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Choral Evensong in Oxford
6 January 2020
Earlier this evening nearly 50 members of the choir
sang Choral Evensong in Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, on the
Feast of the Epiphany. This was the choir’s eleventh Cathedral
visit, following visits to Coventry, Gloucester, Lichfield,
Peterborough, St Paul’s (twice), Worcester, and Winchester
Cathedral, St George’s Chapel Windsor, and Westminster Abbey. Future
visits include Southwell Minster (17 October 2020) and Lincoln
Cathedral (2 June 2021).
Rehearsing in St Matthew's
When these visits began back in 2011, it arose as a solution to our
version of the “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” joke! Ours was,
“How can we sing in the greatest buildings (and acoustics) in
England”? Part of the answer remained “Practice, practice,
practice”, of course, but also “Choral Evensong”.
Our visits provide time for Socialising
When we first began these visits we did a “dry run” at All Saints in
the centre of Northampton before the visit itself, and this time we
were delighted to do a “dry run” in our home church of St Matthew’s
the night before. It was a delight to be welcomed by Fr Nicholas
Setterfield, and to take part in Choral Evensong (possibly for the
first time in our history?) in a church where we have given concerts
for a few months shy of eighty years.
.
Rehearsing in Christ Church
Our repertoire included some of our classics - our Musical
Director’s Responses and Henry Smart’s Magnificat and Nunc
Dimittis in B flat major, as well as William Crotch’s Epiphany
anthem Lo! star-led chiefs, which was new to most of us, but
he was for some time Organist at Christ Church Cathedral. Not only
was the anthem composed by a former Christ Church Organist, but so
were our two Psalm chants - one by Henry Ley and the other by
Stephen Darlington. Three hymns graced the service in Northampton,
but only one in Oxford - but that one had a (in the words of the
Precentor) “very stylish” descant by Lee.
Choir Members in Oxford
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