Saints Peter and Paul (2015)

Sunday, 28 June 2015

First Holy Communion at the Cathedral, so we had our customary day off.

12th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B, 2015)

Sunday, 21 June 2015

 
Entrance Eternal Father, strong to save
Kyrie New Mass (Daniel Bath)
Gloria Mass of the Redeemer (mcb)
Psalm Ps 106 (Boulton Smith/BĂ©venot)
Gospel Acclamation St Agatha Alleluia (mcb)
Preparation of the Gifts Dear Lord and Father of mankind
Sanctus, Acclamation, Amen Pershore Mass (Alan Smith)
Agnus Dei Paschal Mass (Alan Rees)
Communion The eyes of everyone (mcb)
Postcommunion Oculi Omnium (Charles Wood, 1866-1926)
Recessional Be thou my vision
 

Today’s readings memorably explore the image of the stormy sea calmed. Three years ago this Sunday was displaced by the Nativity of John the Baptist; we largely returned to the same musical ideas as six years ago.

Dedication of the Cathedral (2015)

Sunday, 14 June 2015

 
Entrance The kingdom of God
Kyrie New Mass (Daniel Bath)
Gloria Mass of the Redeemer (mcb)
Psalm Ps 91 (Geoffrey Boulton Smith)
Gospel Acclamation St Agatha Alleluia (mcb)
Preparation of the Gifts (i) Locus Iste (Anton Bruckner, 1824-1896) (ii) All things bright and beautiful
Sanctus, Acclamation, Amen Pershore Mass (Alan Smith)
Agnus Dei Paschal Mass (Alan Rees)
Communion There is one thing I ask (Chris O’Hara)
Postcommunion Adoremus in aeternum (Gregorio Allegri, c.1582-1652)
Recessional Thanks be to God (Stephen Dean)
 

Bishop John led us in a celebration to mark the 125th anniversary of the dedication of the Cathedral. This was the first time the feast had been marked with a solemn festive celebration (I mean of course, one involving the choir 😊) since the centenary in 1990. The relatively late decision to mark the occasion in this way meant that we mainly kept to a celebration for the 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time, including our opening hymn about the Kingdom, reflecting the Gospel reading, and the hymn at the preparation of the gifts reflecting more widely on the beauty of creation, found also in the first reading and psalm. But we made space for Bruckner’s stately paean to the mystery and sanctity of God’s house, and our song at Communion, chosen to match the 11th Sunday’s Communion antiphon, might have been selected for the feast.

The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Year B, 2015)

Sunday, 7 June 2015

 
Entrance Of the glorious body telling
Kyrie New Mass (Daniel Bath)
Gloria Mass of the Redeemer (mcb)
Psalm Ps 115 (Psallite/Stephen Dean)
Gospel Acclamation St Agatha Alleluia (mcb)
Creed (said)
Preparation of the Gifts O Sacrum Convivium (Lodovico da Viadana, c.1560-1627)
Sanctus, Acclamation, Amen Pershore Mass (Alan Smith)
Agnus Dei Paschal Mass (Alan Rees)
Communion Where two or three are gathered (Liam Lawton)
Postcommunion Ave Verum Corpus (Edward Elgar, 1857-1934)
Recessional Soul of my Saviour
 

Just six of us in the choir this morning, but we made a good sound in the Viadana, with choral scholar Lydia Morrell making her directing debut, and in the Elgar.

Trinity Sunday (Year B, 2015)

Sunday, 31 May 2015

 
Entrance Holy Holy Holy, Lord God almighty
Kyrie New Mass (Daniel Bath)
Gloria Mass of the Redeemer (mcb)
Psalm Ps 32 (Robert Sherlaw Johnson)
Gospel Acclamation St Agatha Alleluia (mcb)
Preparation of the Gifts St Patrick’s Breastplate (C.V. Stanford, 1852-1924)
Sanctus, Acclamation, Amen Pershore Mass (Alan Smith)
Agnus Dei Paschal Mass (Alan Rees)
Communion God beyond all names (John Bell) & Benedicta sit sancta Trinitas (chant)
Postcommunion A Hymn to the Trinity (P.I. Tchaikovsky, 1840-1893)
Recessional Holy God, we praise thy name
 

We marked the return to Ordinary Time with changes to our ritual music. We're trying out one or two new items: the Sanctus from Alan Smith’s Pershore Mass and the Kyrie from a Mass setting written for us by Daniel Bath. Otherwise, we added to our Trinity Sunday repertoire with Stanford’s setting of the strongly Trinitarian St Patrick’s Breastplate. The music begins and ends in muscular guise, but at the centre of the piece is the more serene hymn-like setting of Christ beside me. We found a good range of musical expression to accommodate the changing moods of the music.