Choral Workshop at Walsingham -
  • M. Jackson Osborn
    Posts: 8,368
    We had the opening rehearsal of the ninth Chorus Angelorum choral workshop at Walsingham this evening.
    Chorus Angelorum is a semi-professional choir in residence at Walsingham devoted solely to the Anglican choral tradition and evensong. It sings evensong at regular intervals throughout the year. Our cathedral choirmaster, Edmund Murray, is also the choirmaster of Chorus Angelorum. Fr Charles Hough, IV, our cathedral rector, and Fr Timothy Perkins, the Ordinariate's vicar general are both participating in the workshop.

    This is the second year that we have had Dr Simon Carrington lead the workshop, which began this evening and continues through Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Chorus Angelorum accompanist, Dr Jeong-Suk Bae, will play an organ recital Friday evening at 6.30pm. The workshop will close with solemn evensong in the cathedral Saturday at 6.30pm, the solemnity of the Nativity of St John the Baptist. Any who happen to be in the Houston area are welcome to both of these events, which are open to the public.

    Here is the workshop music, a challenging and immensely inspiring list -

    SOLEMN EVENSONG -
    Introit - 'A Song of Christ's glory' - - - Grayston Ives
    Preces and Responses - - - William Byrd
    Office Hymn - Ut queant laxis - - - Mode II
    Psalm LXXX - Qui regis Israel - - - Chant, I.A. Atkins
    Magnificat - in D - - - George Dyson
    Nunc Dimittis - in D - - - George Dyson
    The Suffrages - - - William Byrd
    The Marian Antiphon - Salve Regina (a6)- - - Herbert Howells
    Hymn - 'Angel Voices, Ever Singing' - - - Angel Voices

    Followed by -

    SACRED CONCERT: CANTICLES OF PRAISE -
    Surge illuminare - - - Willaim Byrd
    Venite (a8), from The First Great Service - - - Robert Parsons
    Te Deum, Collegium Regale - - - Herbert Howells
    Salvator mundi (a5) - - - John Blow
    Canticle of Zechariah - - - James McMillan
    Jubilate Deo, in Bb - - - William Walton

    ______________________________________________________________________________

    Of other interest at Walsingham -

    Friday of next week we will have the ordinations to the Sacred Order of Priests of three young Ordinariate deacons.
    Thanked by 2CHGiffen Kathy
  • Blaise
    Posts: 439
    Good to see M. Jackson Osborn there. I look forward to next year. On a side note, I received my ordinariate acceptance letter when I came home to San Antonio. It was dated for June 22. So, technically my visit to the cathedral - my first ever - was also my first to "home base", if you will.

    (As for how I, a cradle Catholic, was accepted into the ordinariate - usually reserved for Anglican converts, my own parish under the title and patronage of Our Lady of the Atonement was recently transferred from the archdiocese to the ordinariate. For a brief window of time - about three months - those of us parishioners of OLOA who have been there for six months or more, otherwise not eligible for ordinariate membership, were granted the privilege of applying for membership. The privilege expired the day before July 1.)

    Paul
    Thanked by 3Kathy CHGiffen M. Jackson Osborn
  • Blaise
    Posts: 439
    One more thing I want to emphasize that M. Jackson Osborn mentioned above. We had priests singing in the choir. Yes, you read that right. We had Catholic priests.

    Catholic priests.

    I read so frequently on these forums that Catholic priests often care little to nothing about their music programs. And we had no less than the cathedral rector and even the vicar general for the ordinariate. This should tell you how serious we take things in the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter.

    I took a very, very informal survey on the Anglican Ordinariate Informal Conversation Forum on Facebook yesterday regarding music, liturgical practices, and occasional services in the ordinariates, namely the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter. While not all have the resources to have a fully sung Mass with choir, all of the individuals who chose to respond (granted, very few) reported that their parish/parochial community had some combination of the following: traditional hymnody, sung dialogue and/or reading(s). Three out of the four respondents had some offices or other services, such as Tenebrae during Holy Week, Evensong, Matins, and Nine Lessons and Carols. The fourth respondent replied that his parish was considering bringing back Matins (morning prayer).

    I am not either an organist or a director of music. But if the ordinariates are going to grow to their full potential, we are going to need you to help us. For it is Christ's will that all be saved. For many, the ordinariates of the Latin Church are their lifeline, where they will first partake of the precious Lamb as their "provision for the journey into life everlasting" (taken from the Byzantine rite).

    (For anyone who wishes to hear our music at the service proper and concert following, you may go to the Chorus Angelorum page on Facebook. The recessional hymn after Evensong proper and before the concert and the organ voluntaries are not posted, but most of the choral pieces are. Video and photo credit goes to Catalina Brand, CCD Coordinator, Cathedral of Our Lady of Walsingham.)

    Paul
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