An introduction of sorts..

To anyone reading this, welcome!

After several months of deliberating, I've finally taken the plunge and write on my own. How often and whether I can keep this going remains to be seen. I am an occasional contributor to the Middlesbrough LMS blog, so am not a total novice in the blogosphere, but writing on one's own is somewhat different! I'll be drawing on some of the material I've written there initially [albeit updated] which really has a more natural home here.

You can read all about the choir, and how we originally got going on our website, but if you just want brief details - here they are :-)

We are an ad-hoc choir with the emphasis on restoring Sacred Music to church services in its liturgical context as opposed to the concert hall or recording studio. Members, who are all volunteers, are at present based in the North of England, the East Midlands, and in Scotland.

We normally sing four to five times a year at specially arranged services, usually - but not exclusively - Mass in the Traditional Roman Rite and would like to increase this to sing for other services such as Solemn Vespers and in more locations throughout the UK. We are therefore looking for more people to join us.

The choir is Catholic in ethos, though many of the singers are from other churches, mainly Anglican. Anyone who wishes to sing traditional church music in its original liturgical setting would be made very welcome. Attendance varies from event to event, depending on the voices needed and the location of the churches where we sing. There is no commitment to sing for every service, though the more people can manage the better!

Our repertoire consists mainly of Gregorian Chant and Polyphony, and we occasionally join forces with theSchola Gregoriana of Northumbria to great effect.

Music we have sung so far includes, Palestrina, Missa Papae Marcelli, Missa Brevis & Missa Assumpta est Maria Victoria, Requiem & Missa O Quam Gloriosum and motets by Victoria, Palestrina, Byrd, Bruckner & Stanford to name but a few.

To date we have sung in churches mainly in Yorkshire, including the wonderful church of St Mary & St Everilda at Everingham with its glorious acoustic, Leeds Cathedral and Brinkburn Priory in Northumberland. We also have an open invitation to sing in Fontgombault Abbey in France. (The latter depends on an equal number of singing volunteers to make the journey viable both economically and musically!)

That's the sales pitch over - now onto the business of blogging!