14th May 2017

The anthem today was Mozart's "Ave verum corpus".

“Ave verum corpus” (Hail, true body) is a motet in D major, composed in 1791 (K. 618). It was composed for Anton Stoll a friend of both Mozart and Joseph Haydn, who was the musical co-ordinator of a church near Vienna.  It was written to celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi.  Mozart’s  manuscript contains minimal musical direction, with only a single “sotto voce” at the beginning of the piece. It was written only 6 months before Mozart’s death.

Mozart ( 27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was born in Salzburg, Austria and considered to be a child prodigy, being proficient at keyboard and violin at the age of 5 when he commenced composing. He performed before European royalty.  At age 17 he was engaged as a musician in the Salzburg court, but was restless and travelled to find a better position.  He was dismissed from his Salzburg post whilst travelling. He chose to stay in Vienna, the capital, where he became famous but had no financial security.  He composed more than 600 works and remains a popular classical composer.

May 13th 2017

The choir sang J S Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" at a wedding.

This is the common title of the 10^th and last movement of the cantata “Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben” (BVW 147) composed in 1716 and 1723.  It is commonly played at weddings and Christian festive seasons of Easter and Christmas.  Much of the music of this cantata comes from Bach’s Weimar period (the 1716 parts) finished in 1723 in Leipzig.

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750) was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. He was a highly respected organist in his lifetime, although not recognised as a composer of magnitude (possibly one of the greatest) until a revival of his works in the first half of the 19^th century. He showed considerable skill in counterpoint and harmony. He was able to adapt rhythm, form and texture from abroad. He was a prolific composer of church music due to the demand for huge numbers of cantatas over the Christian year.  It is thought her wrote over 300 with only around 200 surviving. He also wrote many other works sacred and secular.  It is now agreed that his music has technical command, intellectual depth and artistic beauty.

7th May 2017 Easter 4. Good Shepherd Sunday

Today the choir sang Howard Goodall's "The Lord is my Shepherd (Psalm23)".  This was written in 1994 for the BBC's "The Vicar of Dibley".  He felt that the setting of a familiar sacred text with traditional choral singing would offset the quirky humour of the story lines.

Howard Goodall is a composer of choral music, stage musicals, film and TV scores (including "The Vicar of Dibley", "Mr Bean" and "QI").  In January 2007 he was appointed Ambassador for Singing in England, the first ever such appointment due to his energetic campaigning for music education.  His settings of "Psalm 23" and "Love Divine" are amongst the most performed contemporary choral works. Many younger people now only know Howard Goodall's setting of Psalm 23.

Annual choir photo taken after the Good Friday service.

Maundy Thursday 13^th April 2017.

The choir sang Duruflé’s  Ubi Caritas from Quatre motets sur des themes grégoriens Op 10 for choir a capella (1960).

Duruflé was born in 1902 and was a chorister in Rouen Cathedral choir school. Moving to Paris when he was 17, he took organ lessons and joined the Conservatoire de Paris in 1920, graduating with first prizes in organ, harmony, piano accompaniment and composition.

Ubi caritas is a hymn of the western church traditionally used as one of the antiphons for the washing of feet on Maundy Thursday.  The Gregorian melody was composed sometime between 4th and 10th centuries with the text believed to be from early Christian gatherings before the formalisation of the Mass.

At the ending of the service Psalm 22 was sung in plainsong, women and men alternating verses as the altar was stripped ready for the Gethsemeny Watch.

Good Friday 14th April 2017

Olivet to Calvary  John Henry Maunder (1858-1920) words by Shapcott Wensley.

Maunder was born in Chelsea and studied at The Royal Academy of Music in London.  He was organist at St Matthew's, Sydenham and St Paul's, Forest Hill, as well as churches in Blackheath and Sutton.  He was an accompanist at The Albert Hall and trained the choir for Sir Henry Irving's original production of Faust in 1887.

His sacred cantatas were widely performed and admired but went out of fashion, to be revived in the Netherlands and UK. 

Olivet to Calvary is considered to be a fine example of music written for the late Victorian/early Edwardian Anglican church. Some today may find it sentimental, but it has a sincerity and dedication which has carried the piece onwards despite being a product of its time.   It considers the last few days of the life of Christ on earth.

The choir's rendition was interspersed with readings which reflected the music.

Music for November 2016 at St Mary our Lady

6th November   Family Service                                                    All Saints (transfered)

197   For all the Saints
Motet by Junior Choristers  'Mathew ,Mark, Luke and John' by Lindley
478 Ye Watchers and ye holy ones
Anthem      Give us the Wings of Faith Bullock
231 Palms of glory raiiment bright
War March of the Priests  Mendelssohn

13th November Village Remembrance Service

490 Judge eternal, throned in splendor
417 O God our help in ages past
Anthem So they gave their bodies Aston
488 Jerusalem
413 Now thank we all our God
Fugue in E flat BWV 552

20th November Christ the King

443 Rejoice the Lord is King
388 Jesus shall Reign where'er the sun
O Thou, the central Orb
352 Crown him with many crowns

Music for October 2016 at St Mary our Lady

2nd October 10:00 Family Eucharist                                                          Trinity XVIII

259 Come ye thankful people                                                                       Harvest Thanksgiving
Gloria Ode to Joy/ Parish Mass Murray
261 To thee, O Lord, our hearts we raise
304 Once, only once, and once for all
The Lord has been mindful of us  Wesley
262 We Plough the fields and scatter

Choral Prelude 'Nun danket'  Karg-Elert

   18:00 Village Harvest Thanksgiving
       separate service sheet
    Thou visitest the earth  Greene
     Nunc dimittis in C Stanford

     Piece d'Orgue BWV 572  J S Bach




9th October   Parish Eucharist                                                                    Trinity XIX

440    Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
404    Lord of our life and God of our salvation
324    Thine arm, O Lord, in days of old
           Here, O my Lord, I see thee face to face     Whitlock
300     O food of men wayfaring
Sheet   To God be the Glory
       
            Alla Marcia      Ireland     


16th October Matins                                                                                     Trinity XX

232 Awake my soul and with the sun
       Psalm 119 97-104
       Let thy merciful ears, O Lord   Mudd
357 Father, hear the prayer we offer
484 The Curch's one foundation

       Sonata No 2i     Hindesmith


23rd October   Parish Eucharist                                                  Last after Trinity XXI

644  Thou who's almighty word                                                                  Bible Sunday
359   Fight the good fight
398   Lift up you hearts
        O for a closer walk with God  Stanford
295  Let all mortal flesh keep silent
312  He who would valient be

       Sonata No 3       Mendelssohn

30th October  10:00pm Parish Eucharist                                       Fourth before Advent

233 Glory be to thee, who safe hast kept
402 Lord it belongs not to my care
376 I heard the voice of Jesus say
       Ave verum corpus   Byrd
306 Strengthen for thy service, Lord, the hands
363 Glory in the highest to the God of heaven
       Festal Voluntary

             18:00 Commemoration of All Souls

      Messe de Requiem    Faure