CE Sheffield Cathedral June 27th 2012

[DracoM]

CE Sheffield Cathedral


Order of Service:


Introit: Vast Ocean of Light (Jonathan Dove) (Choirbook for the Queen)
Responses: Leighton
Psalms: 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131 (Garrett, Turle, Goss, Garrett, Walford Davies, Rhodes)
First Lesson: Job 29: 1-20
Office Hymn: Palms of Glory (Palms of Glory)
Canticles: Edington Service (Grayston Ives)
Second Lesson: Romans 12: 9-end
Anthem: Lord, thou hast been our refuge (Bairstow)
Final Hymn: Ye holy angels bright (Darwall's 148th)



Organ Voluntary: Chorale Fantasia on "O God our help in ages past" (Parry)



Anthony Gowing (Assistant Director of Music)
Neil Taylor (Director of Music)






Hope they like psalm singing.

[Simon]

"Hope they like psalm singing."

Most good choirs do, and IIRC Sheffield's last broadcast invited some considerable praise.

However, it wouldn't matter either way because it's only forty-odd verses, less than many other evenings, and the fact that you get chance to sing six chants means you don't get bored!

We had some luscious chants for these: the Turle/Purcell one for De Profundis that a lot of places use was a big favourite of ours. Major drama: unaccompanied in the stillness of a hushed cathedral, with those awesome chromatics. Congregation used to be entranced...

[ardcarp]

I wonder if someone 'in the know' would be able to post up details of Sheffield's choral foundation/set-up? In the North (well, what I call the North) there seem to be quite a few innovative arrangements. And if anyone admits to anorak- wearing, how about a quick run down of the organ at Sheffield?

[subcontrabass]

I wonder if someone 'in the know' would be able to post up details of Sheffield's choral foundation/set-up? In the North (well, what I call the North) there seem to be quite a few innovative arrangements. And if anyone admits to anorak- wearing, how about a quick run down of the organ at Sheffield?

The Sheffield Cathedral website indicates that this service will be sung by girls and men. The organ is electronic.

[DracoM]

PEDAL
Sub Bass
Montre
Soubasse
Violone
Flute
Quinte
Principal
Bass Flute
Tierce
Quinte
Septieme
Flute
Open Flute
Mixture
Contra Bombarde
Bombarde
Clarion
Shawm
Great to Pedal
Swell to Pedal
Choir to Pedal
Solo to Pedal
Gt & Ped pistons

32
16
16
16
16

10 2/3
8
8
6 2/5
5 1/3
4 4/7
4
2
IV
32
16
8
4


SOLO (enclosed)
Violon-basse
Harmonic Flute
Gamba
Violes Célestes
Concert Flute
Grand Cornet
Cor Anglais
Tuba Mirabilis (unenc)
Tremulant
Octave
Unison Off
Sub Octave

16
8
8
8
4
V
8
8
Eight thumb pistons to Great )
Eight thumb pistons to Swell )
Eight thumb pistons to Choir ) all adjustable by capture system
Eight thumb pistons to Solo ) with thirty-two long-term memories
Eight toe pistons to Swell† )
Eight toe pistons to Pedal‡ )
Sixteen general thumb pistons )

General cancel thumb piston
10 thumb and 4 toe piston reversers
General piston sequencer (with on/off switch)
Separate divisional (12) and general piston (99) memory levels
2 headphone sockets
MIDI recorder
Piston 'sequencer plus' (3 off) and 'sequencer minus' (2 off) pistons on piston rails
Toe piston 'sequencer plus' on wooden block above toe sweep
Switch to transfer choir department to nave loudspeakers
Pedal divide
† switchable to generals 1 - 8

‡ switchable to generals 9 - 16

[terratogen]

I'm not 'in the know,' but the cathedral's website has a fairly informative page about the music department here and another about choristerships here; but in short: Sheffield has no affiliated choir school, so all of the choristers—sixteen boys aged 8-13 and fourteen girls aged 11-18, all under the direction of Neil Taylor—come to the choir from their local schools. They appear to rehearse once or twice a week and then again just before sung services.

The adults are eight professional Songmen and four Student Songmen, undergraduates from the university. The girls sing two (occasionally more) services per week, one of which is without the men's voices; the boys sing four (occasionally fewer) services per week; and the men sing one weekly service without treble voices. There is also a small, adult chamber ensemble called the Cathedral Consort, but it doesn't seem to sing services so much as concerts and other special events.

In any case. I'm looking forward to this service and am particularly eager to hear the Bairstow anthem and Jonathan Dove's setting of the introit text.

[subcontrabass]

PEDAL
Sub Bass

...


‡ switchable to generals 9 - 16

Those who want can find the full specification of the Phoenix organ here: http://www.sheffieldcathedral.org/mu...dral-music.php

[Roger Judd]

There was talk, not so long ago, of re-locating the Cavaillé-Coll organ in the Parr Hall Warrington into Sheffield Cathedral. I don't know all the ins and outs, but the Hall was, apparently, keen to dispose of the C-C instrument, one of the very few in the country, and the Cathedral acoustic at Sheffield would have done wonders for the organ. Is that idea still a possibility? Does anyone know?

No Cathedral should be relying on an electronic facsimile, surely?!
RJ

[ardcarp]

Draco...too much information! RJ...I wholeheartedly agree. But they obviously wanted an eclectic instrument with all the bells and whistles on a very limited budget. One might have thought that with all that industrial wealth oop there in t'North there might be some cash swilling about. After all, Bulmer's Cider (I think) dobbed Hereford quite a bit for its organ at one time.

Thanks terratogen for the choir info.

[Roger Judd]

Yes, indeed - Roy Massey, then organist at Hereford, got the Bulmer family onboard in 1978 for the Harrison & Harrison rebuild of the Willis organ and, to this day, a rather splendid wooden carved woodpecker has pride-of-place on the front of the organ.
RJ

[DracoM]

Draco...too much information! RJ...I wholeheartedly agree. But they obviously wanted an eclectic instrument with all the bells and whistles on a very limited budget. One might have thought that with all that industrial wealth oop there in t'North there might be some cash swilling about. After all, Bulmer's Cider (I think) dobbed Hereford quite a bit for its organ at one time.

Thanks terratogen for the choir info.

Apologies if this organ info was felt to be OTT.

[Magnificat]

I'm not 'in the know,' but the cathedral's website has a fairly informative page about the music department here and another about choristerships here; but in short: Sheffield has no affiliated choir school, so all of the choristers—sixteen boys aged 8-13 and fourteen girls aged 11-18, all under the direction of Neil Taylor—come to the choir from their local schools. They appear to rehearse once or twice a week and then again just before sung services.

The adults are eight professional Songmen and four Student Songmen, undergraduates from the university. The girls sing two (occasionally more) services per week, one of which is without the men's voices; the boys sing four (occasionally fewer) services per week; and the men sing one weekly service without treble voices. There is also a small, adult chamber ensemble called the Cathedral Consort, but it doesn't seem to sing services so much as concerts and other special events.

In any case. I'm looking forward to this service and am particularly eager to hear the Bairstow anthem and Jonathan Dove's setting of the introit text.

ardcarp et al

I may be wrong but certainly in recent years Sheffield has only ever broadcast CE using girls and men.

VCC

[terratogen]

After all, Bulmer's Cider (I think) dobbed Hereford quite a bit for its organ at one time.

I hope this is true. All the more reason to enjoy the music from Hereford and the cider from Bulmers!

[mangerton]

I hope this is true. All the more reason to enjoy the music from Hereford and the cider from Bulmers!

Yes, as Roger Judd said above, it is. I remember seeing it when I visited Hereford Cathedral a few years ago - that, and the Mappa Mundi.

[subcontrabass]

ardcarp et al

I may be wrong but certainly in recent years Sheffield has only ever broadcast CE using girls and men.

VCC

Possible because the girls normally sing there on a Wednesday.