CE Chapel of Merton College, Oxford 26th October 2011

[DracoM]

CE Chapel of Merton College



Order of Service:



Introit: O quam gloriosum (Victoria)
Responses: Smith
Psalm: 119: 145-176 (Murrill, Lang, Knight, Buck)
First Lesson: Baruch 5
Canticles: Howells in G
Second Lesson: Mark 1: 1-11
Anthem: Valiant for Truth (Vaughan Williams)
Hymn: When all thy mercies, O my God (Contemplation)


Organ Voluntary: Kyrie, Gott heiliger Geist BWV 671 (Bach)




Anna Steppler (Organ Scholar)
Benjamin Nicholas and Peter Phillips (Directors of Music)

[mercia]

forgive my ignorance, is Baruch a book in the Bible?

[DracoM]

Not in the Hebrew bible, but I'm fairly sure you'll find it in the Vulgate.

[DracoM]

Incidentally, for those perhaps unfamiliar, yes, that is THE Peter Phillips of Tallis Scholars fame.

[Magnificat]

Very good review in The Observer of their first recording " In The Beginning" which says that Phillips and Nicholas draw a very fresh and vibrato free sound from their young singers who seem particularly at home in new repertoire.

Howells in G and Valiant For Truth are two favourites of mine so I am looking forward to this broadcast.

I wonder how Peter Phillips and Ben Nicholas share the training and conducting in this set up?

VCC

[ardcarp]

Perhaps PP is just doing the Victoria.......

[Magnificat]

I did wonder!

VCC

[DracoM]

Just a reminder - 3.30 p.m. 26th Oct.

[DracoM]

Very dry acoustic, on the whole well chosen music, but the RVW felt a bit dusty in that acoustic. Still..........

Choir OK, maybe altos a bit weak, but routinely competent Oxbridge.

[Lizzie]

Not in the Hebrew bible, but I'm fairly sure you'll find it in the Vulgate.

It is in the Apocrypha I seem to recall from my studies. Bws. Liz

[mopsus]

I was present at this service. I was surprised at how much less resonant Merton Chapel sounded than it usually does. I think this must have been because the choir were moved from their usual stalls, to stand a little further westward so as to be nearer the organ. They were in a 'U' formation with the front row in front of the stalls.

Merton Chapel's acoustic comes out rather more favourably on Tallis Scholars' recordings (that was Peter Phillips' original connexion with the College). The organ is a problem and is scheduled for replacement in the near future subject to a faculty being granted. The current instrument was paid for by an old member who insisted it had to be designed to his own specification. It is not really powerful enough and co-ordination with a choir in the stalls is difficult. John Mark Ainsley once memorably said that it looked like a vanity unit!

[DracoM]

I know the chapel a bit: that layout must have made it a bit crowded in places?

I still wonder about the RVW in that acoustic with a choir that relatively small? Does't it need something a bit woomphier?

Mopsus: how did the service come over on site?

[ardcarp]

Having just LA-d, I agree with Draco that it was routinely competent Oxbridge. I didn't personally find any weakness in the altos...they just blended. In fact the blend was good, i.e. no overblown singing or over-prominent voices. However I felt the choir lacked a certain 'something'. Was it a sense of line? Was it a little romantic warmth in the pieces that needed it (e.g. Howells and VW)? I couldn't put my finger on it, but I don't think it could all be laid at the door of acoustics.

[Alison]

I really enjoyed this one, indeed nothing overblown and a gentle authority informing proceedings.

What a lovely rendition of the hymn: yes, that moved me to tears.

[orbis factor]

[QUOTE=Alison;95816]I really enjoyed this one, indeed nothing overblown and a gentle authority informing proceedings.

Me too. Ben Nicholas really knows how to get the best out of his singers.