St Thomas Fifth Avenue NYC

[DracoM]

Over this weekend, the choir have sung a terrific Britten Missa Brevis, Leighton canticles, and the finest performance of James MacMillan's 'A New Song' I have ever heard.

And for organ buffs, listen to the storming voluntary after Evensong - a piece by Aaron Travers given fearful stick! Wonderful!!

All this is available online.

[DracoM]

Ref above:
The choir of St Thomas sang a lunchtime concert in Trinity Church NYC last Friday, which included the Britten Missa Brevis
As usual, for a mid-town, lunchtime business audience there are of course a selection of lollipops around it. What struck me listening to them is how pleasant on the ear they are when sung as 'straight' and honestly as this. The Britten is IMO exquisitely done.

Here is the reference:

http://www.trinitywallstreet.org/webcasts/videos/music-arts/concerts-at-one/concerts-at-one-the-choristers-of-st-thomas-church-fifth-avenue

[decantor]

Many thanks for the above link, Draco. They make it sound so darned easy, don't they? Yet every phrase is carefully shaped, every consonant placed just so........ makes even a lollipop taste good. I normally prefer trebles perched on the shoulders of lower voices, but that 50 mins was well worthwhile.

[ardcarp]

...and a v.g. female organ accompanist.

[DracoM]

Many thanks for the above link, Draco. They make it sound so darned easy, don't they? Yet every phrase is carefully shaped, every consonant placed just so........ makes even a lollipop taste good. I normally prefer trebles perched on the shoulders of lower voices, but that 50 mins was well worthwhile.

Making it sound easy - exactly. But the finesse, the sure-footed navigation through it was impressive - those pointilliste repeated sotto voce staccatos in 'miserere nobis' - effortless and smack in rhythm. Sorry, rabbiting on. It was lovely.

[decantor]

Making it sound easy - exactly. But the finesse, the sure-footed navigation through it was impressive - those pointilliste repeated sotto voce staccatos in 'miserere nobis' - effortless and smack in rhythm. Sorry, rabbiting on. It was lovely.

But why not rabbit on before the trolls hit us with their witticisms and ironies? After all, St Thomas's boys sing in accordance with the English tradition, and yet they are almost unique in their continent of 350 million, whereas our 60 million can match them several times over (as can Germany, perhaps, but nowhere else). Then again, St Thomas's evince so many of the virtues of boys' liturgical singing: a high degree of technical virtuosity once properly trained, a deep dispassion that the listener easily interprets as the innocent passion of youth, a full peal at climaxes that is quite distinct from the female equivalent, nuances that arise from premature musical understanding, an attack and commitment that sits perfectly with their customary repertoire.... and so on. Nobody would suggest that trebles can outplay sopranos, but, on their home turf, they do have a unique resonance.

I enjoyed seeing - rather than just hearing - the St Thomas choristers because it revealed the similarities with their English counterparts. The front row - well, most of them - yawned their way through this concert: they did what they'd been taught to do, but their faces showed only rare flickers of interest. Yet the result belied the visual evidence: their concentration was awesome, and the music never faltered. I liked the way John Scott signalled his approval to his singers - there is clearly a symbiosis that contributes to the creative force.

Yes, ardcarp, the Lady Organist was a cracker. But she failed my ultimate test: in the fifth-last bar of the Britten Agnus there is an organ chord (A mi, with a high G# added for fun) marked ff; why do so many organists dib out of giving this chord full welly? But yes, the lady gauged her input very well.

[bach736]

Yes, ardcarp, the Lady Organist was a cracker.]

Being a bit sexist, aren't we? Do we talk about Men Organists? Does this Lady have a name?
Yes, she does : Renée Anne Louprette.

[Magnificat]

After all, St Thomas's boys sing in accordance with the English tradition, and yet they are almost unique in their continent of 350 million,

decantor,

STNY is also unique in that it is the wealthiest parish church church in the Anglican Communion.

I was told by someone who visited recently that their collection plates on a Sunday contain not just cash and their equivalent of Gift Aid envelopes but also stocks and shares certificates - definitely unique I would say!!

VCC.

[DracoM]

At this time of year, ST NYC is doing its 'Every Member Canvas', an appeal made on the basis of tithing. Around this time, such a sight in collections is NOT unusual since that is the way some members pledge part of their income to the church.

Get your facts right, VCC.

[Magnificat]

At this time of year, ST NYC is doing its 'Every Member Canvas', an appeal made on the basis of tithing. Around this time, such a sight in collections is NOT unusual since that is the way some members pledge part of their income to the church.

Get your facts right, VCC.

Draco,

As I said the wealthiest parish church in the Anglican Communion.

VCC

[DracoM]

Are you privy to their accounts? Or, more to the point, are you privy to the accounts of all other parish churches in the Anglican Communion so you can compare them?

[Triforium]

Draco,

As I said the wealthiest parish church in the Anglican Communion.

VCC

I think you'll find the winner here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity...28Manhattan%29 The corporation owns the land beneath much of Wall Street, controls over 6 million square feet of commercial real estate in Manhattan, and owns most of Tribeca.

[Simon]

Being a bit sexist, aren't we? Do we talk about Men Organists? Does this Lady have a name?
Yes, she does : Renée Anne Louprette.

There have, historically, and often for good natural reasons, been tendencies for males and females to gravitate to different work and roles in society. Most cathedral organists have been, and still are, male. Therefore to mention the slightly unusual fact that this was a lady is hardly sexist, but merely a statement of fact and clarification. Unless one has a particular chip one one's shoulder, which, of course, some people do.

[terratogen]

There have, historically, and often for good natural reasons, been tendencies for males and females to gravitate to different work and roles in society. Most cathedral organists have been, and still are, male.

(That natural gravitation has nothing, I'm sure, to do with the absence until quite recently of girls in cathedral choirs and in choir schools, where I imagine young organists tend to have their roots.)

Thanks, DracoM, for the link to the video from Trinity. I never would have stumbled across it, and I would have sorely missed out. How wonderful to hear the St Thomas choristers on such fine form.

At a St Thomas Lessons and Carols a year or two ago, I had the displeasure of sitting in front of a parishioner who, from the moment he sat down to the first (excellent) notes of 'Once in Royal David's City,' complained bitterly about how the choristers just didn't care about their work; how they were lazy and not too bright; how they simply weren't making the sound they should have made; how the men were forced to make up for the shoddy trebles; how poor John Scott probably couldn't wait for the year to end and likely wished he'd never left St Paul's. Et cetera. Et cetera.

I don't have an expert ear by any means, but I didn't hear anything half that dire then and certainly didn't hear it in the recording of this concert. I love the sound that John Scott cultivates in his choristers and am pleased to hear that it translated well to a space that wasn't 'home' for the singers. Also enjoyed being able to hear the differences between the more mature voices and the younger ones. (Both lovely.) As per videos of their most recent tour, St Thomas has (or had, at any rate) some truly stellar soloists, and it seemed to me that they've become real leaders in the front row's back row. Well done, all!

[bach736]

Most cathedral organists have been, and still are, male.

Welcome to the 21st century, Simon, where gender is an irrelevance.
You wouldn't refer to Marie-Claire Alain, Gillian Weir, Katherine Dienes, Sarah Baldock as 'the Lady organist' so why so distinguished a musician as Renée Anne Louprette, who was introduced by name at the start of the concert?
It was simply rude and condescending.

Read the sentence 'The Man organist was a cracker.'
A bit weird, eh?