Before 11am Mass this morning Fr Kieran McDermott, Adm., formally welcomed Aleksandr Nisse as the newly-appointed Titular Organist of the Pro-Cathedral. Aleksandr is an internationally recognised organist and is particularly noted for his exceptional skill at improvisation. We all wish him well in this new position as Titular Organist and we all look forward immensely to working with him.
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GIRLS' CHOIR NEWS!
St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral Girls’ Choir continues its commitment to promoting works by female composers. On Tuesday at 6pm at the Pro-Cathedral, join us in celebrating female creativity on International Women’s Day, when the Girls’ Choir will give a short presentation of works by Cecile Chaminade, Rhona Clarke, Rebecca Clarke, Hildegard von Bingen and Roxanna Panufnik. ALL WELCOME After quite a long hiatus, the boys are back singing Vespers! There was a great excitement amongst the boys as for most of them it was there first time singing at Vespers. It's a very peaceful and intimate service which the choir has partaken in for several decades. Unfortunately, it is only planned to take place during Lent so we implore you to come join us and make a meaningful committment during Lent.
Sung Evening Prayer (Vespers) will resume on Fridays at 5.30pm at the Pro-Cathedral with music sung by the Boys of the Palestrina Choir.
Evening Prayer is part of the Liturgy of the Hours, also known as the Divine Office in which the Church fulfills Jesus' command to "pray always" (Luke 18:1; see also 1 Thessalonians 5:17). Evening Prayer gives thanks for the day just past and makes an evening sacrifice of praise to God. Attendance at Evening Prayer would be a meaningful commitment during Lent. All are most welcome at this short but beautiful service. Andrew Parnell is an English composer, organist and harpsichordist (b.1954). Parnell currently resides in Ely, Cambrigdeshire where he works closely with Ely Cathedral. There, he became Assistant Director of the Octagon Singers, Director of Ely Choral Society and Wymondham Symphony Orchestra. His compositions vary from both sacred to secular and have been performed worldwide, that now includes the Pro-Cathedral!
Peter Philips was an eminent English composer and organist in the late 16th century (1560 - 1628), right at what most scholars define as the period of change between the Renaissance and Baroque eras. However, in Philips’ case (and many others) it’s not as clear cut. Philips fled England as a young man because he was unable to maintain his Catholic beliefs comfortably. ‘Ave Verum Corpus’ and an accompanying motet ‘Ascendit Deus’ were published in Antwerp in 1612. The collection was defiantly dedicated to the ‘amplification of the Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman faith’. It’s this dedication to his faith which delineates the style of his compositions.
The Pro-Cathedral is absolutely delighted to announce the appointment of Aleksandr Nisse as Cathedral Organist. Aleksandr takes up his position in March 2022.
Aleksandr Nisse is an organist and composer of Russian (St. Petersburg) and French (Paris) descent. Aleksandr spent his childhood years growing up in Hamburg and in the family ancestral home in Normandy, France. 'Cantique de Jean Racine' was composed by Gabriel Fauré for a competition when he was just nineteen-years old. The text, "Verbe égal au Très-Haut" ("Word, one with the Highest"), by Jean Racine is from a hymn, which is so elegantly set by Fauré. It features a lush choral homophony layered on top of a sparse organ accompaniment. It is very much a precursor to his 'Requiem'. It is no surprise that he won the competition in which it was entered!
This has been a very exciting week as we gradually welcomed back all the junior choristers and our junior probationers. New music has been learned, musicianship and vocal training has resumed and processing whilst singing has been practised. We are ready for our full complement of singers for the first time at 11am Mass on Sunday.
Particularly heart-warming this afternoon was the excitement and happiness at the resumption of the Friday teas today - lovely spaghetti bolognese and brownies and vanilla squares! Some choristers even went up for a third helping (the choir staff were pretty pleased too)! It has been a week of positivity. For those who have been keeping an eye on our Facebook and Twitter pages, you may have spotted that we have begun live-streaming the Sunday masses on our Youtube Channel. This has been a wonderful development, however we knew that it would be hard to wire into the Pro's existing sound system. Although it's great that the choir can now be heard in Hi-definition, it is just as equally important that the liturgy of the mass can be heard.
In a relatively short period of about three days, a solution was planned and has been executed. I'll include some short audio test clips to give an idea of the quality improvements. The live-stream links will still be posted to the Facebook and Twitter pages, however instead of linking directly to YouTube, they will link to the Live-Stream section on the website. |
AuthorsBlánaid Murphy - Dir. Archives
March 2024
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