Choir at 9

23/11/2014

Celebrations - and re-launch as Schola Sancti Ioseph

This morning - and also last night at the choir party - we celebrated 10 years of singing Mass at St Joseph's, finishing Mass this morning with Palestrina's wonderful setting of Sicut Cervus (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvnE897tMXk), and playing out on the organ with Grand Plein Jeu Continu from Jacques Boyvin's Suite du Premier Ton (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIOsFqRcTgo).

As part of our celebrations however we are re-launching the choir as the Schola Sancti Ioseph ("Saint Joseph's choir school") so this will be the last post on this page. If you still like us and would like to see what we get up to in the future please go and like our new page at http://www.facebook.com/ScholaSanctiIoseph. Our new website is at http://scholasanctiioseph.btck.co.uk.

Jacques Boyvin (1649-1706) fut organiste à la cathédrale de Rouen durant le règne de Louis XIV. Ses plein-jeu sont denses et riches. Enregistrement public en...

17/11/2014

The next singing Sunday is 23 November - Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Universal King - and the choir's 10th anniversary. For this which we shall be singing:

Introit: Dignus est agnus (Gregorian chant)
Gloria Patri (Tocher) (SAB)
Kyrie: Missa brevis (Casciolini) (SAB)
Offertory: Postula a me (Brant) (SAB)
Christus vincit (Gregorian chant)
Agnus Dei: Missa brevis (Casciolini) (SAB)
Communion: Amen, dico vobis (Gregorian chant)
Motet: Sicut cervus (Palestrina) (SATB)

A nice recording - by the choir if Somerville College, Oxford - of the post-communion motet is to be found on YouTube at http://youtu.be/jyskWczh_-Y

Members of the Choir of Somerville College, Oxford David Crown (conductor) Somerville College Chapel, Oxford 25 May 2012 Website: http://www.somervillechoir....

28/10/2014

With a bit of luck our rendition of "Exsultate Iusti" on Sunday should sound a bit like this Youtube recording:

http://youtu.be/3BJ3QDB6vq8

Wonderful stuff!

ADOREMUS slovak choir

28/10/2014

The next singing Sunday is 2 November - Solemnity of All Saints - for which we shall be singing:

Introit: Gaudeamus (Plainsong)
Kyrie: Mass for 3 voices (Byrd) (SAB)
Offertory: Iustorum animae (Brant) (SAB)
Agnus Dei: Mass for 3 voices (Byrd) (SAB)
Communion: Beati mundo corde (Grassi) (SAB)
Motet: Exsultate iusti (Viadana) (SATB)

15/08/2014

Trials and Tribulations: Got back from holiday to our first - and only - practice in August last night to find a wedding rehearsal had been scheduled downstairs in the church while we were trying to practise upstairs in the choir loft. Numerous kids accompanying the wedding party spent the evening running around and yelling to each other downstairs as we tried desperately to run up all the music for our next singing Sunday, and learn a new three-part motet to boot.

As if that we're not enough I had arrived to find that the organ has still not been fixed, almost a month after I flagged up that it was completely dead ...

Apart from all that I guess it was a good evening though!

17/07/2014

Ordinary XVI - Sunday 20 July: We had a rather more interesting practice than usual tonight. I had originally planned for us to sing Mozart's setting of "Ave verum corpus" on Sunday, only to discover that we would not have all the necessary singers. We had started work on a Plan B when someone pointed out that we would in fact have enough singers in all the right parts for Saint-Saens' setting of the same text. So Plan C if of Sunday is indeed saint-Saens' setting of "Ave verum corpus", as recorded by another choir here: http://youtu.be/NsWYGmPuhhc.

To add to all this our organ (http://choirat9.btck.co.uk/Organ) died completely half way through our practice session! Whilst we never actually sing at Mass accompanied by organ it is really useful for getting starting notes and running through parts as we learn them. All we got tonight though was a long gentle sigh as the bellows emptied one last time, with the soft purr of the pump continuing faintly but futilely in the background. Hopefully our friendly local organ builder will have it back in working order shortly.

Clepsydra Chamber Choir Pawel Piotr Gorajski, conductor https://www.facebook.com/pages/Clepsydra-Chamber-Choir/415241295211807?fref=ts

11/07/2014

New Communion motet: Following the success of "Gustate et Videte" (Asola) it's time to add another four-part communion motet to our repertoire. On Thursday evening we started work on "O sacrum convivium" in the beautiful setting by Giovanni Croce (1557-1609). A lovely arrangement including some beautiful Alleluias at the end, making it particularly appropriate for singing during Easter. You can follow the score and listen to a recording of it on YouTube at http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wgqNRl-Vj0E .

Giovanni Croce's sacred motet 'O sacrum convivium' for SATB voices sung a ca****la. Ca****la Marciana, Marco Gemmani, conductor. O sacrum convivium, in quo C...

11/07/2014

Ordinary XIV - Sunday 6 July: Success! The setting of the communion antiphon "Gustate et videte" by Giovanni Asola went really well. Thanks to all those who practised hard over the past few weeks to make it sound so good.

24/06/2014

Ordinary XIV - Sunday 6 July: We are working on a new setting of the communion antiphon "Gustate et videte" by Giovanni Asola (1524-1609). Another piece in three parts (SAT/B) this time composed around 1588. We still have some work to do on it, but it's getting there!

The music can be found at http://choirat9.btck.co.uk/Music/Propers-OrdinaryTime XIV.

Roman Catholic church choir in Malvern, Worcestershire, singing Gregorian chant and traditional Latin polyphony

11/06/2014

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity - Sunday 15 June: In a departure from our normal custom of singing the chant Introit from the Gregorian Missal, we shall be singing a three part setting of the Introit "Benedicta sit Sancta Trinitas" from Carlo Rossini's anthology "Cantate Domino". This collection of three-part settings provides a useful source of relatively simple yet traditional liturgical music for smaller or less experienced choirs.

29/05/2014

Choir@9 was invited to sing its first Mass in the Extraordinary Form at the private chapel St John the Baptist at Spetchley Park on 27 April 2014. Thanks to Fr Anthony Talbot and Margaret Parfrey for their kind invitation.