CE Chapel of King's College, Cambridge [archive] Wed, 23rd Oct

[Matthew Martin]

Really? I seem not to have a record of that. Could you possibly ask them when this was?

If I remember, which is unlikely - but I guess it was around 2006 or 2007

[DracoM]

Found it - 2005.

[organista]

And St. Albans (directed by Simon Johnson) in about 2008. So it's not such a rarity after all.

[DracoM]

Indeed:

Order of Service
Introit: Thou knowest, Lord (Purcell)
Responses: Ebdon
Psalm: 51 (Allegri)
First Reading: Isaiah 1 vv 10-18
Office Hymn: Lord Jesus, think on me (Southwell)
Canticles: The Short Service (Morley)
Second Reading: Luke 15 vv 11-32
Anthem: Emendemus in melius (Cristobal de Morales)
Hymn: Jesu, lover of my soul (Aberystwyth)
Organ Voluntary: Kyrie, Gott heiliger Geist, BWV 671 (Bach)

Director of Music: Simon Johnson
Organist: Richard Pinel

[yorks_bass]

Dem bones, dem bones, dem... dry bones! Yes, a time warp, and strangely comforting in some ways but hardly engaging; soporific liturgical wallpaper. After a while one just drifted off, only mildly irritated by the mannered phrasing and over-punctilious attention to dynamics and consonants. I can take a lot of this style of choral singing for what it is, but the lack of real line, vocal colour and emotion (and no, I'm not advocating operatic belting!) bespeaks a squandering of resources - there is a fine choir in there somewhere! Nice tuning though! If what I could hear of the back row was an indication of their latent ability, they were even more buttoned up than the bland piping from the boys. It's not what I call choral singing, but I'm sure some will love it and pine with nostalgia for the days of yore.

Compare this with Ord's choir in the Howells Coll. Reg. Mag. - no comparison!

Couldn't agree more. The epitome of blandness for me!