RSCM Voice for Life is now ONLINE!

Hugh Morris, Director of the RSCM has asked everyone to share his recent letter widely. Part of it is included below:-

Do head over to the RSCM website, there are many resources for all - choristers, choral scholars, older choir members, sacred music enthusiasts.... It's wonderful to see all the opportunities springing up during these difficult times.

Pergolesi's "Stabat Mater"

Pergolesi's "Stabat Mater" is a musical setting of a latin hymn which consists of twenty couplets which describe the Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin at the Cross. There are more than sixty English translations that have been made of the Stabat Mater, Stabat Mater being the title of a thirteenth-century Latin hymn meaning "the Mother was standing."

Giovanni Battista Pergolesi composed what was to become one of his most celebrated choral works in the final weeks of his life in 1736 when suffering from tuberculosis. It was commissioned for a Neapolitan confraternity, who also asked Alessandro Scarlatti to compose a Stabat Mater. The work is divided into twelve movements, each named after the incipit of the text. There is more here on Wikipedia.

Pergolesi was in fact a nickname, his real name being Giovanni Battista Draghi but since his ancestors came from Pergola he was given the nickname. There is more about him here.

It's a work of considerable length but our choristers performed this last Easter both on tour and in our church in Ipswich. It's a beautiful work which they really connected with. I have fond memories of listening to them sing it. The Stabat Mater is available to download on Choral Wiki here. You can download the PDF and sing along with recordings on Spotify or Youtube (see below), or search for a YouTube recording which also displays the score - there are some.




Tip : some of the works listed on Choral Wiki have a midi file to help you learn the top line. An excellent piece of software called Sibelius is available for free to students which can open and play these files. 

Our choir recorded the first movement for Good Friday - below

Palestrina - Missa aeternae Christi munera

Something different today - a Palestrina mass.

Our church choir were due to sing this on Sunday, the Ladies and Soprano Choral Scholars singing the top section. We have an awesome group of Sop. Choral Scholars (actually ALL our Choral Scholars are awesome!) who juggle increasing demands at school and continue to sing services. Many are currently reeling from the cancellation of public exams with their futures put on hold, but I know they will all rise to the challenge.

One of the tricky things about being a choral scholar at St. Mary le Tower is the sudden leap into a new set of music, much of which we Ladies and Gents know well. This Palestrina mass is a good example - they rock up and rehearse once and then join us in the service. I therefore thought it would be good to feature a "stock item" from our repertoire just for them, after all they would have been singing it on Sunday anyway!

Let All the World in E'vry Corner Sing

A difficult 24 hours for us here. My eighteen year old is really unwell with COVID-19 and we are praying his improvement today is sustained. he's showing signs of early stage pneumonia but is in relatively good spirits compared to last night. We are so grateful for the prayers and support from all our friends and having this Blog as a distraction is going to be a blessing over the weeks to come.

So today I'm just going to share this Facebook post from @OrganistWilliam who played my request in Bury Cathedral yesterday.

Let All the World in E'vry Corner Sing - I can't wait until it does once again. Stay well friends.

Adrian Batten c.1591-c.1637

So today I was supposed to be singing Evensong in Cranford, Heathrow. Amongst other music we were due to sing Batten's Fourth Service, which most of us know. Adrian Batten is a really interesting composer, not least because of his dedication to preserving the works of his contemporaries, whilst much of his own is sadly lost. I felt he was an excellent example of working for the common good which so many people are currently dedicating themselves to during this difficult time.

Adrian Batten was Organist and Vicar-Choral of the Cathedral Church of St. Paul's, London between the Reformation and the Civil War in the 1640s. As an Anglican church composer he was active during an important period of English church music which saw the birth of the "verse anthem" where music was predominantly in English.

Biography
Batten was born in Salisbury, and was a chorister and then organ scholar at Winchester Cathedral. Batten remained with the cathedral choir after his voice had changed, as evidenced by graffiti carved into the wall of Bishop Gardiner's chantry that reads "Adrian Battin: 1608". (Don't get any ideas Choral Scholars!!) In 1614, he moved to London to become a Vicar Choral of Westminster Abbey, and was apparently still at Westminster in 1625; The Lord Chamberlain's Records for 1625 show that at the funeral of James I (at which Orlando Gibbons was organist and master of the music) Batten is described as a "singingman of Westminster".

Hello!

During this unprecedented period of closure during the COVID-19 Pandemic most of us are feeling rather lost and apprehensive. I am devastated to learn that it is likely to be some time before we able to rehearse, worship and share Anglican sacred music together and wanted to provide a platform to share links to online activities and choirs, recordings, downloadable manuscripts and information to support - and perhaps entertain! - fellow sacred music lovers. I am by no means claiming to be expert at anything - indeed it's YEARS since I built and regularly ran blogs and websites.... but it's something to do, and I admit this is also an anxiety management tool for me.
Enjoy!