CE Guildford Cathedral [L] 8.iii.23

[DracoM]

CE Guildford Cathedral [L] 8.iii.23
International Women’s Day

Order of Service:

Introit: Prayer of St Francis of Assisi (Kamala Sankaram)
Responses: Cecilia McDowall
Psalms 41, 42, 43 (Katherine Dienes-Williams)
First Lesson: Job 1:1-22
Canticles: The Short Service (Judith Weir)
Second Lesson: Luke 21 v.34 – 22 v.6
Anthem: Emendemus in Melius (Brooke Shelley)
Hymn: I hunger and I thirst (Ibstone)

Voluntary: Gloriana (Priaulx Rainier)

Richard Moore (Sub-Organist)
Katherine Dienes-Williams (Organist and Master of the Choristers)

[DracoM]

Reminder: today @ 4 p.m............and it's LIVE!!

[Guest]

Reminder: today @ 4 p.m............and it's LIVE!!

And yet again, I won't be around to listen. Grrr!

[Simon Biazeck]

This is a superb choir – tuning, presentation of text, balance and detail. They really sold everything with heart and honesty and I say that not being particularly taken with much of the repertoire. (I am not saying it was bad - just not to my taste.) I thought the introit was best and the chants effective. I liked the gritty organ voluntary very much. It reminded me a little of Malcolm Wiliamson’s ‘Fons amoris’.

~SBz

[DracoM]

[jonfan]

Also I too thought the opening introit and the psalms the highlights. The rest of the music was superbly delivered but hard work to listen to as the subtle harmonies came thick and fast; no nice major cadences to relieve the ear occasionally! The acoustic of the building beautifully caught.

[smittims]

I enjoyed the Rainier at theend, by some way the best music I heard all day on Radio 3 ( though given what they did play, that is not saying very much!)

Why they don't play more of her music must remain a mystery to me. Well doen whoever chose it; I don't know why she caled it 'Gloriana'. It had, needless to say , no connection with the more famous work of that title.

[ardcarp]

This is a superb choir – tuning, presentation of text, balance and detail. They really sold everything with heart and honesty

Agree! I liked the variety in the Psalms, eg some unison verses, some unacc and a good range of dynamics. Never drowned by the organ either. I enjoyed the Judith Weir canticles very much too,

(By co-incidence I've just been given Barry's (Barry Rose's) autobiography, 'Sitting on a Pin'. Enjoying it very much Quite a bit of 'insider information' to digest.)

[edashtav]

This is a superb choir – tuning, presentation of text, balance and detail. They really sold everything with heart and honesty and I say that not being particularly taken with much of the repertoire. (I am not saying it was bad - just not to my taste.) I thought the introit was best and the chants effective. I liked the gritty organ voluntary very much. It reminded me a little of Malcolm Wiliamson’s ‘Fons amoris’.

~SBz

A fine review, Simon, thank you.

I like your comparison between Priaulx’s Gloriana and Malcolm’s Fons Amoris. Although both works owed a debt to Olivier Messaien, each is well wrought and, in Rainier’s case, her piece is too good to receive its first broadcast performance over 50 years after it was penned. She wrote one other organ work …

[Simon Biazeck]

A fine review, Simon, thank you.

I like your comparison between Priaulx’s Gloriana and Malcolm’s Fons Amoris. Although both works owed a debt to Olivier Messaien, each is well wrought and, in Rainier’s case, her piece is too good to receive its first broadcast performance over 50 years after it was penned. She wrote one other organ work …

Thank you! Yes, I immediately thought of Messiaen too. Malcolm was put out not be accepted for study with him but he went on to find and develop his own 'serious' style alongside the lighter stuff. I had only heard some of the songs Rainier wrote for Peter Pears. Unworthy neglect but a worthy discovery on International Women's Day. Hurrah!

~SBz.

[Simon Biazeck]

Agree! I liked the variety in the Psalms, eg some unison verses, some unacc and a good range of dynamics. Never drowned by the organ either. I enjoyed the Judith Weir canticles very much too,

(By co-incidence I've just been given Barry's (Barry Rose's) autobiography, 'Sitting on a Pin'. Enjoying it very much Quite a bit of 'insider information' to digest.)

[smittims]

I must say I wasn't reminded of Messiaen in 'Gloriana', though I did think of Williamson: his two epitaphs for Edith Sitwell, once memorably recorded by Allan Wicks on a splendid EMI series of recordings of British cathedral organs.

[cat]

They were on Sunday Worship on R4 this morning, recorded the day before the live CE broadcast. Worth catching up with if you missed it.