CE Bolton Parish Church [R] Wed, 23rd Nov 2022

[DracoM]

CE Bolton Parish Church [R]
HeartEdge Manchester Choral Scholars


Order of Service:


Introit: King of glory, king of peace (Grayston Ives)
Responses: Radcliffe
Psalms 114, 115 (Tonus Peregrinus, Knight)
First Lesson: Jeremiah 31:1-9
Office hymn: All praise to thee, for thou, O King Divine (Engelberg)
Canticles: Brewer in D
Second Lesson: Matthew 15: 21-31
Anthem: Let all the world (Vaughan Williams)
Prayer Anthem: Round me falls the night (Annabel Rooney)
Hymn: Rejoice the Lord is King (Gopsal)

Voluntary: Paean (Leighton)

Polina Sosnina (Organist)
Andrew Earis (Director of Music)

Recorded 5 November

[DracoM]

Reminder: today @ 4 p.m.

[Peanut]

No doubt last week's CE live broadcast from Wabbey will have taken an above average chunk of the CE budget. And so this week we get yet another (cheap) contrived-for-radio broadcast sung by a small, enthusiastic band of people who are, no doubt, pleased to be on the radio. Whilst the singing was okay - if generally under-the-note from the sops and with some ensemble issues between the front and back rows - for me it came over as a 'performance' (with suitable programme notes from the clergy!) rather than something in the blood of the contributors.

Too often now, far from this R3 slot celebrating this country's great, ongoing daily tradition of choral evensong (and choral vespers) which has inspired so many around the world - particularly in the US - I feel I'm being sold a BBC-contrived soulless fake - a cheap knock-off - pollock instead of cod - cut glass rather than diamonds. Oh for those days when each week we eavesdropped on yet another beautiful atmospheric service which, whether the BBC was there or not, would have been happening.

[ardcarp]

Oh for those days when each week we eavesdropped on yet another beautiful atmospheric service which, whether the BBC was there or not......,

I guess many of us feel that though try not to say it! On the plus side.....

The HeartEdge Manchester Choral Scholarships 2022-23 are a programme of stimulating and educative choral training, working across churches in the Diocese of Manchester with the music team from St Martin-in-the-Fields, London. The scheme is aimed at choral singers wishing to embark on a professional career in singing. The Choral Scholarships provide an opportunity for nine singers to enjoy an intensive, focused period of development alongside others of a similar standard and interests whilst building on a tradition of musical excellence in churches in the city centre and beyond.

....this gives 'choral scholar' type opportunities to those who may not otherwise have it.

The music sounded generally rushed, always pushing forward, even in the hymns. I just wish they'd relaxed into it a bit. After all they had time to spare! Good for them doing it, but more attention to musical phrasing would have gone a long way. I don't think Bolton acoustics helped.

[Alison]

Must admit I rather enjoyed this relay. I’d want to encourage the novice singers if such they were.

The ‘performance’ aspect mentioned above wasn’t apparent to me.

[Simon Biazeck]

Must admit I rather enjoyed this relay. I’d want to encourage the novice singers if such they were.

The ‘performance’ aspect mentioned above wasn’t apparent to me.

[jonfan]

Excellent CE with confident singing and good soloists. The acoustics gave a rich bloom to the sound to my ears. I look forward to hearing this group again, perhaps from another northern church. A much to be welcomed sponsorship from St Martin’s, obviously bearing fruit.

[DracoM]

[northernorganis]

I think this is a rather unfair comment about an enterprising group of choral scholars who sing services weekly and do much for choral outreach in the Manchester Diocese. Surely innovations such as this are to be encouraged if choral music is to continue to flourish in our country? (Please read the HeartEdge website to find out more about this scheme in general!) Of course, Cathedrals and collegiate chapels are the life blood of choral evensong and must be represented, but the efforts of other groups should not be knocked. Perhaps if anything should be criticised it would be the incredibly close miking of the singers - and the lack of good ambient microphones.

No doubt last week's CE live broadcast from Wabbey will have taken an above average chunk of the CE budget. And so this week we get yet another (cheap) contrived-for-radio broadcast sung by a small, enthusiastic band of people who are, no doubt, pleased to be on the radio. Whilst the singing was okay - if generally under-the-note from the sops and with some ensemble issues between the front and back rows - for me it came over as a 'performance' (with suitable programme notes from the clergy!) rather than something in the blood of the contributors.

Too often now, far from this R3 slot celebrating this country's great, ongoing daily tradition of choral evensong (and choral vespers) which has inspired so many around the world - particularly in the US - I feel I'm being sold a BBC-contrived soulless fake - a cheap knock-off - pollock instead of cod - cut glass rather than diamonds. Oh for those days when each week we eavesdropped on yet another beautiful atmospheric service which, whether the BBC was there or not, would have been happening.

[ardcarp]

Perhaps if anything should be criticised it would be the incredibly close miking of the singers - and the lack of good ambient microphones.

I think that was the essence of my (prpbably misguided) comment about the acoustics of the church. The balance seemed all wrong.