CE Liverpool Anglican Cathedral November 21st 2012

[DracoM]

CE Liverpool Anglican Cathedral


Order of Service:


Introit: Jesu, grant me this I pray (Whitlock)
Responses: Michael Walsh
Psalm 106 (Lawes, Garrett, Howells, Lawes)
Office Hymn: Let all the world (Luckington)
First Lesson: Zechariah 8: 1-13
Canticles: The New College Service (Howells)
Second Lesson: Mark 13: 3-8
Anthem: Lord, thou hast been our refuge (Vaughan Williams)
Final Hymn: O holy city, seen of John (Sancta Civitas)



Organ Voluntary: Allegro risoluto (Plymouth Suite) (Whitlock)




Daniel Bishop (Associate Organist)
David Poulter (Director of Music)

[Keraulophone]

The VW anthem has to be one of the greatest ever. Of all the anthems we have sung this term, this brought the longest silence after it; no one wanted to flinch after that spine-tingling ending.

Andrew Carwood told us it was also one of his favourites at a Festival of the Sons of the Clergy at St Paul's, when we sang it with them and Rippon Cath Ch - an overwhelming experience which remains undimmed in the memory.

Westminster Abbey Choir at the 70th Anniversary Service of the Battle of Britain: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4vdOyc5Nnc

[ardcarp]

Interested to hear how the engineers cope with the big acoustic. I recall some previous broadcasts where the choir sounded like a gentle hoot at the far end of a long tunnel with much organ to the fore.

[DracoM]

Yes, I'm afraid I did wonder. It's a huge, huge place. Is it the longest reverb in the UK? Even more than York or St Paul's?

[DracoM]

Reminder: today @ 3.30 pm.

[mopsus]

The VW anthem has to be one of the greatest ever. Of all the anthems we have sung this term, this brought the longest silence after it; no one wanted to flinch after that spine-tingling ending.

Ah - they have a trumpeter! I recall a wonderful broadcast from the Guards' Chapel where they brought one in.

[Keraulophone]

Went to the Cathedral's website to confirm the presence of girls' voices in the top line and discovered a rather different choice of music. It would have been wonderful to have had Jehova at the start. http://www.liverpoolcathedral.org.uk/410/section.aspx/409/7421-7032-said_evening_prayer99_2983


Choral Evensong (live BBC Radio 3 broadcast)
Main Cathedral
21st November 2012 15:30 - 16:30

Choral Evensong

Girls’ and Men’s Voices

Jehova, quam multi Purcell •

Responses Walsh • Psalm 73

Leighton Second Service • Lord, thou hast been our refuge Vaughan Williams

[chitreb]

Well, my modest hi-fi had some difficulty with the longest organ stops in the Howells but overall I thought the engineers made a cracking good job of the acoustics (once or twice I wasn't sure whether the acoustics or some timing issues muddied the sound a little).
Oh, the Vaughan Williams! What a wonderful piece, and beautifully performed.

[Mary Chambers]

So it was girls. I thought so.

[ardcarp]

with the longest organ stops

You mean you need an extra long arm to pull them out???

Seriously though, a very enjoyable CE with, I thought a nicely measured and sustained account of the Howells canticles. Just occasionally it sounded as if a bass or two from the back-row were being a bit 'over prompt' with their entries and spoiling the ensemble a bit, especially in the psalms. Talking of psalms, and from a purely personal angle, I found the mannered elongation of penultimate syllables a bit wearing after a time.

This all sounds picky though. Some lovely singing.

[Philip]

Interesting choice with the Howells 'New College', written for a rather less spacious acoustic...not my favourite setting of his. Lovely anthem though with the trumpeter thrown in.

Nice to see Percy Whitlock featuring too - his organ music is inventive and good fun and deserves to be heard.

[DracoM]

Yes, Whitlock topping and tailing was a nice touch and worked jolly well.

As others have said, I was a bit surprised at the Howells canticles being given the 'big space' treatment when they were clearly written for a very small space by comparison. But then again, I suppose most spaces are small by comparison to L'pool Anglican Cath. Didn't work much magic for me, I'm afraid. Decent singing of course, but.....if Howells, then why not Howells St Paul's Service which was written for and sits well in a huge acoustic?

RVW worked well, some nice top line singing here. I'm afraid that by and large the basses simply got lost in the melange, however, was it just my hearing, but there seemed to be one very prominent male voice which cut through every texture all the way through the service, almost as if he was right next to a microphone?

Like to welcome the girls of the L'pool choir to CE - is this not their first R3 / CE broadcast from that cathedral?

[mopsus]

if Howells, then why not Howells St Paul's Service which was written for and sits well in a huge acoustic?

The St. Paul's Service was broadcast very recently, from Bath Abbey. Usually R3 is quite good at ensuring the same piece doesn't come round again too soon, though sometimes this can happen with responses or psalm chants. I do recall some years back a Mendelssohn anthem broadcast twice on CE about 4 weeks apart. It slipped through because once it was sung in German and once in English.

I've sung the VW both with and without a trumpeter - I don't know which version predominates in choral foundations. (Suspect it depends on having one available!)

[ardcarp]

I suppose the Howells St Paul's Service always springs to mind when one 'thinks big', maybe followed by the 'Gloucester'. But
just because you've got a big space doesn't mean everything's got to be on an awesome scale. I rather enjoyed the less demonstrative New College Service and felt L'pool gave us a measured and thoughtful performance. Howells in B minor is another very good, less demonstrative one. Can we have that soon?

A personal reminiscence about the RVW. I was accompanying it about 20 years ago and was told I didn't have to include the trumpet part as a real trumpeter was available. At the rehearsal I peered down from the loft (you don't play for the first part...always scary if the choir has gone out of tune) to try to spot him/her, but no sign. When the trumpet started, I realised, via the mirror, that one of the decani tenors had whipped out a trumpet and was making a briliant job of the solo. More impressive still, he joined in the tenor line to belt out that top 'A'. You never know what hidden talents people have.

[Philip]

I suppose the Howells St Paul's Service always springs to mind when one 'thinks big', maybe followed by the 'Gloucester'. But just because you've got a big space doesn't mean everything's got to be on an awesome scale. I rather enjoyed the less demonstrative New College Service and felt L'pool gave us a measured and thoughtful performance. Howells in B minor is another very good, less demonstrative one. Can we have that soon?

Kings College also has a pretty spacious acoustic, so 'Coll Reg' would probably be equally at home. It always fascinates me how these particular settings are dedicated to and suitable for these particular spaces, yet end up being performed universally (even in pretty dead acoustics) - not that there is anything wrong with that, for the Howells 'big three' are superb settings which thoroughly deserve to be heard. I too enjoy the B minor, as well as the Westminster (which Derby gave us back in September) and the early setting in G; Howells wrote 21 in total I think so there is bound to be some which are 'less good' (not necessarily badly written, just less memorable overall).