The Choir Jan 12th 2014

[DracoM]

Sunday 12 January 2014 5 p.m.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch explores the music of the Russian Orthodox Christmas, and introduces today's Choral Classic: Haydn's Nelson Mass.

Plus, there's the first of a new series of interviews with leading lights of the classical music world - exploring the choral music that inspires them. Today, the acclaimed mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly tells Sara about her choral favourites.

Russian Orthodox Community in London celebrates the Nativity on Jan 12th, hence this programme.


Teeny bit of a shame that the great season of Epiphany goes on being widely celebrated in many of the great churches of Christendom THIS Sunday.

e.g. from St Thomas, Fifth Avenue, NYC:

Prelude: Prélude sur l’Introit de l’Épiphanie, Maurice Duruflé (1902-1986)
Prelude:Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, BuxWV 223, Dietrich Buxtehude (c. 1637-1707)
Responsory:adapted from Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c. 1525-1594)
Hymn:[in leaflet]
As with gladness men of old
DIX
Motet:Tribus miraculis, Hans Leo Hassler (1564-1612)
Lesson 1:Matthew 2:1-12
Carol:‘Three kings from Persian lands afar,' Peter Cornelius (1824-1874), arranged by Ivor Atkins (1869-1953)
Hymn:[in leaflet]
Songs of thankfulness and praise,
SALZBURG
Lesson 2:Matthew 3:13-17
Anthem:When in Jordan thou wast baptized, John Tavener (1944-2013)
Lesson 3:John 2:1-11
Motet:A good, smooth wine, Orlandus Lassus (1532-1594)
Anthem:‘The Three Kings,' Jonathan Dove (b. 1959)
Hymn:[in leaflet]
Brightest and best of the sons of the morning,
MORNING STAR
Voluntary:Epiphanie, Gaston Litaize (1909-1991)


OR:

Westminster Cathedral:

Spatzenmesse Mozart
Dilexisti iustitiam, 498 I
IN BAPTISMATE
And the glory of the Lord Handel
Dilexisti, 499 G
DOMINI Tribus miraculis Marenzio Inveni David
Credo III Omnes qui in Christo, 61 C

Organ: Toccata Dubois


OR:

Winchester Cathedral

EVENSONG
Responses: Walsh
Magnificat: Lloyd Hereford Service
Nunc Dimittis: Lukaszewski
Anthem: Warlock Balulalow
Sermon: Canon Paul Townsend.Ecumenical Canon, Priest, St Peter’s RC Church, Winchester
Voluntary: Messiaen Les mages (La Nativité).


Just a few suggestions as to the SEASONAL possibilities.

And the website seems to indicate that the rest of the prog is the same formula as Sat afternoons: celeb does sort of DID but choral-flavoured.

[french frank]

And the website seems to indicate that the rest of the prog is the same formula as Sat afternoons: celeb does sort of DID but choral-flavoured.

'a new series of interviews with leading lights of the classical music world'?

The choral programme was never the same once they axed Choirworks. A critical approach shouldn't rely on anyone choosing 'things they like'.

[jean]

Westminster Cathedral:

Spatzenmesse Mozart
Dilexisti iustitiam, 498 I
IN BAPTISMATE
And the glory of the Lord Handel
Dilexisti, 499 G
DOMINI Tribus miraculis Marenzio Inveni David
Credo III Omnes qui in Christo, 61 C

Organ: Toccata Dubois

Actually, to be pedantic, that should look more like this:

IN BAPTISMATE DOMINI (Epiphany was so last week!)

Spatzenmesse Mozart
Dilexisti iustitiam, 498 I
And the glory of the Lord Handel
Dilexisti, 499 G
Tribus miraculis Marenzio
Inveni David, 446 A
Credo III
Omnes qui in Christo, 61 C

Organ: Toccata Dubois

(The numbers tell you where the plainsong they refer to is to be found.)

I take your general point, but we have never made that much of the Epiphany as a separate feast, have we? There's lots of fine music for it of course, but it usually gets subsumed into Christmas.

[DracoM]

Once again, I am indebted to jean.

[Anna]

Sorry if this is a bit offtopic - but it made me smile.
Gillian Reynolds in the Telegraph Radio Pick of the Week says: The Choir explores the music of Russian Orthodox Christmas .... Sara Mohr-Pietsch (who, having escaped from the enforced cheeriness of this network's clammily matey breakfast show, is clearly enjying wider realms of music making) presents

[ardcarp]

Sorry if this is a bit offtopic - but it made me smile.
Gillian Reynolds in the Telegraph Radio Pick of the Week says: The Choir explores the music of Russian Orthodox Christmas .... Sara Mohr-Pietsch (who, having escaped from the enforced cheeriness of this network's clammily matey breakfast show, is clearly enjying wider realms of music making) presents

Hilarious. Not off-topic at all! Just hope the 'clannily mateyness' hasn't transferred itself along with the presenter.

[DracoM]

Well, all I'll say is that almost the first thing she did on the last The Choir was ask for tweets and emails, and later read some out.
So....sorry, but.........I think the new broom has swept in some garbage off the Breakfast floor.

[mercia]

and introduces today's Choral Classic: Haydn's Nelson Mass..

well bits of it anyway - I'm not sure I would agree with SMP that the organ comes "crashing in" at the second bar of the Kyrie ........ and I thought she could have mentioned the canon in the Credo

[DracoM]

Formula as last week.

But even more chat. R3 homepage suggested top topic and big stuff was to be on the Russian Orthodox Christmas. It was actually less than 15 minutes of a 90 minute prog. Trade Descriptions Act?

And as predicted, Sarah Connolly did her Saturday Classics / mini DID thing - lot of Q&A chat small amount of music: segment was about 25 minutes.

Oh yes, and we got tweets, and 'epiphanies', Zadok the Priest, In the Bleak Midwinter, sundry hymns, and a rugby crowd's conversion to singing 'properly', and as mercia points out, bleeding chunks of Haydn Nelson mass, two hours before we get a whole evening of ......big Haydn The Creation. Genius planning, lads.


Strewth. We've had it if that is to be the formula every week. It really was exactly like Y10 Musical Appreciation.

Derisory and heart-breaking.

[subcontrabass]

Well, all I'll say is that almost the first thing she did on the last The Choir was ask for tweets and emails, and later read some out.
So....sorry, but.........I think the new broom has swept in some garbage off the Breakfast floor.

And more tweets invited by her at the start of the performance of Haydn's The Creation

[french frank]

And as predicted, Sarah Connolly did her Saturday Classics / mini DID thing - lot of Q&A chat small amount of music: segment was about 25 minutes.

They didn't have another 'Twitterchat', did they? If you check this list of the 18 questions they registered for the Essential Classics afternoon Q & A, practically all seem to be employees or closely connected with the BBC/R3. Paul Murphy, Emily Marsden and 'Bostock and Pollitt' were the only three I couldn't identify.

Not saying at all they intended to deceive, but it surely shows there's no more listener interest in tweeting in than in the R3 blog and R3's Facebook.

[Frances_iom]

SMP seemed to have a very vague sense of history re dates of the 'cold war' - nor had she done her homework re the BBC broadcasts of the Orthodox Christmas + Easter services - I think it was our beloved wrecker RW who stopped these on R3 (too elite and in wussan a furren language ) - however the repeat of Evensong was very welcome having enjoyed it very much 1st time around but no doubt tht too will soon be a thing of the past

[Keraulophone]

'...however the repeat of Evensong was very welcome having enjoyed it very much 1st time around but no doubt that too will soon be a thing of the past

Oh dear; please don't sound so gloomy so early in the new year, at a time when some of us seek spiritual renewal (celebrating the Baptism of Christ yesterday). This 'thing of the past' (BCP, 1662) will be around for a very long time, if not until the second coming, and I, for one, have no reason to fear that Radio 3 will abandon its weekly broadcast of Choral Evensong, with or without repeat, that has graced the airwaves since 1926. I hope we'll be able to tune in to, or even take part in, the centenary CE broadcast in twelve years time. Amen.

[DracoM]

How did the latest The Choir [Sun 19th Jan] go down?

[jean]

I don't think someone of the standing of Robert Hollingworth should be encouraging them by joining in the tweetfest, as he did this afternoon!