For me, “La Mer” is a love song to the sea, shore and sky, which is why Tom and I decided to offer it during a service for Creationtide in September 2024. On the appointed day, I had to be elsewhere for family reasons, so our recording of this song is only available in the recorded version of the service that went out on Sunday 15 September … More La Mer – Charles Trenet (1913-2001), trans. Janet Raynor
It’s June. After one of the wettest Mays on record, many of us are hoping and praying for a drier, sunnier summer. Many of us are also hoping and praying for the return of some of the freedoms we took for granted until March last year … More What a Wonderful World (Weiss & Thiele, arr. Brymer)
Is it only me that has a favourite compendium of sacred anthems? It’s “the blue and yellow one”, also known as “Anthems for Choirs 2: Twenty-four Anthems for Sopranos and Altos (unison and 2-part)”, edited by Philip Ledger and published by OUP. Unusually for such a compendium, I have sung well over half of the 24 anthems, and many of my favourites are in the selection … More The Song of the Tree of Life – Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
This powerful aria is the penultimate song in Purcell’s opera “Dido and Aeneas”. I discovered it one January morning. We were recently locked down for the third time, infection rates were out of control and UK daily death rates were higher than ever. A friend had posted a version of Dido’s Lament by Annie Lennox, accompanied by London City Voices. Well, if Annie Lennox is involved, it has to be worth a listen! Unaware at the time that this song is from an opera, nor the story of the opera, I clicked ‘play’, and it spoke to me … More Dido’s Lament – H Purcell (1659-95)
At 8pm on Monday 4 January 2021 our Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, broadcast live to the nation that the whole of the UK would be going into full lockdown with immediate effect. The news hit me hard. Not because it was unexpected – after all, since March 2020 we in the northwest of England had been in full lockdown, Tier 3 or Tier 4 restrictions, all in effort to curb the spread of Covid-19 … More How Can I Keep from Singing? – Lowry (1826-99), arr. Bullard (b.1947)
Today is St Cecilia’s Day. She was a Christian in the third century who welcomed others into her home where she led worship. This drew the attention of the Roman authorities, and she was martyred for her faith. Legend has it that she sang to God on her wedding day with such beauty and sincerity that her pagan husband became a Christian convert. She became the patron saint of music … More St Cecilia
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 Earis – the Director of Music at St Martin-in-the-Fields. You are probably aware that St Martin-in-the-Fields is a hub for music of all kinds, and Andrew Earis is internationally respected as a choral director … More The Lord is my Light and my Salvation – Brad Nix
I write this the day after returning home from a 9-day singing and conducting summer school with Sing for Pleasure. Based at Jesus College, Cambridge, it was utterly exhausting yet completely exhilarating. Work began at 8.45am last Sunday morning as we started learning Sarah Quartel’s “A Winter Day”, led by the SfP tutors. Sublime … More Why Sing?
Whether you love or loathe the work of Karl Jenkins, he is one of the most performed living composers in the world. His most popular piece (alongside his full choral work, “The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace”) is this one … More Adiemus – Jenkins (1944-present)
Like many of the pieces I write about in this blog, I was introduced to this song at a rehearsal of the Manchester Chorale. We were learning it for our summer concert programme in 2018. Imagine our pleasure when one of the Chorale members chose it as the bridal entry music for her wedding, and asked us to sing it for her … More I Will Come to You – M Fairbairn (b. 1986)
St Margaret's Church Prestwich 