York Minster – Choral Residency 6 – 8 April 2024
The Singers were delighted and privileged to be able to sing the services in York MInster over the weekend after Easter. We compiled a beautiful programme of music. 2024 marked the centenary of the death of the English composer Charles Villiers Stanford. Stanford died in 1924 and was buried on 3 April in Westminster Abbey. He is now mostly remembered for his melodic, accessible and effective choral music. We included settings by Stanford in all three choral services on Sunday 7 April.
2024 is also the 150th anniversary of the birth of the English composer Gustav Holst. His eight part setting of the Nunc Dimittis remains a relative rarity in performance. We love it more every time we get a chance to sing it. We think of the aged Simeon anticipating death as this setting begins slowly low down in the basses. It ends in glorious confidence with an amazing clash in the high voices – perhaps a moment of ecstasy (or panic?) before (in this case) the glory of death.
We paired the Holst with an eight part setting of the Magnificat by the Spanish Renaissance composer Tomás Luis de Victoria at the Saturday evensong . This amazing (honest!) extended setting of the song of Mary is one of our favourite pieces.
Our anthem for the Saturday Evensong was the six part Abendlied (literally ‘evening song’) by Josef Rheinberger. This wonderfully romantic piece is a firm favourite with choirs. Many of us have happy memories of singing this at Vespers in Cologne Cathedral on the first Sunday after Easter in 2016.
2024 is also the 200th anniversary of birth of Anton Bruckner and this is being widely celebrated. His Locus Iste is probably his best known choral work. We sang this at the Sunday Evensong.
We’re remained in York to sing at the special service on Monday 8 April to mark the Annunciation (very late this year). We sang Harold Darke’s simple but effective service setting. We ended our residency with another piece by Victoria – the beautiful four part Ne Timeas Maria (Fear not, Mary).
Our organist for the weekend was the wonderfully talented Will Campbell. Will was currently Organ Scholar at Canterbury Cathedral and will soon be taking up a post at Leeds Minster.
Saturday 6 April Evensong, 5.30pm
Magnificat primi toni – Victoria
Nunc dimittis – Gustav Holst
Abendlied – Rheinberger
Sunday 7 April Matins, 10.00am
Te Deum and Jubilate in B flat – Stanford
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace – Samuel Sebastian Wesley
Livestreamed video: https://bit.ly/3UbrLYX
Order of Service: https://bit.ly/3U34XKP
Sunday 7 April Sung Eucharist, 11.00am
Communion Service in G and B flat – Stanford
Ave verum Corpus – Peter Philips
Sunday 7 April Evensong, 4.00pm
Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in C- Stanford
Locus iste – Anton Bruckner
Monday 8 April Sung Eucharist, 5.30pm
Darke in E, Collegium Regale – Harold Darke
Ne timeas Maria – Victoria