CE: St Paul’s Church, Knightsbridge, London 15.ii.23

[DracoM]

CE: St Paul’s Church, Knightsbridge, London

BBC Singers and brass of the BBC Concert Orchestra

Order of Service:

Introit: We Look for You (Reena Esmail)
Responses: Shephard
Psalm 59 (Shruthi Rajasekar, Kerensa Briggs)
First Lesson: Isaiah 52 v.13 – 53 v.6
Canticles: Salisbury Canticles (Owain Park)
Second Lesson: Romans 15: 14-21
Anthem: Hear my words, ye people (Parry, arr. Grayston Ives)
Hymn: The Day thou gavest, Lord, is ended (St. Clement, arr. Owain Park)

Voluntary: Marche Héroïque (Brewer, arr. Paul Walton)


Richard Gowers (Organist)
Owain Park (Conductor)

Recorded 3.ii.23

[Guest]

Another recording. I'm sure I'll find something useful to do instead of listening

[ardcarp]

Sounds like a CE Fest. The BBC obviously isn't obsessed with saving a penny or two as some have suggested.

[Vox Humana]

Why does a piece composed for organ need arranging for organ, or have I missed something?

[Subtuum]

Why does a piece composed for organ need arranging for organ, or have I missed something?

Cos it’s presumably been arranged for organ and brass.

[Vox Humana]

Cos it’s presumably been arranged for organ and brass.

Ah yes, of course. My brain cell is tired today.

[jonfan]

A new trend, not listening, is posted on a thread as an encouraging response to the musicians, clergy and engineers who’ve devoted their energies to delivering their best to us.

[Guest]

A new trend, not listening, is posted on a thread as an encouraging response to the musicians, clergy and engineers who’ve devoted their energies to delivering their best to us.

Their best "performance". If there's a mistake, they can retake

I want to eavesdrop on worship actually taking place.

[jonfan]

Their best "performance". If there's a mistake, they can retake

I want to eavesdrop on worship actually taking place.

I understand that but I was questioning mentioning the fact on each thread that relates to a recorded service.
Retakes very, very seldom occur as it’s recorded as live.

[ardcarp]

Yes, I think jonfan is correct; CE's are recorded as live.

[mw963]

I've more or less stopped posting here as it's often so argumentative, but it also goes hand in hand with my having stopped listening to CE. Why? Because - here we are, half way through February - and we have yet to have a Cathedral relay in 2023.

And the few Cathedral broadcasts we get almost always seem to be "Festivals", often with mixed top lines (which for me is the worst of all worlds, I'm fine with one choir or the other when there are two), and far far away from an "eavesdropped wet-Thursday-afternoon Evensong", as it's often described here.

I'm also getting a bit fed up with the apologists for the BBC on here, constantly looking for excuses for what to me looks like a gradual trashing of what I understand by the idea of a radio Choral Evensong. Oh, and the BBC staff of course do actually get paid fairly well (which wasn't the case thirty years ago).

I have less of a problem with the idea of recording CEs, as has been stated it's vanishingly rare for retakes to be done, but like S H Otley the end result is the same for me - another listener who has given up, and who - in spite of not finding the medium so easy - is trying to get into the habit of going to cathedrals via their webcasts.

[jonfan]

Good to hear from you mw963, do keep in touch. Argument is the lifeblood of these posts and the richer for it. The standard of singing in CEs is staggeringly high and I would suggest greater than anytime in broadcast history. CE is more than aiming to programme Cathedrals; the schedule has so much diversity now and the better for it. Stick at searching webcasts, perhaps the best are those from Oxbridge colleges. I recommend investigating in that area, many are kept available for quite a long time.

[ardcarp]

mixed top lines (which for me is the worst of all worlds, I'm fine with one choir or the other when there are two),

Yes, good to know you're still around, mw. Do please keep contributing. Indeed there are arguments and arguments, and in my world-beating attempt to use the word 'argument' most often in one sentence, arguments which are sensible differences of opinion are fine, whereas arguments that turn nasty or abusive are not welcome arguments.

I think we may both be West Country based mw (though I'm only guessing). Mrs A and I went to CE at Exeter Cathedral on Sunday when the choir school was on half-term holiday. The 'cathedral consort' sang the service. It consisted of 6 of the lay clerks and two paid sopranos, disposed as Dec and Can. Much of the music was more than 4-part (eg a fauxbbourdon Mag and Holst's Nunc). The sound was glorious, the two sops being absolutely 'straight'. I certainly wouldn't want to be without our traditional kids-based choirs, but having both sorts is is an added bonus.

Sorry, this post has nothing to do with broadcasting, except what we heard was of broadcastable quality. (Digression seems to be my obsession.....)

[DracoM]

<<Good to hear from you mw963, do keep in touch>>

[DracoM]

Ahem..........this CE / concert ..........erm........reminder. Today @ 4 p.m.