CE Chichester Cathedral Wed, 13th March 2013

[DracoM]

CE Chichester Cathedral



Order of Service:



Introit: Salvator mundi (Blow)
Responses: Reading
Office Hymn: O cross of Christ (Albano)
Psalm 69:1-22; 30-73 and Psalm 70 (S.S.Wesley; Naylor; Battishill; Chipp)
First Lesson: Exodus 4:1-23
Canticles: Fourth service (Batten)
Second Lesson: Hebrews 10:1-18
Anthem: Vinea mea electa (Poulenc)
Final Hymn: Praise to the holiest in the height (Gerontius)



Organ Voluntary: Prelude & Fugue in B minor - BWV 544 (Bach)




Timothy Ravalde (Assistant Organist)
Sarah Baldock (Organist & Master of the Choristers)

[DracoM]

Today @ 3.30 p.m.

[DracoM]

Well............

Not sure what I just heard. Chichester? Hmm. Was this their usual sound, or....?? Certainly took me by surprise.
Treble tone hard, even a bit harsh and even a bit competitive and even a bit aggressive, but with plenty of wellie and confidence, a bit over-syllabic for my taste.
Men trampled underfoot a bit.

I suppose it had to be yet more baroque - crikey, do the Beeb know how to smash a golden egg or what. Or was that entirely Ms Baldock's choice?
Oddly jolly dance-like responses - given it's Lent.
Poulenc was blasted. I mean, really big, hard sound in places.

Lovely Bach voluntary. Just right to keep SR waiting.

I'll have to listen again, because I really was surprised.

[ardcarp]

I haven't heard it yet, Draco. Alan Thurlow was one of the dwindling band of O&Cs that maintained the 'gentle head voice' tradition, which at one time was common to most Anglican cathedrals. From SB's last broadcast, it was clear there was some change in voice production towards the more expressive and individualistic. It is only to be expected that a new director will have new ideas and different ways of doing things. I'm looking forward to an hour's peace later on to catch up.

[decantor]

I agree with ardcarp - twice: first, that the Thurlow-crafted, exquisitely blended head-tone is now firmly locked in the archive; second, that Chichester gave due warning of their intentions in their CE broadcast last April (which included Andrew Simpson's splendid contribution to the Choirbook, and a memorable rendering of Leighton's Give us wings).

I wonder if it is coincidence that their timbre has wandered towards Winchester's brassier sound: in any case, it can hardly be a criticism. I found much to relish in today's service. The Blow has long been a favourite, and I thought the psalmody achieved a good balance between response to text and dramatisation. There is drama aplenty in the Poulenc, and I enjoyed the huge walls of sound set against hushed nuances - I reckoned the choir seized the moment to show its range.

But I agree with Draco, too - very satisfying that the Beeb allowed BWV 544 over-run its slot.

[DracoM]

Indeed, I fully acknowledge that 'fair warning;' had been given, so it seems that in the intervening months and with new intake and younger choristers moving up to take leading positions, the change is nearer the timbre balance Ms Baldock is searching for.

OK, but I just found it a all bit less grateful than heretofore, but I don't quite agree that there were 'hushed' passages in that Poulenc - more mf > fff to my hearing! I'd actually been looking forward to hear them handle such 'hushed passages'. Hey ho!

BUT nevertheless bags of ooomph and bold confidence, don't dispute that at all.

[ardcarp]

I thought the service got off to a great start with the Blow....incidentally about the only item one could seriously call 'Baroque'. The whole broadcast was characterised, for me, by great clarity. Textures were transparent with no overblown or waffly noises from ATB who, even in the verse parts of the Batten, avoided the temptation, and indeed the blend with the treble soloist/s was very pleasing. (The opening of the Nunc is always a problem because of the very low alto part. Sometimes it's given to a tenor instead....just the first bit.) SB has, IMV, got the 'attack' of the choir (i.e. starts of phrases) down to a fine art. The psalms were nicely paced, very well prepared and with exemplary and discreet organ accompaniment. There was no sign of 'treble fatigue' which sometimes creeps in to long stretches of psalmody. The Poulenc was, as Draco says, full of big contrasts. It was a passionate interpretation by Sarah of a piece that needs it. (There is a quote by Poulenc himself, which unfortunately I've forgotten in detail, when he was asked on a visit to London what he thought of English church choirs. He replied something along the lines of, "It needs more Maurice Chevalier". In other words he didn't go a bundle on the Anglican hoot. I think he might have quite enjoyed Chichester's account.) Whilst not an ardent believer myself, I thought the CE as a whole was a suitably dignified and devotional occasion, ably helped along by Chichester's excellent Precentor, Tim Schofield.

I can understand Draco's surprise, because the choir does sound different in some ways, especially the trebles' more 'open' sound and less manicured vowels. But it still has the feel of a small well-knit unit. It occurred to me afterwards that the diction was in fact excellent. One could hear every word with clarity.

[chrisjstanley]

I agree with ardcarp. Particularly like the Blow where the exposed treble leads and intonation were excellent, not an easy piece to get right (listen to some of the interpretations on youtube for evidence of that. Diction throughout was really good. I got the impression they really enjoyed singing this service and I enjoyed listening to it.
Thanks to all

bws
Chris S

[chitreb]

Perhaps not the mellifluous tone that was the hallmark of Chichester but I found it quite stirring. Certainly I detected a more even balance of tone between Decani and Cantoris trebles than was evident this time last year. I didn't envy the alto that lead! I am looking forward to the Southern Cathedrals Festival in July when all three (Chichester, Winchester and Salisbury) will come together. I understand there is some Britten in store which will no doubt please some of us and deter others judging by comments on one of these posts recently.

[DracoM]

My guess is that if you are a singer, Britten suits.
Almost any voice. He seems to have had an uncanny knack for knowing how to write for all, not just treble and tenor.

[Simon]

There are bound to be changes in tone as the choir changes: it's not all down to design. I was fortunate in that my voice didn't break until quite late, and I was nearly six full years a choir treble. During that time I was aware that we swung from being quite smooth to quite hard in tone. It certainly wasn't down to how we were taught or led. Furthermore, Dec often seemed a bit harsher in tone than Can - and I've noticed that elsewhere over the years.

As regards the Chichester broadcast, I loved it from start to finish. Many thanks to all involved. It was what a traditional evensong should be, with no pretensions and no silly mannerisms. They are now an excellent outfit, IMO - on this hearing one of the top dozen in the country - and I shall certainly make an effort to catch them live later in the year if I get to the south coast.

[DracoM]

On second or third listening, what really struck me was the enthusiasm, energy and almost declamatory style of the psalms: and you can surely only get away with that if your diction is such that the story those psalms tell can be well-understood.

I still don't think the Poulenc was entirely successful. Maybe it needed to be a tad slower? Dunno. But given that Ms Baldock probably already knew that the hefty block of psalms etc would take the service until about 3.50 before the first lesson even started, and that she had programmed the Bach as well, she was possibly right to push it on, given that she might have known they were already over time, so....

As a young chorister, I was told that decent voices / choirs can always sing fff, but the real test of any choir was sustained ppp singing. I hope we get to hear Chichester programme such repertoire.

[Simon]

. But given that Ms Baldock probably already knew that the hefty block of psalms etc would take the service until about 3.50 before the first lesson even started, and that she had programmed the Bach as well, she was possibly right to push it on, given that she might have known they were already over time, so....

You make the oddest comments at times. I may be quite wrong, and if so I apologise, but can you really imagine anyone deciding to increase to any meaningful degree the pace of a choral piece such as the Poulenc simply to save a minute on a broadcast?

As to her being "possibly right to push on", I have no doubt that any decision she made as to the music's speed was likely to be a bit more than "possibly right", irrespective of the reason behind it. She is a professional, and clearly a good one. That's not to say she cannot err - everyone can - but I don't really think she needs approval on here in that manner.

[ardcarp]

Simon. I think there are pressures of time in a live broadcast! I can't comment on Chichester, but I can certainly remember occasions where the clergy had slackened the pace a bit in prayers and stuff, and time was very pressing on the tempo of the final hymn! There was a time (in the old 45 mnute days) when organ voluntaries were faded when time ran out. Now the organ voluntary is expected to run its course, and quite right too. But I'm sure it is a worry to the player. Thank goodness the Bach P&F in B minor was allowed to finish! I really enjoyed it.

[DracoM]

Well, Simon, pace your strongly held views, I think it is interesting to note that the CA John Shea pointedly said that the CE repeat this R3 pm was 'edited'. I assume that meant cutting pauses etc so as not to over-run again?

And as ardcarp says, if you programme a Bach Prelude and Fugue you want both to run.

I'm not making an ex cathedral statement at all, merely observing that the psalms did run for quite a long time, and.........oh, what's the use...!!