God's great stage (omni)presence Annie Collinge
The best churches for classical music
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By Martin Hoyle
Posted: Mon Apr 24 2006 -
A great tradition of midday performing has grown up in London's beautiful churches, with admission usually free or by donation
Brompton Oratory
This is the UK's senior professional Catholic church choir and its repertoire covers all periods of music from the Latin Rite to the present day. The award-winning junior choir frequently sings for productions at the Royal Ballet and Royal Opera House. Also, the organ, built in 1964, is said to be the finest ever constructed in the post-war period.
Brompton Road, SW7 (020 7808 0900/www.bromptonoratory.com).
Service with choir Sun 9am.AdvertisementChapel Royal at St James
The choir - made up of six men and ten child choristers - sings the weekly services and at other events as commanded by the Queen. The distinctive state uniforms worn by the children date from the reign of Charles II.
St James' Palace, SW1 (020 7930 4832/www.royal.gov.uk).
Service with resident choir 11.15am.Westminster AbbeyThis architectural masterpieceis as dramatic a setting as you could wish for and the choristers are from the school next door.
Dean's Yard (020 7222 5152/www.westminster-abbey.org).
Service Choral matin 10am, choral Eucharist 11.15am, choral evensong 3pm.
Westminster Cathedral
The choir here is recognised as one of the best in the world, and it takes part in the daily services. The choir and other guest musicians and singers also hold regular concerts in the cathedral.
42 Francis Street SW1 (020 7798 9055/www.wesminstercathedral.org.uk).
Service Morning mass with choir 10.30am, evening prayers in Latin by choir 3.30pm- Add your comment to this feature
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11 comments
The Priory Church of St. Bartholomew-the-Great, West Smithfield is London's oldest church, famous as a film location and for its unique place in the 20th Century British Bach revival at concerts given by the London Bach Society. The nearest tube is Barbican.
On Tuesday 10 November at 7.15pm, there is another all Bach programme "The Soul of Bach" promoted as part of the London Bach Society's 19th Bachfest - Tickets start at £15 Call 01883 717372 or at the door from 6.30pm.
St George's, Hanover Sq London W1 has excellent lunchtime recitals. The next one is on Wed 11 March 1pm Tamsin Waley-Cohen performs a solo recital on her 1721 Stradivarius violin. Music includes Chaconne from the 2nd Partita by J S Bach and Bartok's Sonata for solo violin. For full details of forthcoming recitals visit
www.musicinmayfair.org
And what about Southwark Cathedral at London Bridge? 7 or 8 choral services a week, midweek organ and instrumental recitals. And on February 28th at 7.30pm, 'Just Josquin' a programme devoted to the music of Josquin Desprez by specialist choir New Renaissance Voices. www.southwark.anglican.org
Some fablulous concerts coming up at St John's Fulham. Amazing acoustics and wonderful performers. See http://www.stjohnsfulham.org/music/
Good to see Brompton Oratory praised here. Two points: the solemn mass at wehich the choir sings is at 11 am on a Sunday; they also sing Vespers at 3:30 on Sunday afternoon. There are occasional weekday evening services on great feasts, while Holy Week is fully celebrated. The organ is indeed a beauty but it dates from 1954; Oratory organist Ralph Downes designed it at the same time that he was doing the organ in the Royal Festival Hall.
St Georges Church, Hanover Square should also be added to the list, as it was the church where Handel worshipped. Every year it hosts the Annual London Handel Festival in the spring, and also a performance of Messiah each December.
St Andrews, Fulham Fields also has an active musical calendar, including a music festival taking place on 20-22 June 2008. Highlights include a clerical barbershop quartet, free organ recital and a concert from Commotio, one of Oxford's leading chamber choirs. For further details please visit www.standrewsfulham.com or call 07711 980279.
St. Mary-le-Strand have a concert every term bu Incagliati. Next one is detailed below.
Event name:
Incagliati and Coro Santo Spirito
Artists:
"Incagliati" directed by Catherine McKay (http://www.incagliati.co.uk) and Coro Polifonico "Santo Spirito" from Ferrara, Italy (http://www.corosantospirito.it) directed by Francesco Pinamonti.
Date:
Saturday 31st May 2008 at 7.30pm.
Event location:
St. Mary-le-Strand church, (http://www.stmarylestrand.org) Strand, London WC2B 1ES.
Tube:
The nearest station is Temple (Circle and District lines). Alternative nearby stations are Covent Garden, Holborn, Charing Cross and Embankment.
National Rail:
The church is near to Charing Cross, Waterloo and Blackfriars stations.
Price:
£10 full price. £5 concessions
Brief description:
Incagliati were founded by Catherine McKay and Ben Cox in November 2004. They rehearse in the church of St Mary-le-Strand – hence their name (‘The Stranded Ones’) – where, since March 2005, they have performed one concert per term. Their repertoire is diverse: previous concerts have featured music by Bach, Barnby, Britten, Bruckner, Charpentier, Fauré, Howells, Mendelssohn, Monteverdi, Parry, Poulenc, Rachmaninoff, Schütz, Tippett, and Vaughan Williams. Incagliati also have a commitment to singing new works by contemporary composers, such as Ego flos campi (2003) by Elizabeth Croad, and Gareth Wilson’s Beatitudes (2005).
Following a joint concert in Ferrara on 20th April 2008 the Coro Polifonico "Santo Spirito" are now coming to London to sing with Incagliati. This concert will be a choral spectacular! Following fantastic reviews in the Ferrara press the two superb choirs will sing music such as Vaughan Williams "Mass in G Minor", Byrd "Ave Verum Corpus" and Carrissimi "Jephte".
Should think of adding Holy Trinity Sloane Street to the list. There is quite an amazing series of concerts happening at their annual Schubert Festival this month.
Correction: The Brompton Oratory SERVICE with full choir is 11 AM on Sundays, NOT 9 AM as stated in the Time Out comment.
the hardest thing to do is not hum when they're singing a popular number.