CE Winchester Cathedral 18th Jan 2012

[DracoM]

CE Winchester Cathedral



Order of Service:


Introit: Cradle Song (Richard Causton)
Responses: Clucas
Psalms: 93, 94 (Harris, Wesley)
First Lesson: 1 Kings 19: 9b-18
Canticles: Collegium Regale (John Tavener)
Second Lesson: Mark 9: 2-13
Anthem: The Three Kings (Jonathan Dove)
Hymn: Brightest and best (Wessex)



Organ Voluntary: Dans le Verbe était la Vie et la Vie était la Lumière (Messiaen)




Simon Bell (Assistant Director of Music)
Andrew Lumsden (Director of Music)

[Lizzie]

Thanks Draco!
Don't think I've heard the Dove before ...

Looking forward to being there. Bws. Liz

[Wolsey]

Don't think I've heard the Dove before ...

Commissioned by Stephen Cleobury for King's College, Cambridge's Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols in 2000.

[Lizzie]

Commissioned by Stephen Cleobury for King's College, Cambridge's Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols in 2000.

I'll look forward to hearing it. I love everything Tavener too so, I'll be a very happy camper that day! :grin:

[Oldcrofter]

Info & WAbbey choir singing Dove "Three Kings" here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7d8bChxbGY

The first king was very young,

O balow, balow la lay,

With doleful ballads on his tongue,

O balow, balow la lay,

He came bearing a branch of myrrh

Than which no gall is bitterer,

O balow, balow la lay,

Gifts for a baby King, O.

The second king was a man in prime,

O balow, balow la lay,

The solemn priest of a solemn time,

O balow, balow la lay,

With eyes downcast and reverent feet

He brought his incense sad and sweet,

O balow, balow la lay,

Gifts for a baby King, O.

The third king was very old,

O balow, balow la lay,

Both his hands were full of gold,

O balow, balow la lay,

Many a gaud and glittering toy,

Baubles brave for a baby boy,

O balow, balow la lay,

Gifts for a baby King, O.

Best wishes, David

[Lizzie]

Thank you David! Now I've listened, I do recognise it! Only heard it once though I think. That should work wonderfully in our acoustic. Looking forward to it immensely. Will be worth taking time off! All the best. Liz

[DracoM]

Those unfamiliar with the Dove - or indeed the Epiphanie voluntary - are invited to try the current St Thomas NYC webcasts of their Epiphany Procession / Eucharist / which features both.

http://www.saintthomaschurch.org/music/services

[Simon]

After being away so much, it was rather wonderful to have such an excellent broadcast to listen to live and at home. Top-class music-making indeed IMO from start to finish, ably equalled by the spoken parts of the service. I even almost enjoyed the Messiaen... ;-) Plus, what absolutely superb precenting!

bws to all

S-S!

[Lizzie]

After being away so much, it was rather wonderful to have such an excellent broadcast to listen to live and at home. Top-class music-making indeed IMO from start to finish, ably equalled by the spoken parts of the service. I even almost enjoyed the Messiaen... ;-) Plus, what absolutely superb precenting!

bws to all

S-S!

Thank you so much Simon. It was a fantastic service and the Dove anthem particularly stood out for me. The dynamics throughout the service were exceptional I thought but, very special in that piece. I know that the Tavener isn't to everybody's taste but, I must admit it's a great favourite of mine. If you could have seen the Boys' faces, you would have seen pictures of intense concentration, coupled with enjoyment of what they were doing. I'm hugely looking forward to hearing it all again on Sunday... I know I'm biased and boring but, I was intensely proud of every single one of them and am so grateful for all our Musicians and Clergy for all their daily and weekly efforts. Thank you all! Very best wishes to all and hope you all enjoyed the service. Liz

Draco - The reader of the First Lesson was Revd Dr Brian Rees, formerly Head of Pilgrims. He's stepped in for some months while Canon Roly Riem is on Sabbatical.

[DracoM]

Lizzie

Thanks for info Ref Revd Rees. Regards to him of course. Demand for stories for Pilgrim's dried up, I fear - certainly not willingness by their author.
Service - much distracted by bits of house being eviscerated and rebuilt. Noise, questions, and never knew anyone could drink so much coffee in any one 9 hr working day. And boy, TALK!. Good Grief.

Will LA in detail. Tavener sounded full on. Imagine far better on site than on air. A bold handful among the trebles, and they certainly need to be for that Dove anthem.

[Lizzie]

Lizzie

Thanks for info Ref Revd Rees. Regards to him of course. Demand for stories for Pilgrim's dried up, I fear - certainly not willingness by their author.
Service - much distracted by bits of house being eviscerated and rebuilt. Noise, questions, and never knew anyone could drink so much coffee in any one 9 hr working day. And boy, TALK!. Good Grief.

Will LA in detail. Tavener sounded full on. Imagine far better on site than on air. A bold handful among the trebles, and they certainly need to be for that Dove anthem.

I hope to hear the repeat on Sunday and some friends in Liverpool will have recorded me a copy I hope... The Dove really was dynamically stupendous and the Tavener did sound excellent on site. Importantly, the whole Choir looked as if they were all having a great time. It was in the Nave which, as always at this time of year, is cleared of chairs. Just enough folding ones were put out today so, there were some huge wide open spaces for everyone to contend with, not least the folk from the BBC. Usually we seem to broadcast CE in Summer when the Nave is much fuller which I guess must also make a difference.
The new Head is Paddy Watson who is also much liked and may be glad of stories if you contact him! I've not met him to talk to thus far. Hope you enjoy the service when you can listen properly. All Bws. Liz

[pole_2_pole]

Truly excellent service.

Just wonder if the balance of the microphones could've been better? There was a noticeable difference in balance in the psalms for instance. Dec. seemed closer with more tenor yet Can. seemed further away and with more bass. I'm merely pondering and don't want to detract from a thoroughly polished service in all respects but it does make me wonder...

[DracoM]

Hence my slightly oblique comment about difference between on site and on air!

[decantor]

Pointless to comment - in my book, the Winchester music department can do no wrong: so much pleasure over nearly 60 years. That said......

The fourth note of the service, the last syllable of the first word of the introit - Balula-low: the note was neither high nor loud, but the trebles contrived to warm it, to make it bloom. Instantly it is clear that one is in safe choral hands. For the second week running we have had a contemporary music list, and once again it made for a very uplifting service, delivered with assurance and nuance by the choir. I liked the new introit from Causton, but feel Cradle Song is not quite the right title, even if the baby does eventually fall asleep to a major triad; the Tavener canticles are a weighty spiritual declaration to which all can respond; the anthem is one of Dove's finest inspirations in which the choir prospered in displaying its wares. I share the general unease over the engineering, but I suppose I am comparing with CD quality.

I do have a quibble. The readers did wonderfully well with the lessons, but the Daily Mail version does not rival King James's: do the noble folks of the Winchester diocese have no poetry in their souls? No matter - a mighty fine service over the airwaves. Thank you, especially to the singers....... and to Lizzie for assuring me that they relished it as much as I did.

[DracoM]

Clearly enormous care had been taken to suit material to acoustic and broadcast, and we must be grateful to Andrew Lumsden for choice of repertoire.

The Causton introit was coaxed into floating in long elegaic lines - altos particularly good in this, and we had early sight of a very strong, mature, even fruity sounding treble line. Nice piece, and hope we hear it again.

Particularly liked the Harris psalm setting, good bold stuff.

Tavener canticles. Hmm. Brilliantly sung, idiomatic performance, controlled, disciplined rhythms [ so easy to let them get away and accelerate ] and dynamics. Fine technical stuff. BUT the relentless repetitions of formulae was for me just too much driving drilling like hitting speed bumps one after the other as if testing a chassis to destruction - 8 minutes or so for a Mag? Nothing to do with the choir. It's the Tavener music. And of course a major contrast with the Nunc, where the dark hues particularly of the men's voices over that sustained drone were admirable and allowed to breathe and fill the space.

I had just heard the Dove Anthem in live webcast from NYC, so it was excellent to see how DoM Lumsden handled it and more particularly how the trebles handled that tricky antiphonal exchange after the lamenting 'Balow la lay'. Big toned muscular treble sound, not always as clear in terms of diction as I'd hoped. The English choir tend to close their vowels, whereas the American choir open out the 'a's and 'o's a little more. I can see that the more reverberant acoustic in Winchester might make for a more integrated, cohesive even impressionistic melded sound than the much drier NYC acoustic. Still, the handful of leading trebs on each side cut fearlessly through and there was lovely response to the changes of mood and tone of the words and music. It's a very fine setting of the Sayers, and such a relief to find an Epiphany piece that both tests, conveys and meditates on the story elements. Loved the chattering under long top line at 'Baubles brave' - real watchfulness needed there in all parts to make sure everyone arrives at the end of the line in good order!

Messiaen a fine choice for that space too in the voluntary and played with some authority.