec 2021

[DracoM]

CE Collegiate Church of St Mary, Warwick [R] Wed, 29th Dec 2021
Recorded 21st September 2021.


Order of Service:


Introit: Gaudete! (Trad., arr. Luke Fitzgerald)
Responses: Rose
Office hymn: Of the Father’s heart begotten (Divinum Mysterium, arr.Willcocks)
Psalms 131, 132 (Lloyd, Howells, Edwards)
First Lesson: Isaiah 57: 15-21
Magnificat octavi toni (Bevan)
Second Lesson: John 1: 1-18
Nunc dimittis (Holst)
Anthem: A babe is born (Mathias)
Hymn: O come, all ye faithful (Adeste fideles)

Voluntary: Fantaisie No 1 in E flat major (Saint-Saëns)

Mark Swinton (Assistant Director of Music)
Oliver Hancock (Director of Music)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0012rrs

[ardcarp]

I always enjoy the Holst Nunc Dimittis when it crops up.

[DracoM]

Reminder: today @ 4 p.m.

[ardcarp]

How good to have a CE broadcast (albeit recorded) from a Parish Church with a kids' top line. It was characterised by terrific spirit and and a sense of communal enthusiasm. So well done Warwick. Fascinating descant to O Come All Ye Faithful. Sort of Willcocks with knobs on.

[oddoneout]

How good to have a CE broadcast (albeit recorded) from a Parish Church with a kids' top line. It was characterised by terrific spirit and and a sense of communal enthusiasm. So well done Warwick. Fascinating descant to O Come All Ye Faithful. Sort of Willcocks with knobs on.

I thought it was splendid, such energy and commitment. A few rough edges but that just added to it in some respects. I'm afraid I must disagree about the descant ardcarp - Willcocks but with a couple of the knobs knocked off and put back crooked. The choir I sing with has done it and no-one liked it - there were a couple comments from the audience along the lines of "did you get that wrong".

[jonfan]

How good to have a CE broadcast (albeit recorded) from a Parish Church with a kids' top line. It was characterised by terrific spirit and and a sense of communal enthusiasm. So well done Warwick. Fascinating descant to O Come All Ye Faithful. Sort of Willcocks with knobs on.

Absolutely, superb. The engineering placed the choir a liittle far off for clarity at times. A fun voluntary.

[ardcarp]

I'm afraid I must disagree about the descant ardcarp - Willcocks but with a couple of the knobs knocked off and put back crooked.

I'm happy to concur with that description! (Just hope stuff in Carols for Choirs Bk1 isn't subject to copyright rules.)

[haldeman]

Great stuff. I don’t remember the Bevan having those organ interpolations. Were they by the organist?

[Tiddles]

Just a little history to explain the descants. Being a town based choir a lot of ex choristers come back to visit family and friends over Christmas and they like to join in with the Willcocks descants. When Oliver joined us he wanted to write new descants, so, not to upset the ex choristers his descants fitted round Willcocks. So both could be sung at once. Thanks for the positive comments. The back row had not sung with the choristers since Christmas Day 2020 until 3 weeks before the live broadcast and this recording, because of the virus and the amateur choir ruling.

[jonfan]

I’m sure it’s fine to adjust copyright material to suit your own choir in the privacy of your own church, but it’s not fine when it’s a broadcast, unless permission has been sanctioned.

[ardcarp]

his descants fitted round Willcocks. So both could be sung at once.

Thanks for explaining, Tiddles.

A novel idea...a descant to a descant. Why not some triple or even quintuple descants???

[oddoneout]

Thanks for explaining, Tiddles.

A novel idea...a descant to a descant. Why not some triple or even quintuple descants???

For all the choir voice parts - so the congregation would have to step up and sing the melody line...
Slightly different - going sideways from that - reminds me of the superimposing of one song over another - my son at primary school did one involving Long way to Tipperary with I think Pack up your troubles - which left the audience a bit muddled when they were trying to join in.

[ardcarp]

Yes, I think that's a well-known one. You just have to allow for the 'It's a' upbeat before singing 'Pack'.

[Vox Humana]

For all the choir voice parts - so the congregation would have to step up and sing the melody line.

Many decades ago I did that with Neander. Last verse harmony for the organ (with the tune on a left-hand reed stop), harmonised descant for the choir with the congregation left to hold the tune.

Slightly different - going sideways from that - reminds me of the superimposing of one song over another - my son at primary school did one involving Long way to Tipperary with I think Pack up your troubles - which left the audience a bit muddled when they were trying to join in.

It's possible to sing Three blind mice, Frère Jacques and Sumer is icumen in at the same time if you don't mind a few consecutive unisons/octaves. You can almost get away with adding Good King Wenceslas too. But, for that sort of thing, it would be hard to beat the good old Radio 4 UK theme. That always used to brighten up an early morning and it was a sad day when it was discontinued.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Many decades ago I did that with Neander. Last verse harmony for the organ (with the tune on a left-hand reed stop), harmonised descant for the choir with the congregation left to hold the tune.


It's possible to sing Three blind mice, Frère Jacques and Sumer is icumen in at the same time if you don't mind a few consecutive unisons/octaves. You can almost get away with adding Good King Wenceslas too. But, for that sort of thing, it would be hard to beat the good old Radio 4 UK theme. That always used to brighten up an early morning and it was a sad day when it was discontinued.

Would God Save The Queen make a fifth ?