Today is Ash Wednesday, and so Carol and Tom sing for you the Lent hymn “Forty Days and Forty Nights”: 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.
Did you know that carols, like puppies, are not just for Christmas? According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, a carol is a song characteristically of religious joy, associated with a given season, with uniform stanzas or verses that may alternate with a refrain. The musical emphasis is on melody and rhythm rather than harmony. Interestingly, the … More The Crown of Roses – words Pleshcheev (1825-93) tr. Drearmer, music Tchaikovsky (1840-93)
Musicians planning repertoire for their ensembles are usually considerably ahead of the calendar. It was no surprise then that all the students on a conducting training weekend in June 2024 were set Christmas carols from a new publication, “Carols for Choirs 6”. We learned some fabulous new Christmas music that weekend, and most students programmed these carols for their choirs this Christmas – including Notability, the Whitefield choir that I practiced with ahead of the course … More The Owl – Toby Young (b. 1990), text by Jennifer Thorpe (b. 1988)
Originally a hit for Little Peggy March in 1963, this song was made popular once more in 1992 when it was included in Sister Act, as Whoopi Goldberg led a chorus of singing nuns … More I Will Follow Him
This is one of the most challenging pieces of music I sing in the liturgical year (the other being the Lent Prose, for all the same reasons). It’s an ancient plainsong chant, using text from Isaiah, in which the patriarchs and prophets of the Old Testament express their longings for the coming of the Messiah and cleansing of human sins. It is sung through Advent, building the number of verses Sunday by Sunday … More The Advent Prose (Rorate Coeli)
We hope you’ve enjoyed our daily Digital Advent Calendar and musical gifts for each of the Twelve Days of Christmas. We finish now with a cheeky little extra gift from Tom and Carol … More The 13th Day of Christmas?
It’s the twelfth day of Christmas, and our final gift to you can only be twelve drummers drumming. We move into Epiphany now, and celebrate the arrival of the wise men, with their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh … More The 12th Day of Christmas 2024
Today is the eleventh day of Christmas 2024, and it’s nearly Epiphany. The choir’s gift for you today is eleven pipers piping, and Tom & Carol sing about the wise men.
New year, new you? To join the choir, please contact us … More The 11th Day of Christmas 2024
It’s the tenth day of Christmas 2024, the third day of 2025, and the season of Epiphany will soon be here. Our gift to you today is ten lords a-leaping and we look ahead to the arrival of “We Three Kings”.
New year, new you? If you’d like to join the choir for a taster session, please contact us. … More The 10th Day of Christmas 2024
It’s the ninth day of Christmas 2024 but the second of 2025. We offer you today’s gift of nine ladies dancing, sung by our choir. New year, new you? If you’d like to join our choir, please contact us … More The 9th Day of Christmas 2024
St Margaret's Church Prestwich 