Soundboard No. 25 - Church Music Dublin

SOUNDBOARD
DECEMBER
2011 1
SOUNDBOARD
CHURCH MUSIC AND MUSICIANS
THE MAGAZINE OF THE DUBLIN
& GLENDALOUGH DIOCESAN CHURCH MUSIC COMMITTEE
Surveys and
new beginnings
We wish all our readers a peaceful and joyful Christmas and plenty of good musicmaking.
It is just over 20 years since the dioceses set up the Church Music Committee. From
the outset, the provision of training and information has been the core of our mission.
We also have given thought to the position of the musician in the local church and have
worked to build up a sense of community amongst church musicians. From time to time
the Committee has stood back a little and reflected on what it has done, what it has
achieved and, perhaps, noted what has not gone so well. “Even if we appear to be
successful, are we doing the right things?” has been a regular question.
ISSUE
25 DECEMBER 2011
IN THIS ISSUE
MICHAEL MCGLYNN on the music of
the Irish church … 2
DES COX on being a reluctant parish
church musician … 3
THE I.C.M.A. SUMMER SCHOOL
at NUI Maynooth … 6
Recently, we have felt the need for some firm quantitative data about music in
parish churches. A Survey of Church Music in the dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough
was carried out early in 2011. The data was gathered, in the main, using an online
questionnaire and covers all 103 churches in the dioceses. The results are summarised
on pages 7 and 8 and some initial reflections and recommendations follow on pages 9
and 10. We hope all clergy and musicians will study these pages closely, because there is
much material here for future discussion, both locally and at a diocesan level. The
Committee extends its deep thanks to Hon. Secretary Jacqueline Mullen, and Paul
Mullen (St Patrick’s, Greystones) for their expert and thorough work in seeing the project
to an end and analysing the data.
Elsewhere in this issue there is information about appointments of musicians to
various church positions. In both St Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast and Christ Church
Cathedral, Dublin, young professional musicians will start work in the New Year. Even in
the present challenging economic
climate, it is heartening to know that our
major cathedrals continue to earmark
resources for the provision of fine music
to help offer prayer and praise to the
Triune God on behalf of the entire
diocesan faith community and to uplift
those who are present at the worship.
The Royal School of Church Music
has made a number of attempts over
the past 40 years to have an input into
parish church music in Ireland. The
RSCM is a deeply respected, effective
organisation throughout the Englishspeaking world and no longer is the
Anglican-orientated body that it was in
the past. We wish the new RSCM Ireland
Co-ordinator, Mark Bowyer, every
success as he takes up his position and
are heartened by his realisation (page
13) that if the RSCM is to gain an
enduring foothold in Ireland, it must to
a considerable extent allow itself to be
assimilated by the local culture.
BRIAN MCIVOR on a new recording at
St Bartholomew’s … 11
OUR SURVEY SAID … 7-10
NEWS FROM THE RSCM … 13
DEREK VERSO on a restored organ for
Killodiernan … 14
MUSICIANS ON THE MOVE … 16
DEREK SEYMOUR looks at Liszt … 12
YOUR SOUNDBOARD … 15
2 SOUNDBOARD DECEMBER 2011
Spirituality in Irish church music
MICHAEL McGLYNN, founder and musical director of Anúna, on his
upbringing and work in Irish church music
I was brought up as a Roman Catholic.
My parents endeavoured to give me every
opportunity to be exposed to a vast range
of music, strongly encouraging our
explorations, be they rock or classical
music. In school the main exposure to
singing was musical drama in the form of
Gilbert and Sullivan with a few hymns in
unison at every church service. It is
understandable, therefore, that when my
first exposure to sacred choral music at last
arrived at age nineteen in University
College Dublin Chamber Choir, it was like
being hit with a mallet on the head.
I clearly remember my first
rehearsal. We sang two songs,
Christus Factus Est by Anerio and O
Sacrum Convivium by Messiaen.
Suddenly much was made clear to
me. Maybe this was why people still
spoke fondly of the extinct Latin
Mass, with its remote and
mysterious ceremony? It also
helped explain to me why services
were structured as they are. Music
wasn’t simply a chance for the
congregation to sing together,
rather it was a series of sonic signposts angled towards illumination
of the underlying spiritual truth of
the service.
The Latin language, with its soft
and non-percussive sound, had a
natural affinity to the music that it
was carried by. Later I discovered
the music of Tallis, Gibbons and
Byrd, being struck by the beauty of
the harmonic language and the
mellifluous use of the less-musical
English language. Simple, direct
statements of belief were woven
into a powerful lattice of spiritual
affirmation. Exposure to more
recent music written for the Church
today
plainly
showed
that
composers are acutely aware of their
musical ancestry and quite capable of
working within the practical constraints of
service structures and the capabilities of
the performing groups that they compose
for. Indeed, the love of singing
contemporary music among the better
choral groups was a great pleasure to
behold, even if much of the music
demanded skills that were just on the edge
of what the singers were capable of.
With respect to my Roman Catholic
upbringing, I had rarely understood how
the odd hymn here or there and the
simplistic one-line responses and calls in
the vernacular could compare to the
carefully constructed musical structures
that I participated in while singing in my
first Church of Ireland services. It irritated
me that much of what was musically
beautiful in the pre-Vatican II church had
simply been consigned to performance
repertoire, rarely heard within its originally
conceived context.
Sometimes I felt like a starved man
who eats as much as possible very quickly,
deputising and singing at the two major
Church of Ireland Cathedrals in Dublin, St.
Patrick’s and Christ Church Cathedrals as
often as I could. I sang for free at
weddings, funerals, services – anything I
was asked to do simply to experience this
music in the context of its original
conception.
By this time I was beginning to
compose on a regular basis. While the
main thrust of my composition was
towards the development of a new form of
Irish choral music, I was consistently drawn
to spiritual texts. Two early efforts I wrote
for competitions organised for use in the
Church of Ireland service were Codhlaim
go suan id’ chroí” (I Sleep Softly in Your
Heart) and the anthem Come Let us Sing
the former for a competition to find an
anthem in the Irish language and the latter
a setting of a more traditional Church text.
This work eventually gave rise to my Celtic
Mass, a combination of texts in Latin and
Irish on diverse texts. Latterly my spiritual
output has included the four Tenebrae
Responsories, a Missa Brevis for St David’s
Cathedral in Pembrokeshire, Wales and a
diverse collection of individual sacred
works that include my Agnus Dei which
was commissioned by the American choir
Chanticleer in 2006 for their five-composer
project And on Earth, Peace: a Chanticleer
Mass.
Despite it being nearly thirty years
since I was so profoundly influenced by
this music, it continues to be a part of my
life. I attend regularly at Saint
Bartholomew’s Church in Dublin which has
a fine and ambitious musical programme. I
continue to write spiritual music and I
suppose that such an early obsession is
often carried through life.
There are some things that I
have noted over the years, some
observations that I would like to
share. The first is the huge
community value of choral music.
In churches that have a strong
choral infrastructure, there is a
sense of the presence of the
community. So many people are
needed to make a choral group
function
properly,
particularly
when young people are involved.
The essence of this music is that it
brings a congregation together,
and in this day-and-age it must
also reach further out to the
greater population, not just those
that attend services.
I believe that the power of
community singing of good quality
has a ripple effect on the entirety
of society. This power should never
be taken for granted. Those that
see music in services as a purely
functional religious device need to
educate themselves better. Also
those that see the choir as being a
finite body, there simply for the
singers or conductor are similarly
incorrect. This music and literature
has survived because its function is
far beyond this. There is nothing
wrong with aspirations to create “art”, but
do remember that the composers who
have written this music for a millennium
usually did so with the desire to transmit
genuine and heartfelt spiritual insight to a
congregation.
Michael McGlynn was born in Dublin in
1964. His harmonic language combines
elements of traditional Irish music such as
modal melodic lines and ornamentation, fixed
and shifting drones and jazz-tinged chordal
clusters. In 1987 he founded the Irish choral
group Anúna, which has released fifteen
albums, almost exclusively featuring his
arrangements and original works. He is a filmmaker, with his début self-produced and
directed film "Invocations of Ireland" being
broadcast across Australia and New Zealand.
He lives in Dublin with his family where his
interests include sea swimming, horse riding
and procrastination. [email protected]
SOUNDBOARD
DECEMBER
2011 3
Hymn Tunes in Lower Keys
Kevin Mayhew. ISMN M570 421 107. Published July 2011. £25 approx.
Every organist knows the congregation mantra, ‘we can’t sing up there!’ and not everyone has the skills to
immediately transpose tunes down a tone or even two. Here’s the answer: a Kevin Mayhew mega
collection which in many cases gives two or even three different keys for 314 hymn tunes. The result: your
congregation will be delighted that the organist has come down to their level!
One More Step Along The World I Go
(or Starting Again From Scratch…)
DES COX on his unlikely and reluctant appointment, and unexpected experiences, as a
Dublin church musician
In writing this article, I constantly hear the words of Sydney Carter’s hymn One More Step Along the World I Go in my head.
Especially the plea “Give me courage when the world is rough”! What do you do when you abruptly take over as church organist, having sought unsuccessfully to convince the Vicar that you are not an organist; in a church with a relatively elderl y
congregation, with just about no choir, and with little active participation in worship?
From the old things to the new…
I moved into the area in 2002 from Dalkey, where from childhood I had been a member of a very active church choir in St Patrick’s Church. My brother Neville had been organist in the church, and I would play an odd service in his absence, gradually getting
used to using the pedals and the various stops, relying on luck and a reasonably good ear. On moving into my new parish, I took the
brave decision not to get involved in anything remotely sounding like commitment. I had done my time giving a regular commitment to church music. That was until an elderly neighbour, whom I had encountered as one half of the choir of St Catherine & St
James’s Church, heard me singing to myself while out working in the front garden, and persuaded me to join the church choir. Actually, one doesn’t get persuaded to do anything in Dublin 8. One gets compelled!
Where I see no way to go…
I thought I would humour my old neighbour for a while before sneaking away from the choir. The Lord works in mysterious
ways... In mid-sneak, around 2004, the announcement came that the current organist Kerry Houston was resigning to take up a new
employment position. Kerry had been organist in the church for some 20 years, and his loss would be huge. I felt it only right to help
out for the couple of months until a new organist was appointed. Seven years later, and I still try to convince myself I’m just helping
out…
You see, I’m no organist. Certainly I can play the piano, and am currently Musical Director of Dún Laoghaire Musical & Dramatic
Society, and ANTHEM Gospel Choir. But a regular Sunday morning slot at the organ? I don’t think so. By this time, my elderly neighbour had passed away and, with me at the organ, my choir was now a very loyal, long-suffering one. The small congregation made it
a point to arrive early to get the best seats as far down the back as possible. The Vicar and visiting clergy from St Patrick’s Cathedral
...continued overleaf
LIVING WORSHIP 2012
The popular annual Living Worship course in music and
worship will be held again on four consecutive Saturday
mornings, starting on 14 January
The venue will be the hall at Mageough House, Rathmines,
beside the Cowper Luas stop. Living Worship considers aspects of
church music in a rather wider context than simply playing the
organ or singing in a choir. Musicians, clergy, worship planners, lay
leaders and members of congregations have always enjoyed these
sessions. Practical music skills are not required to take part. Time is
given for some singing and the course leaders will be Dean Tom
Gordon, Professor John Harper, Canon Gerald Field and Jonathan
Rea.
Tom Gordon, not for the first time, will pose the question ‘Why
do Christians worship?’ and come up with an answer that few will
expect. John Harper is a former Director-General of the RSCM, so
is well-placed to consider the future of music in the local church.
Gerald Field will talk about the work of the Liturgical Advisory
Committee and how its work increasingly impinges on musicians
and the arts in general. And on the final Saturday, 4 February,
Jonathan Rea, Artistic Director of New Irish Arts, Belfast, will lead a
discursive session on the role of the music group leader, with a
sideways glance at church politics.
The course fee is €90; for more information and booking visit
www.churchmusicdublin.org or call 087 668 3998
4 SOUNDBOARD DECEMBER 2011
Kate Manning writes:
Pipeworks Festival
this year took place in Cork, Louth and Dublin, due to the ongoing growth of the Dublin International Organ Competition. It was
decided to divide the quarter-finals between the 2010 Henk van Eeken organ in Holy Trinity Church, Crosshaven, and the 1900
Father Willis organ in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dundalk. Both are superb examples of two very different organ building traditions
which allowed competitors to demonstrate their technique and programming skills. To complement this, significant portions of the
festival were programmed in both locations, showcasing both instruments and opening up the festival to new audiences. It proved a
great success and will be the template for future festivals. The competition attracted entries from all five continents. The final rounds
took place at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin and the prizewinners were—first: Joonho Park (Republic of Korea); second: David
Baskeyfield (UK); third: Stefan Donner (Austria). The jury included some of the world’s leading pedagogues as well as recitalists;
David Higgs, Jacques van Oortmerssen, Jon Laukvik and David Titterington all gave recitals and masterclasses. The National
Chamber Choir and David Adams opened the festival in Crosshaven. Stile Antico made their debut appearance in Ireland as part
of the festival, singing at St Nicholas’ Church, Dundalk, along with The Clermont Chorale. Other featured artists in the festival were
Malcolm Proud (organ and harpsichord) and Roisín O’Grady (soprano) and David Leigh who played Francis Potts’ magisterial
Christus at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin. An alternatim liturgy was staged in Holy Trinity Church, Crosshaven, featuring movements
from Frescobaldi’s Fiori Musicali (1635). Dublin’s three cathedral choirs sang Solemn Vespers on the Feast of St John the Baptist in
the Pro-Cathedral with organ improvisations by Dom John Columba McCann interspersed between the choral offerings. Seminars
and conferences also featured as part of the festival. Despite the vagaries of the economic downturn and all that that has meant for
arts funding in Ireland, Pipeworks put on an interesting and diverse programme which covered the organ in many of its guises: an
instrument of worship, a concert instrument, a teaching instrument, an instrument that forms part of our material and architectural
culture. 2012 is a non-festival year but plans are in train for a summer school in Crosshaven with Harald Vogel (his first visit to
Ireland) and a series of organ recitals preceding the Friday evening NSO concerts in the National Concert Hall, in association with
RTÉ Music and the NCH.
www.pipeworksfestival.com
One More Step… continued from page 3
(the church is the main parish church in the
Cathedral Group) did not always consider it
necessary to announce page numbers from
the multitude of books that were used in
the morning service, leading to considerable confusion for the congregation
throughout the service. That was, if the
congregation could hear the clergy, in the
absence of any meaningful sound system.
Added to that, the new pointing in the
psalter made it virtually impossible for any
mere mortal to sing the psalm properly,
even on the welcome occasions when a
page number was announced. And to cap
it all, the organ is located in the south transept of the church, meaning I was obliged
to present my back, and therefore my
voice, to the congregation. This was not a
great starting point. Give me courage….
Round the corner of the world I turn…
It’s funny how things go. Around this
time, the Vestry decided to undertake a
major renovation of the church. This meant
that the church was closed for approximately six months. During this time, the
services were held in the hall of the adjacent Parish School. And what a change in
dynamic was achieved! The congregation
no longer sat in favoured pews, but rather
in a semi-circle in front of the altar. I no
longer played the organ with my back to
the proceedings, but rather faced the congregation, sitting at and playing an electric
piano. There was no separation distance
between the clergy, the music and the people – we were all within a few metres of
one another.
One thing I had noticed about the
music played in the church prior to my
taking on this “temporary” role as church
musician, was its general inaccessibility to
non-musicians. I have mentioned the inherent difficulty in singing of the psalms.
However, added to that, hymns had often
been chosen which, while beautiful in their
own way, were decidedly unfamiliar and
difficult to sing. To put it another way,
there was simply nothing to encourage
congregational singing in the church. Over
the period in the school, I chose a limited
number of more well-known hymns; in
addition, where I wanted to introduce a
new hymn, I would firstly play it on the
piano, and sing it to the congregation sitting right in front of me. How much more
familiar this was to me, given my experience as MD for a Musical Society! And with
constant words of encouragement – never
underestimate the value of encouragement
– the congregation responded, and the
volume of, and confidence in, the singing
of these familiar hymns increased beyond
all recognition. By agreement with the Vicar, we dropped the singing of the psalm
and canticles; this meant that, with that
particular barrier removed, we could as a
group reacquaint ourselves with the beauty
of the words. This is still the case, although
I am actively exploring the wonderful resource that is Singing Psalms, with the intent of introducing the singing of psalms
once again to the church in the very near
future.
The playing of the piano in the school
hall meant that I had an opportunity to do
away with voluntaries at the start and end
of the service, and instrumental music during the Communion. I freely admit that I do
not believe that organ voluntaries contribute to worship. Instead, I began to extemporise the music of the opening and closing hymns. In particular at the start of the
service, this meant that the congregation
had the melody of the opening hymn fresh
in their heads by the time they came to
sing it. During Communion, I would sing a
solo, accompanying myself on the piano –
usually a modern hymn, or a hymn that
might not normally be sung (for example
No. 711 Surrexit Christus or No. 582 Jesus,
all for Jesus), but one which is meaningful
and quiet. This always reminds me of the
Passion Gospel where we are told that after
the Last Supper “they sang a hymn”. This
maybe allows a time and focus for postCommunion meditation during The Great
Silence.
The renovation of the church was a
tremendous success. Aside from the beauty
of the interior – and it is a stunning place a modern sound and lighting system was
SOUNDBOARD
installed, which has contributed profoundly to an improved setting for services.
However, of more importance to me was
the new confidence in expression of the
congregation; the verbal responses and
singing were louder (I had suggested to
my one member choir that she might be
more comfortable in the congregation
rather than on display up the front, something with which she fully agreed). I continued to alternate between the organ and
a new portable piano, with which I could
face the congregation, and on which certain hymns, Communion singing, and other music sounds immeasurably better,
often being the instrument for which that
music was composed.
Leap and sing in all I do….
The main word I would use to describe the music, and general participation,
in the church now is JOY – with people
keen to give their all in word and song. I
generally mix older and modern hymns in
a service to provide a good mix of music.
The volume of singing belies the fact that
there is a normal Sunday morning congregation of some 35 people. Over the subsequent years, the congregation has increased with the arrival of young families
into the area, and their attraction and loyalty to church activities. Under the wonderful management of Karen Jordan, viceprincipal of the parish school, with some
very loyal helpers, there is now a thriving
Sunday School. This has allowed us to
have a Family Service, led by the children
in word and song, every second month.
When I arrived in 2002 there was a Sunday
School of two children. Who would believe
that at our recent Family Harvest Festival,
we had a choir of twenty-six children,
leading the music in voice and actions, and
accompanied in part by the organ and in
part by the piano? I have confidence that,
with ongoing encouragement, in years to
come, we may once again have an enthusiastic and active choir.
And leaning on my other contacts in
the musical world outside of the church,
we have been lucky to have regular visiting
choirs – including my own Gospel Choir
ANTHEM, and the Unity Gospel Choir of
Wicklow – to lead the worship. Often this
is with music that is not found in the
Church Hymnal, accompanied by piano
and percussion, but which offers an alternative and welcome dimension to the service.
More and more about the world I learn...
DECEMBER
2011 5
All this combines to provide a wonderful and joyful variation to Sunday worship, with little opportunity to grow stale.
This has all happened with the oversight,
and indeed active encouragement of Canon Mark Gardner, Vicar of St Catherine and
St James’s Church. I am grateful to have
wonderful support in an assistant organist,
Margery Bell (my former last-standing
choir member), and Philip Lawton, organist
of St Audoen’s, a sister church in the Cathedral Group. This means that, if on occasion I am away on a Sunday morning, Margery or Philip will play the church service;
in return, if Philip is away I will play both
church services. This makes for a very
healthy sharing of skills and consistency in
church worship.
Perhaps this experience may give
some comfort to other church musicians
reading this who find themselves in similar
circumstances; To approach church music
with an open mind, firstly determining,
and then playing to the strengths of a
congregation, rather than to a set of preconceived ideas; To be willing to try new
ideas, but to communicate these first to
the congregation, letting them buy into
those ideas; Maybe at times to depart
from the traditional way of doing things,
while not losing the best parts of that tradition; To ensure that there is not an undue reliance on an organist’s or choir’s
performance at the expense of congregational participation. And in all things, to
approach church music with JOY!
It sounds almost silly to think that one
of the key revolutions in St Catherine and
St James’s has been the provision of a
service sheet for a morning service, setting
out the wording of the liturgy, including
the hymns, readings, psalm and any canticles. This is of course a long-standing
practice in other churches, but not in our
church. I consider the preparation of service sheets as part of my remit as church
musician, and am delighted to produce
these weekly. It is incredible how much
these benefit participation in worship,
where there is no longer a struggle in juggling the various heavy books. It also
means that each service can be tailored to
a theme or form, rather than having to fit
within a set structure. We no longer have a And it's from the old I travel to the new;
choir of three or one; we have a choir of keep me travelling along with you.
[email protected]
an entire congregation.
6 SOUNDBOARD DECEMBER 2011
Eucharistic Congress
The arrival of the 50th International
Eucharistic Congress to Ireland in June
2012 brings with it an opportunity that
many may have been waiting for. Whilst
the Church in Ireland prepares, many are
taking stock of the potential the occasion
affords and church musicians are no
exception.
A Eucharistic Congress is in essence an
adult faith development initiative and
consists primarily of gathering for prayer,
study and celebration. The aim is renewal
in awareness of the centrality of the
Eucharist, of Christ in the life of the Church.
The programme of pastoral preparation
has been paving the way and it includes
contributions from the Revd Ken Rue,
(priest-in-charge of the Church of Ireland
parish of Killiskey, Co. Wicklow) and others
on the richness of the theology and
spirituality in Eucharistic hymns.
The coming Congress presents choir
leaders and church musicians with an
opportunity to refresh the parish
repertoire with a new common hymnody.
It might not be well known, but much of
the hymnody currently used in the Catholic
Church in Ireland, often referred to as the
‘golden oldies’, is a legacy of the 1932
Eucharistic Congress. Hymns such as Sweet
Sacrament Divine, Soul of my Saviour, O
Sacrament Most Holy and others were
introduced at that time along with the
motet Panis Angelicus. Indeed it seems
that great events in the life of the Church
such as this provide an opportunity to
introduce new hymns. The visit of Pope
John Paul II in 1979 produced a similar
musical outcome.
The appointment of a Music Director
for the 2012 Eucharistic Congress is
imminent, as is the announcement of the
Congress music repertoire, which it is
hoped will be introduced countrywide. It is
likely that this will likely include a mix of
hymns that are known, hymns from the
international pilgrimage scene and of
course
the
Congress
Hymn
www.iec2012.ie/hymn.
While we reflect on the theological,
spiritual and social dimensions of
communion with Christ and with one
another, congregational singing enhanced
with choral harmony is, perhaps its most
eloquent expression.
www.iec2012.ie
The ICMA Summer School
MARY DEE reports on the annual summer school, this year themed on 'The
Mystery of Faith’ and looking towards the 2012 Eucharistic Congress
Opening the summer school, Bishop Brendan Kelly reminded us of the foundation
of the Association in 1969 and the first summer school the following year. The
opening included the launch of Sing the Mass, a new anthology of Mass settings for
the texts of the new edition of the Missal. Launching the new resource, Bishop Kelly
quoted the Constitution on the Liturgy of the Second Vatican Council: "Sacred music
will be the more holy the more closely it is joined to the liturgical rite, whether by
adding delight to prayer, fostering oneness of spirit, or investing the rites with greater
solemnity." He remarked that this was what the anthology offered.
The new Mass settings were used during the summer school, and these gave an
insight to the changes that will happen officially from the First Sunday of Advent this
year. Using the settings was helpful and choir leaders discovered that going back to
their parish to introduce this new music would not be such a huge task as they had
originally thought. The wide variety of music made available to us for all aspects of the
Liturgy in the tutorial books was excellent. The work of many composers was used and
it was great to see so many Irish names among that list! Whether you have a large
parish choir, a small choir, a choir with guitars and other instruments, or just organ
accompaniment, the music provided is suitable.
The guest director was Órla Barry, back to the summer school for the fourth time.
Órla is founder and director of Cantando, a chamber choir formed to explore the
choral repertoire from Renaissance madrigals to contemporary works. Órla was
director of the Palestrina Choir at the Pro-Cathedral in Dublin from 1996 to 2001. She
is a graduate of UCD and the University of Cincinnati, Ohio, where she studied
conducting. She is head of music at St Raphaela's Secondary School, Kilmacud, Dublin.
The usual range of tutorials that are part of the summer school took place: parish and
contemporary music (Liam Lawton and Chris de Silva), choral direction/conducting
(Dominic Finn), cantor training (Sarah Waldron), liturgical composition (Edward
Holden), organ (Eóin Tierney, Regina Deacy, Éanna McKenna and David Connolly),
special choir (Órla Barry), schools (Monica Brown), chant (Giovanna Feeley), music by
Irish composers for the new Missal translation (John O'Keeffe and Paul Kenny). The
wide range of tutorials available ensured that there was something for everyone each
day.
The summer school is not just about church music, but also the Liturgy. Before the
singing began each morning, Paddy Jones and Liam Tracey provided helpful liturgical
inputs. Continuous formation is important in any ministry, and the church music
summer school should be an important highlight for anyone in music ministry. During
the week, you obtain new material, make new friends, have fun, and above all, praise
and worship God together in a spirit of unity through music. If you have never been to
the church music summer school, make a date for 2-6 July 2012 in Maynooth.
This article first appeared in New Liturgy, summer 2011. Mary Dee is a liturgy resourcer for the
Diocese of Waterford and Lismore and a former student of the National Centre for Liturgy.
[email protected]
SOUNDBOARD
DECEMBER
2011 7
Questions, questions...
The Dublin and Glendalough Diocesan Church Music Committee regularly asks itself the question ‘Are
we meeting the actual needs of musicians working in parish churches throughout the dioceses and
effectively contributing to the promotion of music in worship?’
To help the members of the committee respond to this
fundamental question, a survey of music in parish churches
was carried out early in 2011: mainly by means of a webbased questionnaire and also by direct contact with clergy
and musicians.
By the beginning of June, information had been received
from all 103 churches in the diocese (quite an
achievement!).
While it was hoped that musicians and clergy would supply
the information jointly, as matters turned out the data was
supplied by 68 clergy, 13 musicians, and 4 administrators.
The results provide a fascinating snapshot of Anglican
parish church worship in the Dublin region in the first
decade of the 21st century.
What follows are
• tables containing the key quantitative findings of the survey,
• the Church Music Committee’s initial views about what the
data reveals; and
• reflections on what steps might be taken to respond
appropriately and effectively.
The data relates to the 54 parish units in the Dioceses of Dublin
and Glendalough, embracing 103 churches.
Ethnic origin of Sunday morning assembly
Ethnic origin
Mainly Irish
A mix of Irish and other nationalities
Over 50% non-nationals from Europe
Over 50% non-nationals
from outside Europe
Churches
94
6
2
1
103
Table 1
Age profile
Age profile
‘Have adults of working age’
Churches
103
‘Have retired people’
‘Have primary school children’
97
78
‘Have teenagers’
45
‘Have babies and toddlers’
69
Table 2
Sunday worship
Average Sunday morning attendance
Up to 30
31 - 75
76 - 100
Churches
33
43
15
101-150
7
150 - 200
4
201 and over
1
103
Table 3
An early Sunday morning
Eucharist takes place
Every Sunday
On alternate Sundays
Once a month
In alternate months
At Christmas and Easter only
Seldom / never
Churches
30
7
4
2
1
59
103
Table 4
A principal Sunday morning
service takes place
Every Sunday
On alternate Sundays
Rarely / never
Churches
94
5
4
103
Table 5
Evening Service
Every Sunday
Monthly
Occasionally
Churches
12
7
8
Rarely/Never
76
103
Table 6
8 SOUNDBOARD DECEMBER 2011
Type of principal Sunday morning service
The Eucharist is the principal service every Sunday
The Eucharist is celebrated twice a month and
Morning Prayer / Service of the Word / Family
Service on the other Sundays
Family Service takes place once a month
Family Service takes place three times a month
Family Service takes place twice a month
Family Service takes place rarely/never
Churches
3
70
40
1
1
61
Table 7
Instruments and singing
Lead Musicians
Title
Total
Remunerated
Not
remunerated
Director
of music
Organist
18
17
1
69
53
16
8
6
2
12
3
9
107
79
28
Choir
Director
Band Leader
Totals
Instruments used
at principal
Sunday services
Organ
Piano
Band
Used in
Frequency
74 churches
9 churches
6 churches
Every Sunday
Every Sunday
Every Sunday
Choir
Choir
21 churches
3 churches
Every Sunday
3 Sundays a month
2 churches
3 churches
2 churches
2 Sundays a month
Every Sunday
One Sunday a month
8 churches have a team of musicians.
13 churches use recorded music
Table 11
Choirs
Type of Choir
Choir
Cantor
Cantor
Table 8
Music is selected by
Clergy and musician
Churches
53
Clergy only
Musician only
26
24
103
Adult SATB
Rehearse
weekly
20
2
Children’s
7
Combined
adult/children’s
Sunday school
4
2
2
Parish school
Singing
group
Gospel
1
3
4
3
1
42
10
Singing the Gloria in Excelsis, Sanctus, Psalms and Canticles
the Gloria in Excelsis is sung
regularly
the Sanctus is sung regularly
Churches
to a congregational setting
29
to a congregational setting
27
At the Eucharist
no parts of the liturgy
are sung regularly
The Psalms
are sung at all services
to Anglican chant
7
The Psalms
to Anglican chant
18
to Anglican chant
11
to Anglican chant
2
The Psalms
are sung at the Eucharist
and Morning Prayer
are sung at Morning
Prayer only
are sung at the
Eucharist only
are sung
to plainchant
2
The Psalms
are sung
responsorially
5
The Canticles
are sung by everyone using
Anglican chant
51
The Canticles
are sung by everyone
using a composed setting
3
The Canticles
are sung by a choir
using a composed setting
3
The Canticles
are sung
using a metrical version
The Psalms
The Psalms
11
3
Table 12
Repertoire
At the Eucharist
Rehearse
occasionally
13
Adult Unison
or 2-part
Table 9
At the Eucharist
Rehearse
monthly
51
Table 10
29
Children’s singing
• 21 Sunday schools use
instrumental accompaniment
for singing.
• 8 Sunday schools use
recorded music for singing
• 1 Sunday school
uses a Cantor
• 10 churches use recorded
music for children’s singing
Table 13
2
26
SOUNDBOARD
Some Reflections and
Recommendations
The prime job of the parish church musician is to
facilitate and encourage the singing of the entire
worshipping community
Only 1 in 5 churches in the dioceses (Table 8) has a choir that
sings every Sunday. It is clear that the number of parish
church choirs and the number of singers in them has been
falling for many years. It is very difficult to attract new /
younger personnel. Most people in our time seek the
enjoyment of choral singing by joining a secular rather than
a church choir. It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that in
most situations the traditional, 4-part, church choir is no
longer either a viable or a satisfactory resource for leading
the choral aspect of worship.
Musicians must increasingly see their role as being to engage
with the entire worshipping assembly. The prime
responsibility of the organist is to lead the congregational
singing. Care should be exercised to ensure that the singing
of a choir does not diminish congregational participation.
Standards of music performance outside church are now very
high and a musically inadequate church choir can distract
people rather than encourage them to come to church. It
may well be the case that members of a struggling choral
group will be more effectively located within the main body
of worshippers. In all but a very few places, the priority must
be to facilitate prayerful singing by the entire assembly. This
can be achieved without a separate choral resource.
Sing the ‘Holy, holy, holy Lord’
At the Eucharist, just under 30 churches regularly sing the
Gloria in Excelsis and/or the Sanctus (Table 10). The Sanctus
(the proclamation of the thrice Holy God we worship) is one
of the Judaeo-Christian tradition’s oldest hymns and,
arguably, should take precedence of all other hymnody. The
Sanctus is entirely scriptural (cf. Isaiah 6.3 and Revelation 4.8)
and it offers the opportunity to praise God at a high point in
the liturgy.
In places where the Sanctus is not regularly sung, clergy and
musicians should consider introducing it. Church Hymnal has
two versions (Nos. 714 and 715) and a large number of other
simple congregational settings are readily available, many of
them easily sung without the need for instrumental
accompaniment. It should be noted (as Bishop John Neill
pointed out some years ago) that when the Sanctus is sung
at the end of Eucharistic Prayer 3, the Great Amen that
immediately follows, should also be sung.
The use of psalms in our liturgy is not optional
The survey reveals that the psalms are sung regularly in only
45 churches in the dioceses (Table 10). In a further 42
churches, the psalms are rarely or never used—a fact of
which we cannot be proud. The appointed psalm, whether at
Morning Prayer or the Eucharist, is an integral part of the
liturgy and this should be respected. The psalm also is the
carefully chosen people’s response to the Old Testament
reading that precedes it. The psalm may be said or sung in
various ways (cf. BCP pp. 592-593). In our dioceses, the use of
Anglican chant for psalmody in parish churches appears to
be confined to churches that have choirs. There are many
simpler methods of singing the psalms congregationally,
either responsorially or to very simple four-note chant.
Instrumental accompaniment is not necessary. Clergy and
musicians should explore the possibilities.
DECEMBER
2011 9
A growing need for trained cantors as well as organists
Only 5 churches in the united dioceses use a cantor, 3
regularly, 2 less often. Many people, particularly those who
have experienced Christian worship outside Ireland,
comment positively on the role of the cantor. While the
responsibility of the organist is to lead the congregational
singing, the prime role of the cantor is to facilitate and
encourage the worshipping assembly in song; to enable it to
lift its voice in praise. In some places, this role is extended to
include helping people to develop a new repertoire of song
to support their faith.
The appointment of cantors is a logical next-step to the
recent introduction in the Church of Ireland of psalms sung
with refrains (often referred to as ‘responsorial psalmody’).
Cantors will require professional training if they are to be
effective, and will merit being paid. These developments will
impact on the current role of the church organist. All
involved in the music of worship need to keep abreast of
discussion and thinking generally about such issues.
The Church needs well-trained and remunerated
musicians
Parishes need to understand that a core need is for each
church to have a skilled musician who sees their role
primarily as a facilitator.
It is fundamental to the local church’s stewardship that the
musician should be remunerated. If they are unwilling to
accept fees, the money should be put aside for the future.
This will avoid an unwelcome increase in expenditure when a
new musician is appointed.
Trained musicians who have responsibility for singing
groups, bands and instrumental ensembles in church, like
organists, are also entitled to remuneration. To have a
‘volunteer’ musician is not always a good thing. Unpaid staff
will sometimes resist even the most tactfully phrased
instruction or direction.
A paid musician will usually have a more balanced,
professional, and honest reporting relationship with their
supervisor, the rector. Competence and confidence are the
marks of the professional musician—the ability to deliver
good-quality music and a confidence in their ministerial role
within the body of Christ.
In-service training for parish musicians
Of the 107 parochial musicians identified by the survey, 79
are paid (Table 11). The diocesan guidelines on the
remuneration of musicians make it clear that the
recommended rates are contingent on the musician, at all
stages of his/her career, engaging regularly in relevant and
appropriate in-service training. This recommendation is not
being implemented. Clergy need to encourage their
musicians to develop their skills so that they continue to be
competent and confident in their work and keep abreast of
new developments. This issue should be brought to the
attention of select vestries.
Archbishop of Dublin’s Certificate in Church Music
The survey’s findings have clear implications for the syllabus
of the course leading to the Archbishop of Dublin’s
Certificate in Church Music. It may be necessary to broaden
the scope of tuition in leading the singing of psalms; and to
place greater emphasis on developing skills in leading hymns
and worship songs and working with a range of
instrumentalists. Over time, the skills of the cantor may
become a significant feature of the training, especially
expertise in getting the entire assembly to sing.
10 S O U N D B O A R D D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 1
Musicians and clergy should meet and discuss regularly
While definite evidence is not readily available, it is very clear
anecdotally that many clergy and musicians do not engage
regularly with one another. It is strongly recommended that
an uninterrupted meeting of at least one hour be held twice
a year at a minimum. This is no more than good
management and effective communication.
Music in church and young people: reflecting
contemporary culture
Young people may not wish or be in a position to attend
church on a Sunday morning. In 7 churches (both urban and
rural) informal weekend evening worship in a contemporary
style is held very successfully, followed by supper. Music is
usually led by guitar, electric keyboard and other
instruments. This is a good example of the imaginative and
creative thinking that is required in presenting worship.
The nature of music used in the local church has changed
dramatically during the last 40 years. People in our times
generally listen to a very wide range of high-quality music,
using an assortment of modern technologies. Church is one
of the only places where the ordinary member of the public
is welcome to engage in community singing - therefore such
music has to be accessible. As a consequence, church
musicians need at all times to be aware of and understand
music of the culture outside church. The extent to which
such music is brought into the existing worship context is, of
course, a matter for each place to work out.
Church musicians will find it easier to make right decisions
about such matters if they are clear about their role and
mission, are open-minded, imaginative and flexible, and
seek out from within the faith community the entire range of
vocal and instrumental skills available.
Young children singing
The survey yielded only incomplete information as regards
music and children in church. Music for children is well done
in places; not so in others. There is some evidence that
singing is no longer a regular feature of Sunday Club
sessions. How will our children become familiar with even a
handful of classic hymns (including classics of the last 50
years) unless they are introduced to these at a relatively
young age in school and Sunday Club? It is strongly
recommended that a hymn or song that is accessible to
children should be sung by the entire worshipping
community each Sunday before the children leave church
(one with an easy refrain will suit even the smallest child).
Joined-up thinking and planning is needed by all involved in
music for children in worship. There should be improved and
ongoing communication between the Diocesan Church
Music Committee and others involved with music for
children in church, including teachers in parish schools.
A further survey may well be needed focusing exclusively on
how children up to Confirmation age engage with music in
church and how we might best use the opportunities to pass
on our faith in song to the church of the future.
*****
These reflections represent the Church Music
Committee's initial reaction to this important survey,
which it is hoped will stimulate thought and discussion
among musicians and clergy throughout the dioceses.
Readers are encouraged to send us their comments and
observations for publication in future editions of
Soundboard.
All I Want For Christmas
Respondents to the survey were also invited to list their
greatest wish for music in their parish church. Analysis of the 56
responses points, in particular, to a widespread desire for:
• assistance in finding new members for adult choirs and in
establishing choirs for children and teenagers;
• musicians, including instrumentalists, with the necessary skills
for providing an effective lead to ‘contemporary’ worship;
• a greater selection of hymns on CD;
• more opportunities for in-service training for organists
What are your greatest church music wishes?
Part of the full church for Choral Evensong as part of the Carrickon-Shannon Water Music Festival in July 2011, with the choir of St
Paul’s Glenageary, Dublin, directed by Derek Verso. The choir was
invited to sing in the beautifully restored St George’s Church, with
its original William Telford pipe organ built in 1847 being played
by Paul Mullen. The church is also a heritage centre that is
managed and maintained through a local community agency: an
interesting model of how historic buildings can be given new life
SOUNDBOARD
DECEMBER
2 0 1 1 11
Standby… the house is full of smoke!
BRIAN MCIVOR writes about how the choir of St Bartholomew’s, Dublin, goes about making a CD
It’s Saturday afternoon and there is a full turnout of the St
Bartholomew’s girls' and men’s choirs. However, there is no
celebrant and no congregation. What’s going on? The notice on
the door outside explains everything: “Recording Today: No
Admittance”.
Today, a dark afternoon in October with storm weather
threatening, the church is being used to record a CD of sacred
music – to be ready in time for Christmas. Richard Bannister, who
is in charge of the project has spent months planning sessions,
aligning diaries and getting people and resources together. He is
philosophical about this project. Their last CD project two years
ago was delivered in time for Christmas under similar conditions
and was featured on RTE Lyric FM on Christmas Day. Richard’s
contribution is on the logistics and design side. By day he works
in computers so he has designed the CD cover and inlays
featuring St Bartholomew’s ornate interior.
Producing a CD is a major undertaking for a church choir. As
an engineer I have been involved in many projects over the last
25 years and experience has taught me that a choir that is welltrained and organised does well when it records. The standard
method is to use the location the choir normally sings in –
studios can be intimidating to all but the full-time professional.
Half of the singers in St Bart’s have never recorded before but
they are excited at the prospect.
The repertoire is a varied collection of anthems including
some old favourites from St Bart’s – Stanford’s Evening Service in
G, a Mozart Mass and a big anthem by John Stainer, a line from
which provides the CD’s title: ‘and the house was filled with
smoke’. If you know your anthems or the Book of Isaiah), you can
work out which one it is.
In the vestry, producer Judy Martin is poring over scores and
tallying take numbers on sheets. Her job is to ensure that the
performances are recorded and logged accurately. Beside her is
the intercom on to the floor outside that relays her instructions
to Tristan Russcher, the conductor. It is the easiest thing in the
world to listen for flaws but Judy’s talent is to encourage and
coax the best performance out of the performers. Her extensive
experience in conducting choirs and running recording sessions
stands to her here. The work requires an intimate understanding
of the repertoire and how to tackle the recording of really
complex works.
“Let’s start with the last item and work back” she suggests –
neatly solving potential problems with singing music that
requires stamina and concentration. The danger of recording and
re-taking is that the singers may become tired and discouraged.
A good producer needs to be a good leader with the ability to
inspire and Judy has plenty of experience of these types of
situations – particularly with younger singers. The knack is to get
the piece right early in the proceedings when people are fresh
and enthusiastic. There is nothing more discouraging than being
asked to repeat something over and over again until it is right.
Judy doesn’t create problems in this situation; she solves them.
As conductor Tristan Russcher has great experience of both
choirs and recording – from when he worked in Christ Church
Cathedral on similar projects. He has chosen and planned the
repertoire carefully. He has to energise and focus his singers.
Organists Peter Parshall and David Grealy support the process
with accompaniments that provide a wide range of colours and
textures. Singing and playing for a recording differ from
providing music during a service, where the focus is on
supporting the liturgy. Here the challenge for them is remain
consistent and fresh and adapt to what the singers need. “Can
you give me more on the 4-foot?” Tristan asks Peter – to help the
singers to stay on time in a tricky passage. This wouldn’t happen
during a service!
There are moments of tension when judgement is awaited as
to whether a particular anthem is in the bag. Occasionally, there
are odd moments of hilarity when the intercom is left on at the
wrong moment and a stray remark gets a greater audience than
originally intended. There is great hilarity when the very first take
on the first night is announced as ‘take 68’ – this has to do with
the fact that we are recording on to hard disc and file numbers
are critical. As engineer-in-charge I resolve to do something
about my numbering system in future. My domain is the
collection of microphones, cables and black boxes strewn around
the place.
When the recording is done my job is to edit all the takes
into 78 minutes of music. This process involves Tristan, Richard
and myself in front of a computer screen for days at a time.
Fortified by strong coffee, chocolate biscuits and occasional
breaks for fresh air we pull the final product together in time for
the duplication deadline.
What are the four magic words a recording producer can say
to a roomful of performers that will have them on their feet
cheering? “It’s a wrap, folks!” You can judge for yourself on 12
December when the CD is issued. You may order it on-line from
www.stbartholomews.ie/node/418
Brian McIvor has been involved in recording choral and organ music since
1985, when he set up SDG Recordings, which specialises in this repertoire.
A number of his projects have been awarded multiple platinum discs and
he has produced music documentaries for Lyric FM. Brian also works as a
management consultant and is organist of St Patrick’s Church, Slane.
[email protected]
12 S O U N D B O A R D D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 1
Soundboard snippets
REMUNERATION GUIDELINES
The recommended fees for church musicians for 2012 are the same as for the last three years. The detailed schedule can be found on
our website at www.churchmusicdublin.org/fees
SOUNDBOARD SUBSCRIPTIONS
It is clear from letters and emails we receive that Soundboard is valued by those who read it. In view of rising costs we now ask
readers for an annual subscription - €15 or £13. There was a good response to our request earlier this year. If you have not yet sent a
sub for 2011, we hope you will now do so. Cheques may be posted to Church Music Committee, 18 Villiers Road, Dublin 6. Existing
subscribers will be asked to renew their subscriptions from February 2012. Should anyone wish to pay by credit or debit card, please
call 087 668 3998 and have your card details to hand.
DO WE HAVE YOUR CORRECT EMAIL?
Please let us know if you change your email (or postal address), or if you are in any doubt that we already know your email.
Simply send a message with the correct details to [email protected]
WHO’S ON THE CHURCH MUSIC COMMITTEE?
Archdeacon Ricky Rountree (chair), Jacqueline Mullen (Hon. Secretary), Maedhbh Abayawickrema, Judy Cameron, Ann Keary, David
McConnell, Donald Maxwell, James Pasley, Derek Verso, Fraser Wilson.
DEPUTY ORGANISTS
As usual, the list of deputies is printed in the 2012 Dublin Diocesan Directory, and is also available on our website. This resource is of
use to anyone who finds themselves in need of a deputy! There have been quite a few changes over the past year; we ask all th ose
listed to check their details and inform us of any changes. Organists are always welcome to send details to
[email protected]
Franz Liszt visits Dublin
DEREK SEYMOUR reflects on the famous figure’s month-long tour of Ireland
Morrison’s Hotel at the corner of
Dawson Street overlooking Trinity College
Park was the base camp for an eclectic
group of musical entertainers visiting
Dublin in late 1840. The group would have
been considered unremarkable but for its
inclusion of the pianist and composer
Ference (Franz) Liszt (1811-1886). As this is
the bicentenary of Liszt’s birth it’s
appropriate to reflect on perhaps some
little-known aspects of his visit to Dublin
and his concerts given while in Ireland.
Liszt had been engaged by the young
impresario Lewis Henry Lavenu to
undertake a series of concert tours the
second of which brought him to Ireland.
Arriving in Dun Laoghaire (Kingstown)
from Liverpool on 16 December 1840 an
intensive program of events had been
arranged by Lavenu running through to 19
January 1841 when the party moved on to
Scotland for their next series of
engagements.
The ensemble comprised Lavenu
(accompanist and conductor), John
Orlando Parry (baritone, pianist and comic
song writer), Louisa Bassano (contralto),
Miss Steele (soprano) and her mother Mrs
Steele, Joey Richardson (flautist) and the
acclaimed Franz Liszt who took every
opportunity to promote Erard pianos
having had an instrument specially
shipped to Ireland in advance of his
performances. The group recruited the
assistance of Joseph Augustine Wade (a
minor Dublin composer of the day) who
proved unreliable in arranging
supplemental concerts and their coach
driver Marchant who ferried them around
the country at break-neck speed visiting
Cork, Kilkenny, Clonmel, Fermoy, Cobh,
Roscrea, Drogheda, Newry and Belfast
from their base in Dublin.
Financially the Irish tour was disastrous
with Liszt personally said to have lost a lot
of money on the venture. The difficulties
lay in the poor attendances at concerts
outside of the capital city. The Dublin
concerts however were successful mainly
taking place in the Rotunda concert rooms
where society attendances of 1,200 were
achieved.
Programmes included contributions
from local musicians but were dominated
by the visitors. Some of the concerts were
very much ‘light entertainment’ with Parry
delivering many his recently published
comic songs and being critical of the
heavier (and lengthy) chamber and
classical repertoire. Liszt played a relatively
minor part in the programs contributing
just two or three piano solo items. On
occasions he accompanied vocal and
instrumental performers.
One of the main Dublin events in aid
of the Anacreontic Society, an amateur
orchestral society featured Liszt
performing just two piano solo items
Rossini’s William Tell, and Weber’s
Concertstuck within an extended two part
concert programme. This concert included
items by popular Irish composers of the
day M Balfe, JP Knight and JA Wade.
Where audiences were particularly
appreciative, Liszt gave impromptu
extemporisations on Irish tunes including
Rory O’More and the Last Rose of Summer.
The month-long stay in Ireland which
included the Christmas holiday saw the
visitors sample Dublin tourist highlights
including the Museum and Library at
Trinity College with the Book of Kells, The
Abbey Theatre, St Stephen’s Green,
shopping in Grafton Street and a visit to
Piggott’s, the music sellers. Liszt himself,
always keen to impress the aristocracy,
had personal audiences with local
dignitaries including Lord Morpeth, the
Chief Secretary in Ireland at the time.
Having his first experience of Ireland
when he arrived in Kingstown (as it then
was) in 1840 it befits the bicentenary year
that this year’s Dún Laoghaire concert
series included music by Liszt. Featured
items included major works such as the
Prelude and Fugue on BACH, and the
Fantasie and Fugue on the Choral ‘Ad Nos
ad salutarem undam’ as well as some
smaller-scale works worthy of our
appreciation.
Derek Seymour is music director at
Methodist Centenary Church, Leeson Park,
Dublin. [email protected]
SOUNDBOARD
DECEMBER
2 0 1 1 13
THIS PAGE IS PRESENTED IN ASSOCIATION WITH
The Royal School of Church Music in Ireland
From the new RSCM coordinator for Ireland
I’m delighted to write this message to you as the new coordinator for the RSCM in Ireland. I’m no
stranger to the RSCM or to church music, having been involved in the latter since 1983 and with
the RSCM Ireland committee since 2007. I’m very much looking forward to expanding the work of
the RSCM in Ireland working closely with the committees in Northern Ireland and the Republic. I
know that the RSCM has much work to do to reach many musicians around the country and to
identify the needs of musicians who have varying and sometimes limited resources and
requirements. The challenge is great as we try to re-establish the work of the RSCM and ensure
that it is relevant and appropriate to the needs of us in Ireland, and not just seen as an English
organisation trying to foist itself in ways that do not work here! I’m here as a contact and to
coordinate the work of the RSCM, so if you have any ideas, suggestions, or any other comments, I
would be delighted to hear from you.
Mark Bowyer, email: [email protected] mobile: +353 (0)87 117 2995
Come and Sing Fauré
On Saturday 12 November, over 100
singers gathered in St Bartholomew’s
Church in Dublin to sing Fauré’s
Requiem and Mendelssohn’s Hear my
prayer. It was extremely encouraging
that so many people were there to
share the experience. The performance
at 5pm was preceded by a rehearsal and
an opportunity to meet new people and
to catch up with old friends. We were
delighted to welcome singers from as
far afield as Waterford and Newry as
well as many people from the Dublin
area. The afternoon was conducted by
Stuart Nicholson, and the organist was
Tristan
Russcher.
Soloists
Jeffrey
Ledwidge and Rachel Talbot were
joined by a number of the choir of St
Bartholomew’s Church. Following the
event, many people asked when the
next event would be. Needless to say
the committee will be making plans for
a future event building on the success
of this one.
The RSCM in association with the National Centre for Liturgy will host a Psalm Day on 11 February 2012 in Renehan Hall, St Patrick’s
College, Maynooth. This day will involve papers and discussions on the nature of psalmody, the history of the psalms we sing and the
challenges facing musicians in dealing with psalms. There will also be some practical discussion of the various types of psalm setting
which we use and help participants to come to a greater understanding of the wealth and beauty of the texts and the settings which
aim to bring them to life. The day will conclude with an ecumenical service of evening prayer. Further details will be available on the
RSCM website soon.
RSCM Voice for Life Awards Service
On Saturday 1 October, a number of successful candidates in the RSCM Voice for Life Bronze and Silver Awards
attended the awards ceremony which was held in St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral in Dublin. Successful candidates from St
Bartholomew’s Church, Dublin, St Mary’s Cathedral, Limerick, St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral, Dublin were presented their
certificates by Fr Damien O’Reilly, Administrator of the cathedral. Unfortunately the successful candidates from Christ
Church Cathedral, Dublin were unable to attend the ceremony. The choir was conducted by Blánaid Murphy and the
organist was Peter Barley. Successful candidates were supported by their family and friends at the service.
It is encouraging that a total of 36 candidates were successful this year. It would be great if we could encourage more
young singers from parishes and schools all around the country to undertake the Voice for Life award. This will be one
of the priorities over the next few months for the new awards administrator and the two committees. Full details of the
scheme are available from the RSCM Ireland website at www.rscmireland.com or contact the awards administrator at
[email protected]
14 S O U N D B O A R D D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 1
Sing the Mass - An anthology of music for the Irish Church, Veritas
ISBN 978 1 84730 306 6 Accompaniment & melody-only editions and CD
Prepared by the National Centre for Liturgy, this anthology of music is a resource for all
involved in music ministry and for all who gather to celebrate the Eucharist. In
conjunction with the publication of the third edition of the Roman Missal, it includes new
settings for the Mass, as well as previously used settings that have been amended in line
with the revised translation.
Before
After
A new organ for Killodiernan!
A tale of rescue and restoration, by DEREK VERSO
When I received a call from the rector
of Nenagh group of parishes about the
possibility of finding a redundant pipe
organ for one of the churches in her
group, several instruments came to mind
that might suit a small country church in
the middle of Co Tipperary. Knowing only
that it was a very small church, I sent her
photographs and dimensions of two
possible instruments that might suit her
situation. One of the instruments seemed
to be of particular interest and so after
further discussion we arranged to visit this
organ, which at the time was on
temporary loan to St Brigid’s Cathedral in
Kildare for use there while the cathedral
organ was being rebuilt. Canon Marie
Rowley-Brooke felt that it looked right for
her church and the dimensions were
suitably modest. She was also struck by
the beauty of tone of this lovely little pipe
organ, even in its unrenovated state! It
was a bit of a sorry sight, because in its
previous life in a convent in county Dublin
the entire instrument had been covered
with a heavy gloss cream paint, including
front pipes, console, and lid!
I then arranged to go to the church
where it might find a new home,
Killodiernan Church near Nenagh, Co
Tipperary. We looked at possible locations
for the organ and agreed that it was best
under the gallery at the back of the
church. The small Church of Ireland
community that worshipped in
Killodiernan had bravely taken on the
conservation of their church (which dates
from 1818) and with tremendous support
from the entire community had a very
successful fundraising campaign that
enabled the church to be reroofed and
completely rewired, and to receive new
heating, replastering and of course
repainting. With less than €10,000
available for an organ, could they possibly
manage to have a real pipe organ? That
was their dearest wish. Following further
consideration with architect, quantity
surveyor and some members of the vestry,
it was agreed that I would proceed with
the organ’s renovation and installation.
We completely renovated the organ,
including releathering the bellows,
restoring the simple mechanical tracker
action to produce a sensitive and
responsive action, and removing all the
horrible gloss cream paint from the front
pipes and the console area to reveal some
good solid oak which was then repolished.
Musically, once renovated, the wooden
Stopped Diapason pipes produced a
charming characteristic “old English” flute
timbre whose tone never becomes tiring
to the ear; and once the soft lead pipes of
the Open Diapason had been cleaned and
mandrilled, they produced a warm and
firm diapason sound. What could be more
suitable for this situation: a simple onemanual instrument with pedals
permanently coupled to the manual of
four speaking stops (Open Diapason,
Stopped Diapason, Gamba, Principal)?
The provenance of this little organ is
uncertain: inside the soundboard is
stamped “A. Monk. Campden Town”
without any date. There also appears
inside “August 1874 Henry Whitehead
Rathmines Road Dublin Tuned and
Cleaned”, and in 1907 Telford & Telford
seemed to have re- erected it in a new
location or building… and so forth until
the present day. This would suggest that
the instrument is around 140 years old,
and now, following renovation, is ready to
provide music for another fifty years or
more. The Rededication Service for the
church and its “new” pipe organ was held
in June 2010 when Bishop Trevor Williams
preached and rededicated the church. A
well-rehearsed choir made up from the
Nenagh group of parishes led the singing
and Roisin Rowley-Brooke played the
organ. The life of a real pipe organ is
measured in centuries, not decades, unlike
its electronic counterpart.
Fi nall y, spec ial t ha nks a nd
appreciation to Soundboard’s recently
retired editor Randal Henly, who heard
that this organ was about to be
demolished along with the building in
which it was housed. Without his
intervention and quick thinking, this
instrument would not have survived.
Thank you, Randal, and happy retirement!
SOUNDBOARD
Your Soundboard
email [email protected]
post Your Soundboard, 18 Villiers Road, Dublin 6
DECEMBER
2 0 1 1 15
CROSSWORD CORNER
set by Randal Henly
Congratulations to Dr Adrian Somerfield, Dr Harry Grindle,
William Ashmore, and William Yeoman, all of whom won
a copy of David Adams’ CD release
Irish Contemporary Organ Music
Electronic organs are...
Thanks to Shirley Wright for sharing her thoughts with us
regarding electronic organs versus pipe organs in such an
eloquent way. Granted, electronic organs offer a ‘quick fix’
providing dramatic, (fairly) musical effects that are credible
enough to the untrained ear. I’m glad Shirley said that her
electronic organ ‘mimics a pipe organ’ because that’s all electronic
organs do. (We’ll agree to differ on the quality and authenticity of
the imitation thereof!) What she didn’t say was that pipe organs
and parts of them have (in my experience) a number of lives in a
variety of different settings and often over centuries of use. When
Blackrock Methodist church closed, the pipe organ (rather than
being dumped), was given to Sallynoggin church. In this church
(with a couple of stop changes) it continues to thrill and uplift the
parishioners with its amazing capability to accompany solo, choral
or congregational singing and provide atmospheric music so well
(whether soothing/reflective or powerful as the need arises.)
In the same way, the organ of Bray Methodist Church had its pipes
saved from the skip and tastefully added to the organ of another
church, where it continues to lead worship so beautifully. All points
to the wisdom of keeping a pipe organ, (or giving it to another
church to make good use of it, at minimal expense) . Indeed, it
might be an idea for this publication to include ads re. ‘redundant
organs’. In this way, the recycling of what are mostly good and
very worthy instruments is promoted and ensured.
Regarding Shirley’s sense of elation at the capabilities of the
electronic organ in her church, one wonders whether she’ll be
’singing that tune’ in thirty years’ time, when (like most electronic
organs and other electronic equipment) it will be fit only for the
dump.
Barry Courtney
Organist, Our Lady of Victories Church, Sallynoggin
[email protected]
Hymns with the young
I refer to David McConnell's letter in the last issue of Soundboard,
in which he points out that the current generation of children have
little or no knowledge of the wealth of Church of Ireland hymns.
This is a matter of much concern and I cannot agree more with
David on this issue. In Howth parish, I have been working with a
few young teenagers to bring them into the choir. Even the well
known and 'great' hymns that have stood the test of time have to
be taught to them. They are not exposed to 'proper' hymns in
school any more, and neither are they in Sunday School. The
monthly family service seldom contains any of these hymns. I
would doubt if many, or any, of them watch Songs of Praise any
more? I have a 12-year old organ pupil at the moment. We recently searched the hymnbook for any hymns she knew; we found one:
'Jesus loves me'. In my own small way, we will, in due course, have
her playing more and more hymns as her skill increases.
If the tradition of 'protestant' hymn singing is to continue,
church organists/musical directors, Sunday School teachers, etc.
will have to make a determined effort to find ways of acquainting
young people with some of the great collection of hymns. Could
the Diocese do anything here? - or the Church Music Committee?
In the October 2006 issue of Soundboard there was an article
about getting young people to sing; there are several sensible
recommendations there and the article can be accessed on the
Church Music Dublin website.
Randal Henly
Organist, St Mary's Howth
CLUES ACROSS
1. The Canon in D is his best-known work (9)
6. Organised collection of musicians—with stripes? (5)
9. Latin-American percussion instrument of African origin (7)
10. ‘... corda’—use the piano’s soft pedal (3)
11. There’s an American song about this river valley in Texas (3)
12. All the performers together (5)
13. Sharp (5)
15. The Handel opera that contains Ombra mai fu (6)
18. Fate, in Verdi’s force opera (7)
19. The character in the Wagner opera for oldies (6)
21. Pleasant, gently swinging rhythm in a song (4)
23. The basic tone of an organ—may be open or stopped (8)
24. The Handel opera for La Rondo (7)
26. One of these lively Spanish dances occurs in The Gondoliers (7)
28. It could be a caprice by Tchaikovsky or a serenade by Wolf (7)
29. His first names were Wilhelm Richard and he lived from 1813 to 1883 (6)
30. Orchestral instrument (4)
31. Charles Edward, the American composer (4)
32. Low singers (6)
34. Tonic sol-fa fourth notes (4)
CLUES DOWN
1 & 2. Title of five military marches by Elgar (4,3,12)
3. The tree in a Handel masque (3)
4. The nickname of Haydn’s Symphony No. 82 (4)
5. Sir Harry, Scotland’s great entertainer and singer (6)
6. The 1960s Liverpool pop group (7)
7. From C to D’ in Beethoven’s Choral Symphony (5)
8. Where you’ll find Rossini’s barber (7)
14. The Andrew Lloyd Webber musical from which comes
Don't Cry for Me Argentina (5)
15. You’ll find one of these in the orchestra (9)
16. You’ll find this stringed instrument if you visit India (5)
17. The American ‘March King’ (5)
20. Handel funeral music (4,5)
22. A short preposition in a finale (2)
23. Repeat the music from the beginning (2,4)
24. The Egyptian god in The Magic Flute (6)
25. ‘But thou did not ..... thy soul in Hell’ (Messiah, Handel)
27. The country in Rusalka (3)
29. Spider product is World Wide (3)
32. It indicates sforzando (2)
16 S O U N D B O A R D D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 1
LIVING WORSHIP 2012
The popular annual Living Worship course in music and
worship will be held again on four consecutive Saturday
mornings, starting on 14 January
Students from the Archbishop of Dublin’s Certificate in Church Music were presented with their
certificates at Christ Church Cathedral during Choral Evensong on Sunday 20 November
L-R: June Lee Mac Curtain (Year 3—Final); Inga Hutchinson (Year 1); Helen O’Toole (Year
3—Final); Jamie Boshell (Year 1); Archdeacon Ricky Rountree ( Chairperson of the Dublin
and Glendalough Church Music Committee); Damian Griffith-Bourke (Year 3—Final); Helen
Dawson (Year 2); Tristan Clarke (Year 3—Final) and Róisín Rowley-Brooke (Year 2). Beth
Burns (Year 1), Richard Whittern (Year 1) and Róisín Burbridge (Year 2) were unable to be
present.
APPOINTMENTS
Ian Keatley has been appointed
Director of Music at Christ Church
Cathedral, Dublin, a post he will take up in
February, Ian currently is Director of Music
at Westminster Abbey Choir School. He is a
former organ scholar at Westminster
Abbey and Deputy Master of Music at the
Chapels Royal, London.
David Stevens has been appointed to
the new position of Master of the
Choristers at St Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast.
This newly shaped role will involve the
formation of both a boys’ choir and a girls’
choir for the cathedral. David Stevens is
Director of the Girls’ Choir and Sub–
Organist at Newcastle Cathedral, and
Director of Campus Music at Northumbria
University. He was organ scholar at Oriel
College, Oxford and Guildford Cathedral
and is a prize-winning graduate of the
Royal Academy of Music. Announcing the
appointment, the Dean of St Anne’s
Cathedral, John Mann, said “the
appointment of a ‘Master of the Choristers’
marks a new and exciting phase in the
development of the choral tradition of
Belfast Cathedral, with a contemporary
model for raising standards within an
inclusive and collaborative structure. I am
particularly delighted that the vision for the
future is ambitious and outward-looking.”
David Grealy, Assistant Director of
Music, St Bartholomew’s, Ballsbridge. A
graduate of NUI, Maynoooth, David was
organ scholar at Westminster Cathedral in
2008-09 and at St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral,
2006-08.
Margaret Bridge has been appointed
as Conductor of Trinity College Dublin
Chapel Choir for the 2011-12 academic
year. Kevin O’Sullivan has been appointed
Organ Scholar to the College. Margaret is
now in the final year of her music studies at
TCD and Kevin has recently completed the
B.Mus.Ed degree.
Klaas Jan de Vries, Wicklow Parish
Church.
Aleksandr
Nisse, organist, St
Andrew’s, Westland Row.
Daniel Battle has recently taken up
the post of Associate Organist and Choir
Director at St Mary's Cathedral, Limerick.
Prior to this he was Organist of All Saints'
Church, Carshalton, Surrey in England. He is
a former organ scholar of Southwell
Minster.
Robert Yeo, organist and music
director, Christ Church Presbyterian,
Rathgar.
The Discovery Gospel Choir, based in
St George and St Thomas’ Church, Cathal
Brugha Street, Dublin has appointed Louise
Foxe as its new Music Director.
Louise was previously the Music
Director of St Joseph’s Primary School
Choir in Songea, Tanzania, Cór Corca
Dhuibhne, Ireland's first Irish-language
Gospel Choir, Co Kerry, and the Sheriff
Street Children's Choir, Sandymount
Gospel Choir and Gardiner Street Gospel
Choir, which are all based in Dublin.
She has a diploma in adult education,
a degree in Communications from Dublin
City University and a Master’s in
Community Music, from the University of
Limerick. She has worked extensively
around the world as a volunteer.
Particularly with the Jesuit Refugee Service,
working in the Kiziba and Gihembe refugee
camps in Rwanda, in Borneo, South-East
Asia and in Franklin, South Africa.
[email protected]. mobile:
085 7201180
SOUNDBOARD is published by the
Dublin and Glendalough Diocesan
Church Music Committee
Views expressed in signed articles and
letters are not necessarily those of the
editor or Committee
ISSUE
25 (DECEMBER 2011)
Edited & designed by Fraser Wilson
Photography by FW, named contributors,
& public domain sources
The editor thanks all who have so
generously contributed time, energy and
expertise to this issue. Correspondence
and material for future issues should be
sent to
[email protected]
Annual Subscription: €15 / £13
(see also p.12)
The Church Music Committee
supports and resources music and
musicians. The Committee is
appointed by the Church of Ireland
United Dioceses of Dublin and
Glendalough
Chair Archdeacon Ricky Rountree
Secretary Mrs Jacqueline Mullen,
23 Ludford Park, Ballinteer, Dublin 16.
Telephone 01 298 8923
email [email protected]
website www.churchmusicdublin.org
And finally...
The next issue of Soundboard will be
published in late March; material
should arrive by 29 February 2012