Choir and Music

This has been a very exciting year for both the Parish Church Choir and the St. John Singers.

  At the end of July 2007, the joint choirs recorded a C.D. of music for the church year. In January 2008, I recorded the Symphonie-Passion for organ by Marcel Dupré to complete this album. I hope that many people will recall that I played the four movements of this magnificent work, which illustrates the life of Christ, liturgically between Advent 2006 and Easter 2007, and the whole work in my Easter Sunday organ recital in 2007. We now have a superb album of music which uses the four movements of the Dupré symphony – for Advent, Christmas, Good Friday and Easter Sunday – as a framework, around which we have recorded choral music for the appropriate church seasons. The organ accompaniments were played by Paul Walton, Assistant Organist at Bristol Cathedral. For my part, I felt a tremendous sense of achievement and privilege conducting our choirs at the recording sessions and I would like to thank everyone involved for their hard work. It is in the nature of projects such as these that if they are to be done well, they take time. We plan to release the disc in July 2008 and all those who have heard the early edits have agreed that it is something of which Cirencester will be enormously proud.

  The organ recital on Easter Sunday this year marked the temporary retirement of our pipe organ. This instrument has served the church well for over a hundred years and the last major restoration work done to it was in 1982. It is in the nature of pipe organs that as well as regular maintenance, every few decades more far-reaching work needs to be undertaken. To the surprise of many who see only the pipes which are on display  in the front of the case,  the working mechanisms of organs rely on a very large amount of wood and leather, the latter serving to carry pressurized wind from the bellows to the pipes. These materials have a finite life-span, beyond which they begin to dry out, split and leak which reduces their functionality significantly. The Parish Church organ has reached and passed this point and so the decision has been taken not just to restore what is there, but to take steps to address certain other significant problems.

  At present, the principal pipes of the instrument, those which create the majority of the sound, speak into the chancel and choir instead of into the nave where they are most important. Conversely, the pipes of the soft stops which are used in accompanying choral music speak into the nave instead of into the choir. The result is that the organ at present has to be played at a certain volume in order to be audible to the choir, but that volume is often sufficient out in the nave to drown out the singers. The instrument is thus rather severely compromised, the result of numerous piecemeal ‘improvements’ carried out over the years. The restoration project centers around addressing these deficiencies, turning sections of the organ through 90 degrees in order that the main choruses speak towards the nave and the accompanimental sections towards the choir. As any such project would inevitably involve the complete reconstruction of the instrument, opportunity is being taken to enlarge as well. Additional stops are being added with the aim that Cirencester Parish Church will boast not only one of the finest parish church organs in the country, but also an instrument which will better that of many cathedrals and will be suitable to earn international renown. The work is being undertaken by the leading British firm of organ builders, Harrison and Harrison of Durham.

  Although, at the time of writing, this the pipe organ can still be heard on Sundays, as soon as the restoration work on the nave and south aisle begins and services move into the north aisle, Trinity and Lady Chapels, accompaniment for our liturgy will be provided by a splendid electronic organ which has been hired from Makin Organs of Oldham in Lancashire. The hire was the result of a considerable amount of research and testing of various different electronic organs. It is a great pleasure to be able to say that not only have we obtained an instrument from a company which, in my opinion, provided the best quality available, we were also able to take advantage  of  by  far  the  most  cost effective solution offered to us by the various firms which tendered.

  In the Parish Church Choir, we now have two members who are about to start preparations for the Royal School of Church Music Gold Award. This is the most advanced qualification available in the R.S.C.M. awards scheme and requires a considerable amount from candidates. The choir is very fortunate to have singers who are not only capable of undertaking this exam, but are also willing to dedicate the time required.

  The St. John Singers has, regrettably, lost a number of members in the last year as a result both of clashing commitments and of people leaving the area. Typically, the choir has continued to produce good quality even with reduced numbers and we are now actively recruiting for new members. To that end, our rehearsal pattern has been altered to make membership more appealing to busy people, without reducing total rehearsal time. Only time will tell how effective this will be but there is a strong determination to maintain standards, for which I am very grateful. Throughout its history, this choir has enjoyed periods of high membership numbers in alternation with periods when numbers have dropped considerably. The pendulum has always swung back in time and there is no reason why that cannot happen again.

  As we enter the period of restoration work within the building, which will inevitably mean considerable upheaval and disruption, all plans are in place to ensure that the musical side of our liturgy continues undiminished. When the pipe organ returns, restored, enlarged and improved, we will have fine choirs ready to capitalize on it to the fullest extent. The enviable musical tradition at the Parish Church, which stretches back over many centuries, is about to enter a new and exciting phase in its history. It is our collective responsibility to safeguard this tradition for future generations.

Anthony Hammond – Director of Music

HOLY TRINITY MUSIC REPORT

Although I didn't begin my appointment at Holy Trinity until February this year, I nevertheless became involved in the musical life of the church at the time that James Scott was preparing to move to Bath Abbey. We met over lunch on several occasions discussing musical matters. I was able to arrange a rota of deputies to fill the gap until I was able to start, and I was grateful to Michael Eddy, Jack Mizzi and Anthony Hammond for standing in so well.
The choir is very small at present but I hope we can recruit some new people soon. The Parish Church Choir joined forces with Holy Trinity's Choir for a Carol Service in December, and some friends augmented us on Good Friday evening to lead the singing of the RSCM's Service "The Cross of Christ" with Michael Eddy playing the organ - this was well received by the congregation.
I hope to reintroduce weekly choir practices, probably from early May and probably on Thursdays - this has yet to be decided. New members will be very welcome. They should contact me on 01451 844886 or email gw@cdlaw.co.uk or speak to me after a Sunday morning service.
I am looking forward to developing the musical life of Holy Trinity in the coming weeks and months.                                                     

Gordon Webb