CE St Ann’s Church, Manchester [L] Wed, April 6th 2022

[Rolmill]

Wykeham Arms was great. Quite an 'old fashioned' feel to it...in a good way. The food was terrific...I think they have a quite well-known chef there.
As for CE, quality excellent if not the quantity. They sang a 'short service' by some Tudor or Jacobean composer...and it was very short! So short I've forgotten the details. It was almost as if everyone, choir+clergy, had an important meeting to attend. This isn't usual I'm sure.

Thanks - the Wykeham Arms is well reviewed and I'm looking forward to the trip (hope to take in Salisbury as well).

[ardcarp]

Right, that's me off into the quiet corner again for a few months.

Oh no mw. I've always enjoyed your posts. I've nothing against Bairstow...and indeed he's been a key figure because of his tenure at York, and not least for 'nurturing' the late, great Francis Jackson. I love, for instance I sat down under his shadow and Let all mortal flesh keep silence and admire his two sets of Evening canticles. A story (yes, groan if you will). Radio 4 Sunday Worship came live from Exeter University chapel ages ago, and the service began with Let all mortal flesh. I'd been drafted in because there was a tenor shortage. In fact when I turned up for the pre-broadcast run-through, there was only one other (student) tenor looking a bit ashen. So the opening, tenors only, was a tad nerve-wracking to say the least. And one's voice is never at its best at that time in the morning!

I try to keep a broad mind about different musical genres....but everyone has their faves and non-faves. There will no doubt be a sharp intake of breath if I say I'm also fed up with singing Mozart's Ave Verum. Fine piece. Genius composer. But the piece is a bit overdone IMVHO.

Please comment more often mw. We've been missing you a bit of late. I think The Choir adherents often have to endure a bit of rough-and-tumble. It's been more friendly in recent times, so please just go with the flow and remember there's nothing personal about people's remarks.

[mopsus]

<< Cathedral relays are now the exception rather than the rule >>
If so, then.....why so?

I wonder whether Cathedrals have found it takes longer to rebuild their choirs to broadcasting standard after the pandemic, although the trend you note was already evident before it. Perhaps someone more involved in cathedral music might comment.

As for the Bairstow 'Save us O Lord', it was a staple at St Ann's when I sang there; my records show that I sang it most years. (I realise it wasn't the resident choir of St Ann's in the broadcast.) As there are locals reading this forum, I'd be interested to know when some of the more recent changes to church music in the area took place. When did the Cathedral Voluntary choir - which was, uniquely, men and boys in the 1990s - change to using adult sopranos? (Or the choir of St George's Stockport?) When did St Ann's start doing non-BCP services?

[Keraulophone]

I wonder whether Cathedrals have found it takes longer to rebuild their choirs…

I am privileged to have witnessed at first hand the immense professionalism and selfless dedication of our music staff to preserve musical standards in our cathedral choir. So much was achieved by them via zoom and other imaginative means of engagement during lockdowns and thereafter, that the show has been kept on the road. Never forget that, even during the best of times, running a cathedral choir is a very precarious task. There are the ever-present issues of recruitment and financial security. Which is the greater priority: reslating a leaky Victorian roof or purchasing new music for the library? Many cathedrals do not benefit from being ancient foundations able to tap resources established long ago. Unlike Trinity College Cambridge, we don’t own the Port of Felixstowe!

As to standards, we were the first cathedral-type choir to record a CD for Gary Cole’s Regent Records after lockdown under conditions of social-distancing, with a photo in Gramophone to prove it! And now that so many churches, colleges and cathedrals live-stream their services, the worry about the possibility that the musical results might be less than perfection has thankfully dissipated. Members of the online ‘congregation’ taking part in live worship from their homes have benefitted hugely from this development. Although London pros may have negotiated extra fees for video-webcasting their services, most provincial foundations would not be able to consider additional funding for this, and as far as I can see, most musicians have been generous by not pursuing the issue in the knowledge that preserving the status quo is of the utmost importance.

[mopsus]

Truro is one of the Cathedrals which has broadcast recently. I wondered whether some others might have actually asked the BBC if they could wait before broadcasting live from there (much as has happened in September in past years).

[Finzi4ever]

Where/what on earth is the edifice depicted as the image for this broadcast of CE on BBC Sounds? It certainly isn't St Ann's, Manchester. BBC Radio 3 - Choral Evensong, St Ann's Church, Manchester

Absolutely no idea. Octagonal (?) tower not Ely, and there's a strange mixture of styles...the RH part being Rococo?
It does make you wonder what prompts the powers that be to post apparently unrelated pics up. Is it just "Ooh a religious programme. Must have some ecclesiatical-looking architecture".

[cat]

It's Valencia Cathedral. The formerly separate bell tower on the left was incorporated into the church by a later extension, hence the different styles.

I've no idea what the connection is to St Ann's. Presumably there isn't one.

[jonfan]

Thank you K for your brilliant summary of the achievements at Truro. I’ve dipped in many times to your services and witnessed the high standards that have been expected and maintained by the professional staff. You may not own your own port but what about some wind turbines on top of Bodmin Moor? This may not seem so flippant as it sounds as energy firms are raking it in at the moment and renewables are the future

[jonfan]

Oh no mw. I've always enjoyed your posts. I've nothing against Bairstow...and indeed he's been a key figure because of his tenure at York, and not least for 'nurturing' the late, great Francis Jackson. I love, for instance I sat down under his shadow and Let all mortal flesh keep silence and admire his two sets of Evening canticles. A story (yes, groan if you will). Radio 4 Sunday Worship came live from Exeter University chapel ages ago, and the service began with Let all mortal flesh. I'd been drafted in because there was a tenor shortage. In fact when I turned up for the pre-broadcast run-through, there was only one other (student) tenor looking a bit ashen. So the opening, tenors only, was a tad nerve-wracking to say the least. And one's voice is never at its best at that time in the morning!

I try to keep a broad mind about different musical genres....but everyone has their faves and non-faves. There will no doubt be a sharp intake of breath if I say I'm also fed up with singing Mozart's Ave Verum. Fine piece. Genius composer. But the piece is a bit overdone IMVHO.

Please comment more often mw. We've been missing you a bit of late. I think The Choir adherents often have to endure a bit of rough-and-tumble. It's been more friendly in recent times, so please just go with the flow and remember there's nothing personal about people's remarks.

Exactly.
We’ve crossed swords many times MW, (rubber ones) and it would be boring if everyone agreed all the time. Hope we can hear from you often in the future, it will be less interesting without you.

[Finzi4ever]

It's Valencia Cathedral. The formerly separate bell tower on the left was incorporated into the church by a later extension, hence the different styles.

I've no idea what the connection is to St Ann's. Presumably there isn't one.

Thanks, cat. I knew it wasn't UK. Even their bog-standard Boston pic is more relevant than a Spanish bell tower, however beautiful.

[Keraulophone]

You may not own your own port but what about some wind turbines on top of Bodmin Moor?

Unfortunately, the D&C don’t own any land atop the moor, though the ‘Cathedral of the Moors’ aka St Nonna’s, Altarnun might benefit from breezy wealth generation. (The church contains 79 interesting early C16th bench ends.). It gets windy enough on the main Victoria tower of the mother cathedral, but a wind turbine would disturb the peregrine falcons that sometimes nest there. An indication that they are in residence are the multiple pigeon heads on the lawn below.
.