Originally posted by decantor
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VCC
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I doubt that this will be a choir of boys and men like St Thomas. More than likely mixed boys and girls on the top line?
VCC -
VCC, that seems to be the usual mix from the times I have seen them on webcast. But who knows....special occasion??Comment
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Sounded like female voices to me...but, whatever, it was a warm sound which was well-suited to the repertoire they sang. The organ sounded uber-Romantic and was pretty apt for the Finzi. If spoken voices from across the pond do not always delight, there was certainly no problem with the singing voices. It's a pity it was a 'reading sandwich' with no liturgical shape, but that apart I enjoyed it.Comment
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< This hour-long program will be led by Cathedral Dean Samuel T. Lloyd III with music provided by the Cathedral Choir of Men and Girls under the direction of Canon Michael McCarthy, director of music >
From the Cathedral's own website.Comment
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I would say that the "girls" were young women really but they were very good I thought. The men were good.
I enjoyed the service and thought the homily was well preached for the occasion.
VCCComment
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Acoustic vaguely akin to Liverpool Anglican perhaps?
Decent balance much of the time. Very professional sounding. Individual strands quite nicely integrated, though naturally the very powerful soprano line dominated.
Durufle felt very, very slow to my ears. In fact quite a lot of the service felt very slow, even to the point where you occasionally felt that it just might grind to a halt - and that applied particularly for me to the Brahms at one point!
I'm afraid I found the music much of a muchness, but almost certainly it would have meant a great deal more to a specifically American audience?Comment
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[QUOTE]I'm afraid I found the music much of a muchness[/QUOTE ]
Yes, quite a lot of lugubrious stuff apart from (ILTL) but maybe that had to do with the sentiment (-ality) of the occasion.
Not often do you get blood-and-guts Bach these days. I suppose again it was chosen for the 'O God our help' motif...but really, it was scrambled by the acoustic and by the instrument.Comment
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Maybe, ardcarp, you 'had to be there'?
Well, St T NYC are back to full strength in time for their 9/11 service, so we shall see what we shall see.Comment
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Don't you mean 'hear what we shall hear'?Comment
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Well, did more or less nobody listen to this broadcast on Wednesday??Comment
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I listened. I always do. But ensuing comments are sometimes more revue than review. It makes one wary of contributing....Originally posted by DracoM View Post
I thought it was a very effective service - a music/reading sandwich, of course, but so is Advent from SJCC and Christmas Eve from KCC. It can work. The standard of singing was better than commendable, and the choice of music varied yet consistently appropriate, if rather bland in some cases. The theme may have been Hope & Healing, but an event such as 9/11 can hardly be commemorated with joyful optimism. I thought they got it right - or, to be honest, I was relieved that they did not descend into sentimentality. Even the homily was pitched in suitable terms.
Three points of detail. First, the Harvey anthem that is so dear to me (I first heard it in Winchester in the 70s): they started it half as fast again as Harvey marks in the score (crotchet = 72), but there was such rhythmic vitality and clarity of part-singing that it worked well; conversely, I thought the jagged soprano solo interjections lacked the required brilliance. Second, the full chorus throughout had something of the richness that boys bring to singing; if there were no boys, then the girls have proved their point. Third, the organ through my hi-fi system was pedal-predominant - the floor shook, and the crystal on my mantelpiece rattled as if to break: was this the engineering, or a freak of the acoustics, or just me?
Was this service really recorded in June? Why would the National Cathedral commemorate 9/11 so early - unless at the instigation of the Beeb?Comment
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It was 'girls', tho', as VCC hints, the interpretation of ages encapsulated in that might not bear too close an examination judging by earlier webcasts I have seen from the cathedral.
Sorry, I really can't agree about the 'variety' of music. The Harvey apart, which is not a favourite but I bow to closer knowledge from decantor on that, I am with ardcarp that it seemed one-paced and that IMO was slow and slower, and the music chosen appropriate for the US but tinged with more than a ladle full of the lugubrious.
BUT, but, but......... this felt very American, to commemorate a very American event, and actually, to an extent I just did not feel part of this service. Yes, I know 9/11 affected much of our lives, but unlike USA where this attack came like a rape, the UK has been off and on under bomb threats, terrorist alerts, terrorist awareness and restrictions of various sorts for the best part of my adult life. A kind of weary acceptance is part of our national consciousness. And maybe we do not 'commemorate' in quite the same terms? I don't know.Comment
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For those curious about the cathedral itself, here's a report on the earthquake damage:
Looks like chunks of masonry and carvings, mostly. Hopefully no structural damage. That would be unfair, being that the cathedral has only spent 21 years of its 104 year existence not under construction!Comment
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I listened on Wed,, but fell asleep halfway through! What I'd heard up till then I'd very much enjoyed, though. If I get time to LA I'll comment further.
bws to all
S-S!Comment
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Apparently the latest is that the crane that was being used for inspection has fallen over (fortunately not onto the cathedral itself), and most of the area is now cordoned off. See bellringing website, http://www.campanophile.co.uk (currently on front page, but will disappear after a few days)Comment
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