The Choir of St. Matthew's Cathedral, Dallas

11/15/2021

An invitation to a most lovely choral and organ offering next Sunday afternoon 11/21/21 at the Cathedral Church of St. Matthew in the City of Dallas at 5100 Ross Ave (at N Garrett Ave...up the grand driveway)

Admission Free
Mask Required for our ongoing safety and for care for those around us.

11/15/2020

2020 Memorial Concert by the Choir of St. Matthew's Cathedral, Dallas. Videotaped on Saturday 11/7/2020 physically distanced with the Cathedral doors open for ventilation and taped in segments to allow outside breaks. One may hear the sounds of the city and nature.

Great thanks and appreciation for the Choir of St. Matthew's Cathedral and to Julian Petrallia, Organist, for his elegant offering in ensemble with the Choir.

Sincere gratitude for all who made memorial donations to the Choir of St. Matthew's Cathedral for this annual concert and for all who made the concert possible; Fr. Rob Price, Dean of St. Matthew's Cathedral, Janet Lumpkin, Dara Bickham, and Erica Lasenyik.

Memorial Concert by the Choir of St. Matthew’s Cathedral, Dallas. November 15th 2020. Keith Franks, Director; Julian Petrallia, Organist The concert was vide...

03/04/2020

Two trumpeters needed for Easter services 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. St. Matthew's Cathedral.
Rehearsal preferably a week before (4/4/20) but flexible
Accompanying hymns, service music, anthem, and postlude.
Beautiful music in a lovely space accompanying a most wonderful choir.
Keith Franks
[email protected]

03/04/2020

Need two trumpets for Easter services 8 and 10:30 a.m. at St. Matthew's Cathedral, Dallas.

Accompany hymns, service music, anthem, postlude
Rehearsal preferably 4/4 (a week ahead but flexible)
$100/rehearsal (1 hour)
$400/Easter morning two services

02/20/2020

A great "Thank you" to the Choir of St. Matthew's Cathedral, Dallas for the offering of this service of Choral Evensong this past Sunday, February 16th.

Thank you to Dr. Margaret Harper, Associate Director of Music and Organist, St. Michael and All Angels Church, Dallas as our Guest Organist for your rich registrations, voluntaries, and most pleasant collaboration.

Thank you to soloists Kameryn Leung, Kyle Hancock, and Julie Bowdren. Thank you to the Choir for your responsiveness-es to my requests for dramatic nuances.

Thank you to the Very Rev., Dean, Fr. Rob, Price for your love of the ephemeral blessing of music to our lives.

Thank you to St. Matthew's Cathedral Arts for funding the monthly Evensong services at St. Matthew's Cathedral.

I am a most fortunate individual to be associated with this special place on planet earth since May, 1975 (though not continuously..I was very young with longish dark wavy hair and "Mark Spitz-esque" mustache....).

The Choir of St. Matthew's Cathedral performed this Choral Evensong on February 16, 2020 on the Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany. Keith Franks is the Director...

02/12/2020

You are cordially invited to attend Evensong Sunday afternoon February 16th at 4 p.m at the Cathedral Church of St. Matthew, Dallas, 5100 Ross Ave at North Garrett Ave.

We welcome Dr. Margaret Harper, Associate Director of Music and Organist at St. Michael and All Angels Church, Dallas, as our Guest Organist for this Evensong.

All are welcome at St. Matthew's Cathedral.
The prelude voluntaries of Herbert Howells and Johann Sebastian Bach will begin at 3:40 p.m.

Master Tallis's Testament Herbert Howells
Concerto in D minor BWV 596 J. S. Bach

Introit: Preserve us, O Lord Healey Willan
Preces/Responses Herbert Sumsion
Psalms 19 and 46 Chants of Margaret Harper and Keith Franks
Evening Canticles in F George Dyson
Hear my prayer Felix Mendelssohn
Hymn "God, that madest earth and heaven" Ar Hyd y Nos

Prelude and Fugue in D minor Clara Schumann

Sung by the Choir of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Cathedral musical offerings of Herbert Howells, J.S. Bach, Healey Willan, Herbert Sumsion, Margaret Harper, Keith Franks, George Dyson, Felix Mendelssohn and Clara Schumann Guest Organist Margaret Harper, DMA Associate Director of Music and Organist St....

12/17/2019

Sunday afternoon's Festival Service of Nine Lessons and Carols at St. Matthew's Cathedral led by the Choir of St. Matthew's Cathedral. I am a very fortunate individual to be at St. Matthew's Cathedral. I have had quite a long connection in my life to this sweet spot of old and mysterious east Dallas. When I first arrived in 1975, I had long dark brown wavy hair with my "Mark Spitz" mustache.....some of that has "evolved" since those days....My connection has not been continuous...I revisited St. Matthew's in the summer of 1985 when Gerald Near was Organist/Choirmaster...I was subbing for someone for that summer, as I lived nearby in a most modest apartment on Lindell..now obliterated for fancy condos...A great Thank You to Michie Akin for inviting me to assist with Evensongs in autumn of 2012.

What joy this service was! Thank you to the Choir, Dean Robert Price and Fr. Ryan Po***ck, the Cathedral staff, the parishioners of St. Matthew's, the readers, ushers, torch bearers and crucifer bearer, our very youthful Verger, visitors who had never been to St. Matthew's Cathedral, and a great "thank you" to harpist Barbara Biggers, a most gracious individual I am so charmed to have been referred to when I was searching for a harpist for this service, and who made a most elegant contribution to the spirit of the service.

The new open west end of the nave makes for a most lovely gathering space as a coffee and spiced tea social time was had afterwards. The beautiful creche visible at the beginning of the service is the wondrous creation of St. Matthew's parishioner Mr. Tommy Bourgeois.

St Matthew's Episcopal Cathedral in Dallas Texas presents a "Festival Service of Nine Lessons and Carols" on the third Sunday of Advent, 12-16-2018. The Choi...

11/22/2019

Music for Sunday 11/24/2019, The Last Sunday after Pentecost,
Christ the King

Voluntary "Elegy" George Thalben-Ball (1896-1987)

Introit "The Lord God omnipotent reigneth" George Thalben-Ball

Short Communion Service in F William Henry Harris (1883-1973) Gloria in excelsis and Sanctus/Benedictus

Psalm 46 chant of Keith Franks (b. 1953....in time for Her Majesty's Coronation at "First C of E".....) (only the birth year will be listed in the service leaflet....)

Anthem at the Offertory: King of Glory Gerald Near (b. 1942)

Communion motet: "Above all praise and all majesty"
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

Voluntary "Crown Imperial" (Coronation March, 1937)
William Walton (1902-1983) arr. by Herbert Murrill (1909-1952).

All are welcome at the Cathedral Church of St. Matthew, Dallas, 5100 Ross Ave at Garrett in fashionable and most mysterious east Dallas 75206. Invite a dear loved one to accompany you.

11/20/2019

Thank you to the Choir of the Cathedral Church of St. Matthew, Dallas...What joy this was....

The Lord is my shepherd Humphrey Clucas
Ave verum Camille Saint-Saens

Become to us Jane Marshall Ms. Marshall passed away in the last year...this hymn setting was written for the Choir of East Dallas Christian Church and Richard DeLong in 1994...the year Richard passed into eternal life.

Tantum ergo Louis Vierne (offered in remembrance of the conflagration of 4/15 at Notre Dame and to Louis Vierne)

Souls of the righteous T. Tertius Noble (the video has his name misspelled....mea culpa) offered in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the St. Thomas Choir School...This work I found especially sumptuous with that text from the Book of Wisdom....in Latin we sang last year Stanford's lovely "Justorum animae"....Mr. Noble did himself proud in this sweet motet.

Psalm Twenty-three Dede Duson - sung in remembrance of the love, life, and artistry of Rosemary Heffley

There is an old belief Charles Hubert Hastings Parry....This text is so very powerful...from his "Songs of Farewell"

I will lift up mine eyes Ernest Walker.....what a jewel of a choral work

Like as the hart Noel Rawsthorne...I discovered this work in the St. Matthew's Cathedral music library...a lovely alternative to the more well known contemporary work of Herbert Howells.
Mr. Rawsthorne passed from this life in January of this year.

The Lord is my shepherd Charles Villiers Stanford....a miniature cantata on the 23rd Psalm...That tenor bass recitative section before the final fugal section ...!!

Psalm Prelude Book I (Set I) no. 2 of Herbert Howells.... played by our organist for the concert Nicholas Halbert. Thank you Nicholas for your love of the Cathedral organ...you sense its sweet eccentricities....the ending of the Walker was rapture....not the only rapture of the afternoon...Thank you!

The King of love Peter Aston....I was taken by this work the first time I heard it several years ago while assisting Michie Akin at St. Matthew's.....Each verse is carefully "colored/shaded" to fit the text....

Nunc dimittis John Stainer....I love the music of Sir John Stainer....Dr. Stainer sometimes took motifs a touch too far....but not in this portion of the Evening Canticles in B flat....The Gloria just dances along...Joy!

I sat down Edward Bairstow....I decided I wanted to have an encore prepared this year....the Bairstow is a favorite of the Cathedral Choir....and I took some liberties as one will note...Enjoy!

All Saints Memorial Concert by the Choir of the Cathedral Church of St. Matthew, Dallas Texas. Keith Franks is Director of Music and Organist of St. Matthew'...