What is a “chant”? From football terraces to political demonstrations to playground rhymes and perhaps even ancient plainchant, we have all chanted in one form or another. But the questions stands: what is “chant”? The Latin cantare means “to sing”, with cantus being a song, or singing. The French chanter means “to sing”, with chant … More The Sound of Prayer: Chant in Worship
St Margaret’s and St George’s churches both have pipe organs. St Margaret’s also has a grand piano, a choir, and full sets of two types of hymn books. We are not given to singing worship songs. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that kind of music in worship, but they are better suited to churches with … More Come All You Vagabonds – Stuart Townend (b. 1963)
This article was written for the Juje 2023 issue of our parish magazine. Here it is for you again. Last month saw the coronation of King Charles III in Westminster Abbey – over 70 years since the last time such an event happened on our shores. The music was fabulous, and got me thinking about … More Zadok the Priest – G F Handel (1685-1759)
Formerly known as Maggie’s Music Makers, the time has come to rebrand and relaunch our parish choir, in a way that reflects the group’s evolution over the past nine years, and that readies the group for future development. The existing name was perfect for the group when it was first formed, but it is time … More St Margaret’s Voices
This article was written for the May issue of our parish magazine. Here it is for you again. As Rev Christine pointed out in her May letter to the parish, this year, Ascension Day, Pentecost and Trinity all fall within May. It’s an extraordinarily busy time for musicians – with no space for respite after … More I Will Sing to the Spirit– John Rutter (b. 1945)
This article first appeared in the May 2023 edition of our parish magazine. Tom and I are always open to suggestions of music – instrumental or vocal, hymns or anthems – that could be incorporated into our services at St Margaret’s. Sometimes, the suggestions are not seasonally appropriate, so they have to wait until later … More Build Your Kingdom Here – Rend Collective
This article was written for the April 2026 issue of our parish magazine: I have never seen the 1998 film “Saving Private Ryan”. Wikipedia tells me that it’s a war epic, set in Normandy in 1944 and follows a group of solders on a mission to locate Private Ryan, whose three brothers have already perished … More Hymn to the Fallen (from Saving Private Ryan) – John Williams (b. 1932)
This article first appreared in the April 2023 issue of our parish magazine. At St Margaret’s we are blessed to welcome highly talented musicians to perform concerts for us. One of the more recent groups to do this is HeartEdge Manchester. This is a group of choral scholars from across Greater Manchester, led by Andrew … More The Lord is my Light and my Salvation – Brad Nix
“Attende, Domine”, or “Listen, Lord” is a liturgical chant for the season of Lent, more commonly known as the Lent Prose. It matches Rorate Caeli, known as the Advent Prose (see my article in the December 2024 issue of this magazine). Surprisingly, this plainsong melody was created as recently as the 19th century. The text … More Attende, Domine (The Lent Prose)
Alleluia! He is Risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Today is Easter Monday so our choir celebrates with “Hallelujah”: St Margaret’s Church Prestwich holds CCLI licences CCL 79250, MRL 775231 and 466111 for music streaming and One Licence M-40120 for music streaming. Hallelujah (Easter lyrics) © 1985 Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
St Margaret's Church Prestwich 