Soundboard No. 28 - Church Music Dublin
Transcription
Soundboard No. 28 - Church Music Dublin
SOUNDBOARD DECEMBER 2012 1 SOUNDBOARD CHURCH MUSIC AND MUSICIANS THE MAGAZINE OF CHURCH MUSIC DUBLIN ▪ Giving worship a vibrant voice through music Gathering ISSUE 28 DECEMBER 2012 In this issue Welcome to another issue of Soundboard. Isn’t it amusing how words and phrases commonly used in church find their way into the general psyche? The latest buzzword is the Gathering. We are being encouraged to invite our relations and friends to Ireland. Nice advertising campaign. We also think of gathering as part of our worship. It is the first liturgical action of the body of Christ, called ‘the gathering of God’s people’. On a bright Saturday morning in November a group of people ‘gathered’ in Powerscourt Church, south of Dublin, for a particular purpose: our aim was to make an educational video on the subject of music in the Eucharist. Present were students from the choir of St Columba’s College, with Tristan Clarke, a member of Church Music Dublin’s Executive. Also there were choir members from St Matthias’ Church, Killiney-Ballybrack and from St Patrick’s Church, Greystones. While members of each of the groups knew one another and were used to singing together, the groups as a whole had never done so. A risk, perhaps? We joined in singing one of the hymns chosen for the video, just to warm up and get some vocal cords working. It happened! Suddenly a single group emerged, not three – we had gathered. The following couple of hours became a demonstration of energy, enthusiasm, and lots of fun. Despite the fact that two cameras were constantly recording (thank you to James and Tom from Big Red Box Media), all of the participants gave of their very best. This is evident from the video, now available on our website along with a resource page and sound files. The good news is that people within our worshipping community, both young and old, despite busy lives, will give generously of their time and talent to assist others. Thank you to each and every one of them. There is more information about the video on page 3. A few days later, we had another ‘gathering’, this time in Co. Kildare. Three members of our Executive piled into a minibus driven by the chairman, Archdeacon Ricky Rountree, with a keyboard, bells, music stand, books and other resources, and headed for Timolin to meet musicians and clergy from the West Glendalough rural deanery. Church Music Dublin on tour!! Read about it on page 6. A NEW TRAINING COURSE … 2 MUSIC, EUCHARIST, AND YOU an innovative presentation … 3 ON THE RECORD Recent and forthcoming releases … 5 TOP TEN TIPS for keeping your church’s music thriving … 6 We had a lovely evening meeting with colleagues, singing together, exploring possibilities for Advent and Christmas, and were well fortified by supper before returning home. Thank you to those who came along and made it such an enjoyable evening. So, as we gather as the community of Christ to remember the tiny baby who has come among us; as we welcome family and friends to share happy times with us; let us be assured that, despite recessionary times and all the stresses and strains of daily living, we may still gather to worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. All of us at Church Music Dublin wish you a blessed Christmas and offer our good wishes (and assistance, should you require it) for the New Year. Pay your Soundboard subscription online Subscriptions for 2013 are now due A SIMPLE HYMN ACCOMPANIMENT for Christmas, at Christmas … 7 SHARING THE ORGAN STOOL … 8 €15 or £13 (3 issues) THE RSCM IN IRELAND … 9 Use your debit or credit card and avoid cheque and postage charges FORTY YEARS OF FOLK … 10 Go to www.churchmusicdublin.org/payment Note: You can use this facility even if you do not have a PayPal account LETTERS AND LIVING WORSHIP … 11 2 SOUNDBOARD DECEMBER 2012 Church Hymnal Supplement: An Update Hearts and Hands and Voices Introducing a new course in church music Do you play the organ/piano/keyboard in church? Would you like to play in church? How about a little help and support in a friendly environment? Hearts and Hands and Voices: a four-session course spread over eight weeks to provide practical training and support to serving church musicians and those interested in pursuing this important role. The course will be piloted early in 2013 by Church Music Dublin. The aim is to provide practical training and support for those who would like to play the organ, piano or keyboard in their local church or who already do so but require further guidance and tuition. Those with reasonable competence on keyboard whether piano, pipe or electronic organ or digital keyboard - will be given the opportunity to explore the role of the church musician in an informal setting. Both group and individual sessions will be incorporated. Work on producing a supplement to CH5 is progressing well. The subcommittee has been busy considering texts, editing words, and preparing a draft edition. There have been some small changes to the draft list of hymns as the overall shape and direction of the book becomes clearer. The words edition should be ready to be presented to General Synod in May 2013. Musical editing is at an earlier stage, because it is dependent, to a certain extent, on the final selection of texts. It is still hoped that, subject to copyright approvals, the book will be published during 2014. Musical items from the supplement have been used at a number of events and have been well received. Members of the sub-committee are open to invitations to lead workshops and to introduce some examples of the hymns and songs. The draft list of contents is on the Church Music Dublin website. ‘Hearts and Hands and Voices’ will take place on Saturdays in Holy Trinity Church, Castlemacadam, Avoca, Co. Wicklow during March and April 2013. Specific dates will be advertised early in the New Year on our website and in diocesan publications. Anyone wishing to travel from beyond the dioceses to attend will be most welcome. The opening session, to involve clergy and musicians, will include service planning, music selection relevant to particular situations and good communication. The more traditional ‘one-to-one’ lessons will cover keyboard skills, sightreading, and accompaniment. Material will include hymns from Church Hymnal (fifth edition) and some contemporary praise songs. Simplified hymn tunes in lower keys will be an important part of the course alongside ways of introducing new hymns and songs to a congregation. ‘Hearts and Hands and Voices’ has been devised as a direct response to the Church Music Survey carried out by Church Music Dublin in 2011. It will not replace the Archbishop’s Certificate in Church Music, but for some, may be a step towards it. ‘Hearts and Hands and Voices’ provides a first step on the ladder to being a competent church musician. The cost of the course per person (for 4 sessions) will be €80. Queries to the Hon. Secretary, Jacqueline Mullen Email: [email protected] or telephone (01) 298 8923 Congratulations! At Choral Evensong in Christ Church Cathedral on Sunday 25 November, Archbishop Michael Jackson presented certificates to six students on the Archbishop’s Certificate in Church Music course. In the photo above are, left to right: The Archbishop, Róisín Rowley-Brooke (final year), Stephanie Maxwell, Róisín Burbridge (final year), Inga Hutchinson and Matthew Breen. Three students were unable to be present. SOUNDBOARD DECEMBER 2012 3 Music, Eucharist & You: A training video for musicians One of the most significant developments in Church of Ireland worship during the past 40 years has been the move centre-stage of the Eucharist. In many churches, the Eucharist is now the principal Sunday morning service at least twice a month. A comparison of the Church Notices page in the Irish Times for Easter Day 2012 with the same occasion, say, in 1972, will reveal that during the intervening period, virtually every church in the Dublin diocese, if not all, has come to regard the Eucharist as appropriate for the principal Easter Day celebration. The Eucharist requires a rather different type of presentation than when reading the more static Office (Morning and Evening Prayer). A number of speakers at the Living Worship course in Dublin each year have drawn attention to this. With this in mind, Church Music Dublin has produced a short training video Music, Eucharist and You. We have posted it on YouTube and you can access it via our website. In the space of ten minutes, Archdeacon Ricky Rountree, assisted by singers from St Columba’s College and the choirs of St Matthias (KillineyBallybrack) and Greystones parishes, guides viewers through the Eucharist, explaining generally accepted best practice on the choice and placing of liturgical texts and hymns. We hope the video will encourage everyone who views it to move away from thinking of the Eucharist as a said service, to which hymns and other items may be an addon. Rather, we should regard song as integral to the liturgy, so that words, music, and movement become a single liturgical act. www.churchmusicdublin.org/video Notes from the North It seems strange to be writing "Notes from the north" sitting in the choir room of Christ Church Cathedral, but that's the way it goes at this rather hectic time of the year. I did try doing it on the train, but the constant motion meant writing descended to a new level of illegibility. In my previous life in industry, days and weeks were equal, seven hours to work in each day and five days in every week with two off to pursue your own interests. Plus evenings of course... Church music doesn't quite work out that way. Limerick lasses sing in Bath Over the summer, Emily Howes and Lauren Hannon of St Mary's Cathedral, Limerick, attended a course run by the RSCM (of which more on page 9) in Bath Abbey. Here they are with some of the many friends they met and made. So here I am on a whistle-stop tour with a school choir, full of boundless energy in spite of two nights of very sparse sleep, it would seem. So, there is only a short while to rehearse a half hour programme in this wonderful space, and then hare a hundred and some miles up the country to Belfast in a bus to do the same (ish) programme in a very different space with a very different organ. So at the minute, I'm trying to tell myself that extreme pedal notes are further away than you think! Tonight I'll be trying not to fling my legs out too far. Hopefully the audiences today might excuse the odd ‘wrong bit of wood’. Continued on page 10 4 SOUNDBOARD DECEMBER 2012 Heinrich Bewerunge, 1862-1923 Darina McCarthy writes about a significant influence on the development of Catholic church music in Ireland The Roman Catholic Relief Act of 1829 was the successful endpoint of the Catholic Emancipation movement in Ireland. Church-building around the country and the training of priests at Maynooth and other centres flourished as restrictions on Catholics were lifted. With church-building came ecclesiastical art and liturgical music, and ornate concert masses in vogue in Europe became fashionable in Dublin and other Irish cities. Concert masses were so called because the performance of lengthy musical items – choral and instrumental – took precedence over correct liturgical procedures. Another feature of mass music during this time was the use of secular music. Thus the sacred function of mass was usurped both by the duration of the music and by its secular genesis. The Cecilian reform movement began in Germany in the 1860s. Cecilianism (named after St Cecilia, the patron saint of musicians and church music) aimed to restore Gregorian chant and Renaissance polyphony as the primary forms of church music. The Irish Society of St Cecilia was founded in 1878 by Bishop Nicholas Donnelly, who had close associations with the school of church music in Regensburg, Germany, where Cecilianism began. Nicholas Donnelly’s contacts in Regensburg resulted in the appointment of Heinrich Bewerunge as first Professor of Church Chant and Organ at St Patrick’s College Maynooth. Born in 1862, Bewerunge was only twenty-five years old when he took his position at Maynooth in 1888, and began teaching more than 500 seminarians the rudiments of plainchant. He founded a schola cantorum to perform polyphony and complex chants. He arranged music of the Renaissance masters, principally Palestrina, Lassus and Vittoria, to suit an all-male choir. He composed a number of settings himself, including tones of the Magnificat and Benedictus which are still in regular use. Bewerunge also taught at a number of convents in and around Dublin, for instance at Rathfarnham, where the nuns and schoolchildren benefited from his tuition in chant and polyphony. His private organ pupils included Samuel Myerscough, founder of the Leinster School of Music. Over a span of thirty-five years, from 1888 until his death in 1923, Bewerunge provided a musical education for thousands of priests. These men spread their understanding of appropriate sacred music into every parish throughout Ireland, and on missions abroad. This legacy of sacred music, of chant and polyphony, continued in Maynooth until Vatican 2. Radio Telefís Éireann broadcasts of services from Maynooth in the 1960s contain Bewerunge arrangements, so it is safe to assume that these works were in constant use for almost eighty years. In addition to his facility as pedagogue and performer, Bewerunge was also a scholar. He translated some notable publications from German to English, the most well-known of which is probably Hugo Riemann’s Catechism of Musical Aesthetics. He contributed many articles to journals and newspapers in Ireland, England and Europe, covering liturgical music, music education, and Irish music. He edited Lyra Ecclesiastica, the journal of the Irish Society of St Cecilia, from 1891 to 1893. From 1902 to 1903 he edited the Irish Musical Monthly, a journal dedicated to sacred music and music education. His most famous articles are probably those in The Irish Ecclesiastical Record (a monthly journal with wide circulation After concert on 6 December: College Chapel Choir, Schola Gregoriana Maynooth, and NUIM Chamber Choir, with some of the speakers at the Bewerunge Conference [photo: Paul Kay] founded in 1864 by Cardinal Cullen), concerning new Vatican editions of plainchant which were published in the early twentieth century. Bewerunge strenuously disapproved of methods used by the President of the Vatican Commission in the restitution of chant from old chant sources (see footnote). Bewerunge’s savage critiques of the Vatican-approved restitution methods, which were published in journals and in pamphlet form in German, English and Italian, had a significant impact on the direction taken by later Vatican editions. The debate on appropriate liturgical music is ongoing. It formed an essential element in the conference commemorating Bewerunge’s 150th birthday: ‘Remembering Heinrich Bewerunge (1862–1923): Perspectives on 150 Years of Church Music’, an event jointly hosted by St Patrick’s College Maynooth and NUI Maynooth Music Department on 6 and 7 December 2012. Bewerunge’s engagement with the debates of his time were fuelled by his deep belief that the music must serve the liturgy, not the other way around. This principle might also guide us in the ongoing confusion of the post-Vatican 2 era. Darina McCarthy is a postgraduate John Hume scholar at NUI Maynooth. [email protected] Footnote: During the seventeenth century, chant rhythm and melody had greatly changed, following edicts from the Council of Trent, and traditional performance styles of the middle ages were lost. Revival of interest in chant during the nineteenth century set scholars to the task of reviving old chant forms, an impossible task to perfect because the sparse notation symbols of early manuscripts gave insufficient information. SOUNDBOARD DECEMBER 2012 5 This is me with Tom Fitches (Organist and Director of Music at St Clements' Anglican Church, Toronto). It was taken at the organ of the Metropolitan United Church, Toronto, which is actually the largest organ in Canada (built by Casavant, mainly in 1930). We are in fancy dress (the Grim Reapers!) because this was at a special Hallowe'en concert (called 'Phantoms of the Organ'!). Canada Calling! We are delighted to bring good tidings from former Organist of St Patrick’s Cathedral Peter Barley On the record Canadians are open to cultural exchange. There are interesting cross -currents of influence - American, English and not least French, and several renowned organ building firms are based in the Frenchspeaking part of Canada. One of the most promising students here has recently been awarded a cathedral organ scholarship in England and there are a number of such scholarships available here. The organ and church music community The concert was arranged by the here is a warm and welcoming one Toronto branch of the RCCO and I have enjoyed meeting many (Royal Canadian College of new colleagues and playing Organists), and was given late at numerous different instruments. night in a darkened church to a Although Toronto is a city of around capacity audience. About nine 5.5m (if you include the GTA different organists played their Greater Toronto Area) the organist scariest music! community is a tightly knit and friendly one, with a distinguished This concert was to raise funds for and hard-working group of people student scholarships. There is a strong awareness of encouraging the at its core. In 2008 a new Master of Sacred Music course was next generation here, and the established at the University of Toronto centre of RCCO promotes classes in organ playing and church Toronto. This is a very interesting in that it is actually taught (and music, as well as concerts by administered) at a theological distinguished visiting recitalists and college, and so there is strong sense competitions. It is also responsible of music being a ministry (the for maintaining a database of programme naturally also includes organists who are available for some tuition in the Faculty of Music). deputising work. A whistle-stop tour of releases both finished and forthcoming In Dublin’s Fair City is the first disc to be recorded solely by the Choristers of St Patrick’s Cathedral. Many of the tracks have special links with the Cathedral: the extract from Handel’s Messiah links us to 1742 and the work’s first performance by the combined cathedral choirs, while four pieces are either written or arranged by past or present Cathedral musicians. The disc is designed to appeal to a wide audience and to help raise the profile of the Choristers and of Ireland’s oldest choral foundation. The disc is available from the Cathedral Shop and online from www.stpatrickscathedral.ie Salutation proves that there is life after Ireland for former Director of Music of St Bartholomew’s in Dublin, Fraser Wilson. Made in his new home of Sheffield with his new group Albion, Salutation contains new arrangements of six well-loved Advent & Christmas carols including Away in a manger and The truth from above, as well as the 14th-century Salutation Carol and the medieval Advent Antiphons. The musical influences of his time in Ireland are much in evidence. You can listen to & buy the whole record (including the digital version, for instant download, which admittedly is harder to wrap up for your grandmother) at www.albionchoir.org.uk Here are the boys and men of St Bartholomew’s, Dublin, with their director Tristan Russcher, during a recent recording session for their next CD release. Though at the moment it is without a title, the programme is in place and the choir has already recorded Haydn’s Little Organ Mass and The heavens are telling, plus Teach me O Lord by Byrd. The centrepiece of the record will be Benjamin Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb, with its bizarre text by the genius Christopher Smart, and the disc will be released in Britten’s centenary year. Further information and updates will appear at www.stbartholomews.ie 6 SOUNDBOARD DECEMBER 2012 Refreshing Worship in West Wicklow Big steps forward from the Executive In replying to the 2011 Church Music Survey, some respondents in parishes in the Glendalough diocese requested practical help and guidance. Setting out from Dublin To address this clear need, on 15 November four members of the Church Music Dublin Executive travelled to Timolin, Co. Kildare to lead an informal evening introducing some new ideas for worship. They shared ideas and experiences on the theme Refreshing Worship, with particular reference to Advent and Christmas. Twenty people from the West Glendalough rural deanery attended, including 11 organists and 6 clergy – an excellent response. To support this liturgy, Derek Verso and Jacqueline Mullen demonstrated, through singing, three songs, which were enthusiastically picked up by all present. This showed that, with only a few minutes of practice immediately before a service, congregations, too, could pick up simple music. Derek and Jacqueline then introduced other ways of refreshing worship during the Advent and Christmas period. These were summarised in documentary handouts. Finally, Derek urged those present to use the psalms regularly in our services. Taking two psalms from the Advent season as examples, he demonstrated how a congregation can literally To start with, everyone sang ‘Prepare ye ‘compose’ a simple tune as a refrain the way of the Lord’ from the musical and then intersperse it between groups Godspell. Archdeacon Ricky Rountree of verses which would be read by one then introduced the idea that the four voice, using the layout in the Book of weeks of Advent can be used to Common Prayer. This proved popular encourage different groups and and many felt they could try it. families to participate in simple and effective liturgies using the Advent The evening ended with refreshments and with Derek suggesting 10 tips to wreath and lighting candles. help us in our ministry of music: Derek’s Top Ten Tips In action at Timolin 1. Be enthusiastic and positive - all the time and more so than anyone else. This is infectious and helps to silence the begrudgers and any “no change here” folk 2. Accept that introducing change is hard work. Give sufficient time for what is new 3. Collaborate. You can’t do all the organising, so ask others for help and participation... but not five minutes before the service 4. Plan hymns and other music well in advance – prepare a month at a time and reflect the liturgical year 5. Meet colleagues. Clergy and organists should meet over a cup of tea three times a year to plan and chat - and be amazed how things will grow naturally 6. Move off the organ stool and face the people – demonstrate and explain what you wish to be done and get the congregation to sing from your example 7. Rehearse your talk to the congregation privately in the church well in advance 8. Check hymns for high notes – avoid higher than D or E flat. Use the keyboard transposer and/or seek out resources (there are several) which offer tunes in lower keys, such as on the Church Music Dublin website 9. Rehearse new music and plan change well in advance in every detail, to minimise the chances of a disaster. Success the first time can be the best advertisement for change. Always be aware of the context for new departures 10. Reintroduce the psalms, using a blend of homemade music and words SOUNDBOARD DECEMBER 2012 7 Music in Straffan Church In September’s Soundboard Donald McLean told us how he was pressed into service as an organist in 1991. His story continues... I continued playing the organ, gaining confidence and wished to learn to play canticles, To make this easier, I combined the words and music on a single sheet by the use of a photocopier. A choir of ten people was gradually built up and one Christmas we decided that, instead of the choir standing to sing in the transept beside the organ, they should stand on the chancel steps. This worked well and the following year the then Rector, Peter Rhys Thomas, who had a theatrical background, suggested a Carol Service that included mince pies, mulled wine, solos, poetry, and other instruments. Choir robes were borrowed from The King’s Hospital School and as I was a member of the Steadfast Band, I was able to bring in a brass quartet. Once plans became known others joined us, singing in the choir and offering to play instruments. A string orchestra was formed and a lighting expert and a video producer became involved. Such was the interest that the Christmas Miscellany ran for two nights. This year is the twenty-first anniversary of this initiative: in the region of €50,000 has been raised to date. The small church choir has grown and become a community choir, open to all denominations. Recently, the choir was presented with a new set of robes. Performance venues have included Castletown House, Barberstown Castle, Peamount Hospital and Lyric FM. The present musical directors are Stephen Higgs and Sean Moloney. Not only that, but two further organists from Straffan church have completed the Archbishop of Dublin’s Certificate in Church Music. Both continue to serve. Simpler hymn accompaniments For obvious reasons, this issue’s tune is Christmas, which is an adaptation from the second movement of Felix Mendelssohn’s Festgesang for male chorus and brass, composed in 1840. The words of Hark! the herald-angels sing that we use today differ considerably from what Charles Wesley wrote in 1739. Read all about it in Companion to Church Hymnal. Ten simplified hymn accompaniments are now on our website. Which accompaniments should we upload next? Review the full list and let us know. 8 SOUNDBOARD DECEMBER 2012 Sharing the Organ Stool Judy Cameron looks at the advantages and pitfalls of job-sharing The benefits of having more than one organist / music director in a parish are many. The pressures on a single musician for 52 weeks of the year - planning, administration, rehearsing a choir, and keeping up with new trends - is considerable. The days when such commitment was not too difficult to find are long gone. In the average parish the musicians, players and singers, will all be “amateurs”, fitting Sunday worship into lives already chock full of other responsibilities. In every other area of parish management, people take their turn: tea-making, reading lessons, arranging flowers, cleaning, teaching Sunday school; the more is truly the merrier. To be able to take time off without feeling guilty can be a great relief. It makes sense to share the work where this can be done without compromising quality and continuity. The challenge is how such cooperation can be accomplished in the musical life of the church. The most common form of friendly collaboration is to be found in those parishes fortunate enough to have several organists among the congregation. Our own has two churches and three organists – one for each church plus a flying squad, so to speak. This means that we rarely have to seek a deputy for holiday periods or to cover illness. One service follows closely on another and we can stand in for each other at short notice. It works because the weekly services have already been planned and the two small choirs operate separately. Payment for the deputy work is adjusted on an ad-hoc basis. When considering two posts in the one church, things are trickier. For a start, if there is to be an organist and a choir director, the cost to the parish will be greater than if there is one musician. This is likely to be unpopular. Two or more organists sharing the work may also cause a problem with the choir, if there is one. It might be difficult to expect the choir to adjust to different styles of direction from week to week. However, one church in Co. Wicklow managed very successfully with three (or was it four?) ninety-year-olds playing in turn. Well, obviously, they didn’t start at ninety. In some places, it may be possible to divide the work by month, or even by season, if that fits better with the musicians’ lives. Or one player could play at the morning and another at the evening service. Then there is the question of who chooses the hymns. Or do they plan together in conjunction with the clergy? And what about conflicting practise times on the organ ? And finding precious rehearsal time for the choir? There is a trend generally towards greater variety of worship styles from week to week. Gospel choirs, youth music groups, bands and children’s choirs abound, often with their own leaders. While this provides a break for the organist, such varied resources will be most effective when there is cooperation between the traditional and the new. In the world of work outside the church, job shares are common, but seem to function best when each of the pair is in charge of a different area. Does someone need to be in overall charge? Or is it enough to make clear where the different responsibilities lie. Three essentials are required in all this. The first is goodwill. Working together in a helpful spirit is part of the mission of any church. The second essential is some kind of agreed work pattern, which all the musicians understand. With many different players, of different ages, it is all too easy for one group, or one person, to feel sidelined. The third essential is a need for regular communication between the members of the musical team. Clergy and musicians need to discuss the liturgical diary and the weekly requirements of worship so that no part of the work is left undone. Judy Cameron is one of the organists in the Powerscourt and Kilbride group of parishes. [email protected] SOUNDBOARD DECEMBER 2012 9 THIS PAGE IS PRESENTED IN ASSOCIATION WITH The Royal School of Church Music in Ireland Reflections on Voice for Life – St Gall’s, Carnalea At present there are sixteen choristers under the age of eighteen in St Gall’s Parish Choir. All are currently working at various stages of the RSCM Voice for Life scheme. For the first time, two of our older choristers gained the Bronze Award, travelling to Dublin to take the examination in May. Events and awards Deirdre Macklin with Fr Andrew McCroskery and Mark Bowyer The annual RSCM Awards service was held this year in St Bartholomew’s on Saturday 29 September. It was heartening to be joined by friends and families, in congratulating candidates, who were successful, in such numbers, in the examinations of the Bronze and Silver awards of the RSCM Voice for Life chorister training scheme. Choristers from St Mary’s Pro-cathedral, Dublin, Christ Church cathedral, Dublin, St Bartholomew’s Church, Dublin and St Gall’s Church, Carnalea, all received awards this year; 36 candidates in total! We also presented the very first Church Music Skills award certificate to Deirdre Macklin (St Macartan’s Cathedral, Monaghan, a first for RSCM Ireland. It is heartening that we are able to offer these awards to those who are keen to recognise their skills and abilities and to have them tested by the high standards set by the RSCM. The work that these musicians do, in preparing for these examinations, is to be rightly celebrated. In addition to performing a variety of music, through singing voice or organ playing, they are tested in musicianship skills, aural and sight reading ability, theoretical, historical and repertoire knowledge, and on their understanding of liturgy, the Church's Year and the place of music within the liturgy. We were delighted that Blánaid Murphy was able to conduct and Tristan Russcher played the organ during service of Evensong at which the awards were presented by the Vicar, Fr Andrew McCroskery. RSCM Ireland was pleased to be able to use St Bartholomew’s again this year for the ‘Come and Sing’ event which was held on Saturday 20 October. Over 70 people took part from as far away as Newry and Cork and as close by as Ballbridge! Singers joined forces to perform Fauré’s Requiem and Vivaldi’s Gloria. We were very glad to have Tristan Russcher as our conductor for the day and David Grealy as organist. As well as the 70 singers, we welcomed soloists Tanya Sewell, Catherine Redding (at short notice!) and Michael Lee. The afternoon started with a rehearsal followed by a short break before the performance at 5pm. We had excellent feedback from all those who took part and we very much look forward to using St Bartholomew’s again for future events. Future plans Plans are underway for a Come and Sing event to be held in Belfast in February 2013, which will be a joint committee (Republic and Northern Ireland) event. It is hoped that the new RSCM Director, Andrew Reid will conduct this event and it will be an opportunity for all RSCM affiliates to join together and make music! Details of the event will be available in the next few weeks via the website and affiliates will be contacted directly via their committee. <— Look to the left to see this year’s award winners! The Voice for Life workbooks encourage steady progression with achievable rewards in terms of medals and certificates. Our children are encouraged to take their certificates in to school to be included in their ‘Record of Achievement’ folder. I think it is important that the amount of time, effort and commitment that choristers make should be more widely recognised. RSCM Songbooks provide lots of additional appropriate material. A great deal of what is included in the workbooks in terms of theory and aural elements is covered naturally in normal rehearsals. Very often however, the practicalities of preparing music for upcoming services, leaves little time to spend on actually completing the exercises in the books! Sometimes we use a whole rehearsal to get back ‘on track’ with the workbooks, and often I focus on groups of choristers at a time rather than try to teach an age range from 7-17 all together. Having had a number of years with no children at all in the choir it is a huge pleasure to see so many young faces. We have had to extend our choir stalls! Being an RSCM affiliated choir involved in the Voice for Life scheme has been a fantastic way of monitoring and encouraging each individual chorister to maximise his or her potential and recognising the value of the role that music can play in enhancing worship in the church. Rosemary Smyth Choir Director, St Gall’s Parish Church, Carnalea, Co. Down For more information Full details of the work of the RSCM are available at www.rscmireland.com, www.facebook.com/rscmireland and via twitter @rscmireland. Mark Bowyer - RSCM Ireland Coordinator +353 (0) 87 117 2995 10 S O U N D B O A R D D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 2 Past and present members Rathmines Folk Group – 40 Years On Celebrating a Dublin musical institution. Reprinted, by kind permission, from The Irish Catholic Archbishop Diarmuid Martin joined parishioners in the Church of Mary Immaculate, Refuge of Sinners in Dublin’s Rathmines on Sunday 4 November to mark the fortieth anniversary of the parish’s folk group; the longest running folk group in the country. The Mass was attended by former members of the group, priests and parishioners alike, who came together for an evening of music and prayer at the Rathmines church. Speaking at the Mass, Archbishop Martin said “fifty years ago in these days, the Second Vatican Council opened. It was to bring change and renewal to the life of the Church.” “The Rathmines Folk Group was child of the change and the ferment that was taking place in the Church in Dublin at that time,” he said. According to Kevin McNamara, a founding member of the folk group, because of the celebratory nature of the Mass, “the group selected songs from the four decades of the folk group’s existence”. He said former members were also asked “to come up at the end of the Mass to join in the singing”. The folk group played to a packed-out church which was reminiscent of the initial years of the folk Mass when, Kevin said, “you couldn’t get in the door”. Also of note at the Mass was the large number of young people in attendance. According to Mr McNamara “over the years a rise in the student population has meant we have had a relatively young congregation”. After the Mass the group retired to the Leinster Cricket Club to continue in their celebrations. Here, more music and singing was enjoyed “well into the early hours of the morning,” Mr McNamara said. The popular Rathmines Folk Group puts their continued success in attracting a large and loyal congregation down to “making the liturgy relevant to the everyday lives of people”. That is according to Maria Whitmore, a current member of the folk group. This approach has managed to “stand the test of time,” she said. “We still highlight important social issues in our liturgies”. Since its inception in 1972, the Rathmines Folk Group has sung and played at Mass every Sunday. Over the four decades, more than 200 people have been involved as singers or nowadays. Everybody is ‘doing’ Advent now. The trouble is that Advent has Continued from page 3 loads of lead-up time and because it's This of course is the panic season for all newish to many choirs which don't have a long tradition of its music, more time church musicians, too much to do and seems to be spent on learning new too little time within which to get it all done, and I have to admit that I feel it's things. Then comes the realisation as getting worse every year. Number one you're finishing the last verse of that wonderful tune Helmsley, that you'll be culprit is Advent which seems now to rival Christmas as a music-fest. Ten years doing the same in just three weeks but ago we certainly had Advent as a season with a totally different repertoire. but there weren't many big carol Three weeks! Of course, I should be services like there are much better prepared and have some of Notes from the North instrumentalists. At the beginning, the music was mostly simple folk melodies. However, as time went by more sophisticated music was added, including secular songs which contribute to the relevance and interest of the theme of the Mass. Currently, the wide range of songs that are sung are chosen for their appropriateness and relevance to the Mass. Songs for the Mass are selected on a weekly basis to reflect wide ranging themes, such as homelessness and drug abuse. In addition to singing at Mass every week, the group is regularly asked to sing in other parishes and at fundraising events, as well as taking part in television appearances. In 1997 they were presented with a papal blessing for their contribution to Rathmines parish. Apart from all their hard work, the group finds time for an active social life. Many good friendships have been made in the group over the past four decades, not to mention a number of marriages. The Folk Group sings 6pm Sunday Mass in Rathmines Parish, as it has done since 1972. Next Sunday’s songs, and lots more, can be found at www.rathminesfolkgroup.org the groundwork already done. Work and here I mean learning new music always expands to fill all the available time prior to performance. Then again we can always do exactly the same service as we did last year. I sometimes wonder would the congregation really notice. Even if they did, would they be bothered? But - and this is the sixty four thousand dollar question - would the choir actually remember the stuff from last year? Doubleopenwood SOUNDBOARD Transported by Taizé Whilst visiting friends recently in Ayr I attended a service in Alloway Parish Church (Church of Scotland). During the intercessions the intercessor and assembly did not use a spoken versicle and response (’Lord, in your mercy – hear our prayer’, or similar). Instead, everyone sang the Taizé invocation ‘O Lord, hear my prayer, O Lord, hear my prayer: when I call, answer me. O Lord, hear my prayer, O Lord, hear my prayer: come and listen to me’ (CH 620), a chord having first been played on the organ. About Alberta Among the unfortunate casualties from Church Hymnal, 4th edition, when CH5 was produced was the magnificent tune ‘Alberta’, previously set for the hymn, Lead Kindly Light, by Cardinal Newman, as an alternative to the feeble Sandon. Whilst I expect that this will be a familiar practice in some Church of Ireland parishes, I found that it focussed and involved the assembly in the prayers to a greater extent than if we had used a spoken response, and of course the singing and the repetition creates a fervency and has an uplifting effect on the participants. Sarah Murphy Trafalgar Road, Greystones Co. Wicklow another hymn. It has an unusual metre. It would be worth a resurrection. Its composer, Sir William Henry Harris (1883 –1973) was a considerable force in English church music, organist at several cathedrals, at Christ Church, I sometimes think that to print Alberta Oxford and St George’s Chapel, in the absurd key of five flats would Windsor, and composer of much church challenge many organ-players, at least music. He is said to have written Alberta in lesser churches. While this key can be while crossing Canada by train in the transposed in situ to two sharps, the 1920s. large number of accidentals, which help to provide the tune with its fascinating Adrian Somerfield character, beauty and drive could cause St Thomas’s Church problems. It was published in the key Mount Merrion of C in Hymns for Today’s Church to Co. Dublin Well Well WELLS ! D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 2 11 Living Worship 2013 Learn – Sing – Meet – Greet Debate – Relate – Great! Saturday 12 January The Revd Dr Stanley Monkhouse Rector: Portlaoise group A priest-musician reflects thoughtfully (but not too reverently) on church musicians, their role, and their quirks Saturday 19 January The Revd Dr Peter Thompson Rector: Donaghmore parish Choosing the hymns – favourite or fit? and Supplement to Church Hymnal 2000 Venue: The Mageough Hall, Cowper Rd, Rathmines (beside Luas stop) 10 am to 12 noon Fee €25 for two sessions, including refreshments Book online or call 087 668 3998 This summer, six past and present musicians from St Bartholomew’s, Dublin, spent a week singing the choral services in Wells Cathedral with the Rivelin Singers. Here are their highlights... A few days after the trip, Richard Bannister was driving through Dublin with his sunroof down and Brewer in D playing at top volume. It's a shame he didn't manage to capture a photo of the expression on the face of the cyclist that overtook him... Killian Rogan said that it was “a week of music and merriment that I will never forget.” Cliona Rogan admitted that “sometimes I was so entranced by the other people singing that I forgot I was in the choir.” Emmet Kiberd felt that "singing Wilson's God be in my head in the wonderful acoustic of the beautiful cathedral chapter house was an experience I won't soon forget." Kate Somers said “it was a truly amazing experience to spend a week in a beautiful Cathedral.” And Fraser Wilson sighed contentedly, poured himself a large gin, and looked forward to a trip to Norwich in 2013… 12 S O U N D B O A R D D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 2 New pipes for St Peter’s A new two-manual organ by Kenneth Jones & Associates has recently been installed in St Peter’s Church, Little Bray. The instrument is designed in a contemporary style, complementing the new architectural siting; it has a detached reversed console with two manuals and pedals, mechanical key action, and electric drawstop action. The hand-finished case is of solid oak. The organ, which was specially commissioned as part of the recent renovation of the church, was completed during the summer. Professor Gerard Gillen gave an inaugural recital at the end of October. Snippets Appointments Kevin O’Sullivan (formerly of the Chapel of Trinity College, Dublin) is now organist at Kiltiernan parish church. Eoghan Ward (formerly of St Kevin’s, Harrington Street) has moved to St John the Evangelist’s, Sandymount. Dr Paul McKeever (formerly of Adam & Eve’s Franciscan Church, Merchant’s Quay) has moved to St Kevin’s, Harrington Street. A Brilliant Bit of Bach Early in 2013, JSB’s wonderful Cantata 78 - a set work for the Leaving Certificate will be both performed and illuminated in a special event at St Mary’s Cathedral, Limerick: unmissable for anyone who’s studying it (or, indeed, likes music!). On Saturday 6 March 2013 at the Cathedral, there will be a talk at 6.30pm followed by a performance at 7.30. For more details email [email protected] or telephone the cathedral on 061 310 293. The event is presented in association with the Post Primary Music Teachers’ Association (www.ppmta.ie). SOUNDBOARD subscription I wish to subscribe / renew my subscription to Soundboard for 2013 and enclose remittance for €15 / £13 Name: Address: Email: Contact phone: ► Post to Church Music Dublin, 18 Villiers Road, Dublin 6 ► Other payment options: By electronic funds transfer to: AIB Bank, Westmoreland Street, Dublin 2 NSC 93-12-25 Account name: Church Music Dublin A/c No: 1031 8132 IBAN: IE86 AIBK 9312 2510 3181 32 BIC/SWIFT: AIBKIE2D By debit/credit card online: www.churchmusicdublin.org/payment SOUNDBOARD is published by Church Music Dublin which is appointed by the Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough to support and resource music and musicians in local churches ISSUE 28: DECEMBER 2012 Edited & designed by Fraser Wilson Photography by FW, named contributors, & public domain sources Correspondence and material for future issues should be sent to [email protected] Views expressed in signed articles and letters are not necessarily those of the editor or the Executive Committee Chair Archdeacon Ricky Rountree Secretary Mrs Jacqueline Mullen, 23 Ludford Park, Ballinteer, Dublin 16 Telephone +353 (0)1 298 8923 email [email protected] website www.churchmusicdublin.org The next Soundboard will be out in April, so contributions should arrive with us by 31 March, Easter Day!
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