The Advantages of Being Ill...

Ok,  I really can't think of many, but during my latest enforced period of rest caused by a very nasty respiratory infection - not chest infection as first thought, (though those people who've heard me over the last few days would be hard-pressed to tell the difference) - I've had time to update this blog with something other than the latest dates for Compline.

The 15th Anniversary Mass was a huge success, despite only having the full choir available on the morning. It gets incredibly frustrating when organising rehearsals in advance to find that half the choir don't turn up at the allotted time... It's fair enough when people let us know that they can't be at a rehearsal in good time, but to not turn up at all without any reason is very poor, especially when others have driven considerable distances to be there. Mini-rant over, but I do have one other minor pet peeve. This was a Festive Mass, with music to match, and all we got at the end was the Ferial Ite Missa Est - those that have heard it, know the one I mean. I do wish Fr. Stephen would learn some of the others as they're really not difficult at all! Back to the Mass which went almost without a hitch, the only minor blemish was me starting the Offertory Proper off too high. I've listened to it since though and it doesn't sound half as bad as I feared... We also received the following accolade from an Anglican member of the congregation who remarked "our services are usually so much better than yours, but that was very good and I really enjoyed it!"

The following day saw a really truncated Sung EF Mass in York, Rossini Propers (yes, Mulier Fortis & Leutgeb, I'm not afraid to use them every now & then!) with Missa de Angelis + Credo III - President of Una Voce International please note! ;-) We we officially told at this Mass that Fr. Stephen is leaving York to become a parish priest in the north-east of the Diocese. Good for him, but a loss for us, as he's a rare breed, a priest who has an exceptionally good singing voice. He'd tipped me off the week before up in Darlington with a not-so-subtle hint that me 'might' be moving, so the news was no surprise to me! We'd both visited the Anglo-Catholic church of S. James the Great, he to preach, and me to witness what is essentially one of the best Ordinary Form Liturgies (The parish effectively use the Roman Rite taken straight out of the 1970 Missal) in North/North-East England. Couple this with some great music sung by a super choir with fine congregational hymns, and you have a sublime experience. If only the Ordinary Form could be like this in other parts of the country! I have only one minor quibble, and that would be to get the Celebrant to use the High Altar and celebrate ad orientem, but that's just my personal preference. :-) The Parish Festive Lunch (it being Pentecost) was excellent as well, prepared by catering students at nearby Darlington College.

Back to Rudgate news. Last Saturday saw our first Gregorian Chant Workshop at St. Mary's Bishophill. Although we had 20 initially registering, we ended up with 13, which is still a good number as I'd have been delighted with 10! The workshop was led by Mark Burghagen with a little assistance from me as we went on. Poor Mark was also full of cold, so to everyone who did come along, Thank you for putting up with Mark's sniffles and me coughing and wheezing my way through the afternoon! We hope to run another one in October.

Looking further ahead to the remainder of the year, we have the Annual Founders' Day Requiem at Barnard Castle a week on Saturday. I hope I'm fit enough to sing for that, as I've  already missed out on the chance to sing at Markenfield Hall this week, and it's looking more than likely that I'll miss out on the launch of the Heritage Singers' latest CD tomorrow evening which I was really looking forward to too. :-( I've been hoping to meet them for some time as they perform a very similar service to Rudgate albeit it seems exclusively C of E liturgies. We're much more ecumenical! ;-) I have already met their Director, who is now a friend - not just on Facebook! - but it would have been a good opportunity to meet the rest of the choir as well. Oh well... One of these days when our dates don't clash, I may be able to get along to one of their services. Check them out on YouTube, they're really worth listening too.

Later in the year, in September, by which time this infection should have well and truly gone, we hope to return to Brinkburn for the Solemn High Mass there. The following week, I'll be in Oxford singing for the Priestly Ordination of a friend of mine, who has since achieved world-wide cyberspace fame as a photo-blogging Dominican! I can claim to know him before he was famous... ;-) What I'm really looking forward too, is being directed by James MacMillan, who is coming not only because he also knows fr Lawrence, but has written a piece of music for the occasion & is coming (from Berlin I believe) to direct the piece himself. There are other choral goodies in the Ordination music which I'm really looking forward to.

October, apart from hopefully organising our 2nd Chant Workshop of the year, sees me reprise the role of Concert Promoter for Eastern-European Talent, something last done nearly 20 years ago. This time it's not a choir I'm promoting, but an exceptionally talented Ukrainian artist by the name of Dmytro Hub'yak (pronounced 'Hoobyak') He is a bandura player whose ability has been recognised by the Ukrainian nation who have given him the honour of 'Merited Artiste of Ukraine' and he's not even 30 yet! I've already got him one booking in York and am looking at other venues in Yorkshire whilst my contact in Ukraine (who's ex-pat half Brit/half Uke) is looking at Ukrainian clubs in the Midlands so that we can try and make this a viable tour. It goes without saying that if you know of any venue that would like to host such a remarkable young man, then do please get in touch. :-)

Also in October sees the return of the choral Orthodox Liturgies at Ampleforth. Vespers on 28th and Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom on Sat 29th. A remarkable venture as you have Orthodox Liturgy in Catholic Abbey directed by one of its monks, sung by a choir largely of Anglicans. More singers, of any denomination or none will be be made very welcome! This leads me to the next major Rudgate choral event after Brinkburn, when we hope to sing yet another Orthodox Liturgy to the setting composed by Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov. I've painstakingly transliterated this from the public domain edition written in Cyrillic text only, which is just as well, as I discovered errors in the original text. All we need now, are enough singers to make it a viable proposition for some time in November. A Choral Byzantine-Rite Liturgy was one of the services I wanted us to do in our Anniversary Year, so all you singers out there, whether you've sung with us already or not, if you're interested, do please get in touch, either by commenting here or via the link to our website. The venue will most likely be Bishophill Jnr, as will the Carol Service in December. Better start planning for that then, as before you know it, December will be upon us...

For those who need to know...

We're NOT singing Compline at all next weekend due to me escaping to London for the Bank Holiday Weekend.

However, we *are* planning a Gregorian Chant Workshop scheduled for the 9th July. More details will be released later!

The Rudgate Singers' 15th Anniversary Mass

Many of you will, I'm, sure, have heard of us. Some no doubt, will have heard us sing at various services that have taken place in the North of England over the last few years. What you may not know, is that the idea to form the choir originated in prison! I used to work for the Prison Service, and a chance conversation with one of the Catholic Chaplains where I worked (Fr. Richard Aladics) led to the first Rudgate Service which took place in the beautiful catholic church in Scarthingwell, back in June 1996, where amongst other pieces, we sang the Missa Papae Marcelli by Palestrina.

What we believed would be a one-off occasion (or annual at best) clearly didn't turn out to be the case, and we now approach our 15th Anniversary!

The 15th anniversary Mass will take place at St. Joseph's Church, Newby, Scarborough (YO12 6HT if you have satnav) on 18th June, 2011 at 3pm, and will, once again include the Missa Papae Marcelli. Other music is as follows:

Aichinger: Factus est repente
Tallis: Loquebantur variis linguis
Lotti: Regina Caeli

as well as the full Chant Proper of the Mass of Whit Saturday from the Graduale Romanum.

Fr. Stephen Maughan, who celebrated the historic Mass in York Minster earlier this year, has kindly agreed to be the Celebrant, for what we hope will be another special occasion.

Please do put the date in your diaries.

Compline by Candlelight during May

Saturday 7th May

Saturday 14th May

Saturday 21st May

All at the church of St. Mary, Bishophill Junior, York (York's oldest church), commencing at 9pm.

Young Catholic Adults National Weekend

This is a little late, so you may have already read it elsewhere. My excuse is that I succumbed to an extremely nasty cold just after Easter & haven't felt like doing much else since, apart from the Stow Minster Service.

Anyway, late or not, I'm more than happy to promote this here, although I'm a little on the old side, unless it applies to youths of all ages. ;-)

YOUNG CATHOLIC ADULTS NATIONAL WEEKEND 9^TH-11^TH SEPTEMBER 2011

During the weekend of the 9-11 September 2011 Young Catholic Adults will be running a weekend at Douai Abbey, it will be led by Juventutem Ecclesiastical Assistant Fr de Malleray . The weekend will be full-board.

* YCA will have half of the retreat centre to itself

* There will be a Marian Procession, Rosaries, Sung Mass, Low Mass, Confession and socials

* Fr. de Malleray FSSP head of Juventutem will preach the retreat, Masses will be in the Extraordinary form

Prices range from £5 to £51 per person per night . There are 3 options

THE MAIN GUEST HOUSE

Friday , registration from 4pm, to Sunday 11th September (full board)* or

Arrive Saturday morning till Sunday or day only

51 pounds full-board PER PERSON PER NIGHT

25 pounds for students/low waged/unwaged (or whatever you can afford) PER PERSON PER NIGHT



THE COTTAGES

£35 PER PERSON PER NIGHT (full board). Self catering £25 per person per night (reductions for students:- or whatever you can afford) .



SELF CATERING CAMPING

£5 PER PERSON PER NIGHT (or whatever you can afford - please bring your own tent and food ).

If you would like lunch on Sunday 11th then it will be an extra £7 each.


How to book - limited places so please reserve your place early


To reserve your place FOR THE WEEKEND (no deposit needed if you are coming for the day on Saturday), please contact the Guestmaster direct and send a 20 pound deposit (NON RETURNABLE) to Brother Christopher Greener OSB, Douai Abbey, Upper Woolhampton, Reading, Berks. RG7 5TQ (please make any cheques payable to Douai Abbey). Please mention how long you wish to stay and any special diet.


For general enquiries about the weekend:- or any queries about the accommodation/location/lifts required please ring Damian Barker on 07908105787 or 01452 539503.

For photographs of previous Douai Retreats please see:-

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24212854@N07/sets/72157606091441047/

Compline by Candlelight during April.

Friday 1st

Saturday 2nd

Friday 8th

Saturday 9th

Friday 15th

Saturday 16th

Saturday 30th

All at the later time of 9.30pm

St. Mary's Bishophill Junior,York

All welcome!

Who would ever have believed?.....

Picture the scene if you can. A group of people, priests and laymen, discussing the dream of having an EF Mass in York Minster, and dismissing it as fantasy! This was at Ushaw during the Training Conference in April 2010.

Fast forward a few months to 3 people in a York pub one Sunday evening after Mass, discussing the possibility of doing something in honour of St. Margaret Clitherow.

Amazingly, within a year of having dismissed such talk as sheer speculative fantasy, this is what you get!

Another nail in the coffin of the reformation.

Mass for St Margaret Clitherow in York Minster

Photos of the Extraordinary Form Mass in York Minster

 

Photos from Mass at the High Altar of York Minster

 

LMS Pilgrimage to York: report and pictures 

 

LMS Pilgrimage to York: more photos

York Minster Mass

 

 TLM in York Minster

 

Follow up: TLM at Tork for St. Margaret Clitherow

EF Mass in York Minster

Missa Cantata in York Minster

 

A memorable and solemn occasion

 

Shining Pearl of York

 

There's also a report from the local paper here.

 

Sets of photos are already making their way onto Flickr.

 

You can see some here, and here!

Sing Compline for Lent.... or anytime.

I'm not going to apologise for pointing you in the direction of this excellent post by Jeffrey Tucker of the Chant Café blog network. Go and read it, and then put it into practise!

Jeffrey's post refers to the Ordinary Form in the Latin Rite. We at Rudgate use the Extraordinary Form (it keeps my running costs down, as I don't have to buy copyrighted material, rather just download it freely!)

Whatever form it's offered in, it is a tremendous spiritual offering, and one I wholeheartedly encourage you to take up, be it by yourself, or in a small group - in your own home, or local/parish church. In our case, the use of the oldest church in York (Anglican) for a Latin Catholic service has been mentioned before, and everybody is welcome to come to Bishophill Jnr. Details will be posted here each month from now on. We usually meet on Saturdays, but occasionally this gets moved to Sunday evenings due to other events/services/concerts etc that take place. This is York after all!

Besides ourselves, I've noticed locally that Compline in Lent is being advertised at Holy Trinity Church, Micklegate as Ecumenical Prayer in Lent. on 15th March & 5th April. starting at 7pm to rehearse, with a small break for refreshments, before singing Compline itself. I've no idea what format this will be in, but guess it will be similar to this. This form of Compline is also chanted by the excellent Ebor Singers during Lent at York Minster on Thursdays at 9pm, usually with added polyphony.

If you want to come to ours though, we'll be delighted to see you!

The current schedule is:

Saturday 26th February
Saturday 5th March
Sunday 13th March
Sunday 20th March
Saturday 26th March

All times 9pm at the Church of St. Mary, Bishophill Junior, York YO1 6EN

I almost forgot to mention. This is *entirely* by candlelight. We do provide everyone with their own candle though!

The Year So Far...

Early in January, I relocated work-wise from Selby to the outskirts of York. This couldn't have come soon enough, as I was beginning to get worn down by the constant commuting to work more or less anywhere else *but* York, so it's a blessed relief to travel only 8 miles a day instead of over 40!

Things appear to have been rather quiet on the Rudgate/musical front, but I can assure you that is most definitely *not* the case. :-) A quick resumé follows:

In January 3 of us ventured up to Ampleforth Abbey to take part in an Orthodox Liturgy within the Octave of Christian Unity. A splendid occasion. What is rather unique about this set-up is that the Liturgy is Orthodox (not Byzantine-Catholic), taking place in a Catholic monastery, and the choir, directed by one of the monks, appears to be mainly Anglican.

It's the second one I've been involved in - the first as a singer. There was one back in October which I went to and ended up being official photographer as no-one else had a camera!

Here are some photos of that Liturgy, so you can see what I'm on about..

                         

The rest can be seen here.

I've been in touch with the Director (Fr Alexander) since then, as there are plans for a collaboration with Rudgate to sing Vespers and another Liturgy later this year, towards the end of October.

On the Latin Rite front, we only seem to be involved in EF Masses at the moment as well as Compline (which I'll touch on in a separate post). I'm not complaining of course, as I think that the EF gives us a much better opportunity to present Sacred music in it's proper context than the OF. That said, we would never turn down an offer to go and sing an OF Mass, it's just that those invitations are very few and far between. I think the last one I was involved in as a singer was back in May. 

We've actually sung two Chant Masses so far this year and one with the added bonus of some polyphony, all of which were sung at English Martyrs' in York The latter included some motets by Mozart and a Mass composed by Christoph Dalitz as recently as 1989 which is very Mozartian in style and very singable. If you've never heard of him before, than take a look here. I think you'll find his music very appealing.

Most of the work this year though has been behind the scenes, hence the lack of activity here. We are actively involved in planning for what is believed to be only the second EF Mass in York Minster since the Reformation! (If somebody could tell me when the first was, I'd be delighted to know, because I can't think of any!) 

The Mass itself is in honour of St Margaret Clitherow, and is part of a National Pilgrimage organised by the Latin Mass Society of England & Wales and we're expecting in the region of 500 people descending on York on 26th March. I've already heard of coaches from London, Birmingham, Oxford Allerton Bywater [nr Leeds] and a minibus from Newark & that's before you start adding people from the north of England! Following the Mass, there's a procession going via the shrine in the shambles and past Ouse Bridge, near the site of her execution, ending at English Martys, where we'll be singing for Benediction, during which the relic of St. Margaret will be venerated. It's a huge task & by far the biggest service we've ever done. We have a choir of 25 singing Byrd's Mass for 5 voices + Byrd motets and a Gregorian Chant Schola Cantorum of 14, possibly 15. Spare a thought for those of us singing both - it's going to be very hard work! If you think we're overdoing it with the schola, think again, the sheer size of the building requires a good solid sound. We can't get away with just 2 or 3 here you know... ;-)

Between my sister, myself and the ever helpful Columba Aspexit, we've come up with a souvenir booklet and poster (see below). Both of these have gone through so many versions/editions it feels like we've been beta testing new software releases! The final product though has been well worth the effort.

The booklet has yet to go to press, but rest assured, if you come to York next month, it will be available at the Minster! Do come along if you can, as it promises to be a momentous occasion. 

Christmas comes but twice a year...

Yesterday, I braved the elements, & the HGV's, and drove across the Pennines to Oldham to visit the Ukrainian Catholic Church of SS Peter, Paul & All Saints, where I have made many friends for Christmas Day. (According to the Julian Calendar). Indeed, Stefan, who I first met well over 20 years ago, is not only the cantor, but also doubles up as church Secretary, caretaker & anything else you might care to mention!

Here are some photos.

More can be seen here, though you'll need to scroll down to the bottom of the page.

Welcome to Rudgate's XVth year!

It's still only early January, and yet we already have a very full schedule of services outlined for the year. Some may not happen of course and as I'm not into the clairvoyance business, I'm not going to make any rash predictions, so this is potentially what we've got to look forward to. Not bad considering we only got a group of singers 15  years ago, for what was expected to be a one-off, or at best, annual occasion. :-) Some of these involve the whole choir, some just the Schola Cantorum & others just individuals joining with others.

22nd January [week of prayer for Christian Unity]

Ampleforth Abbey

Orthodox Divine Liturgy - in English (Directed by Fr. Alexander McCabe OSB.)

Slavonic composers

Individual singers needed.

I actually heard the group who sang for a Liturgy back in October, and was rather impressed, but I've been told that experienced singers of all voices would be very helpful, particularly for this Liturgy in January as they want to pull out all the stops so to speak for Christian Unity Week.

They serve an excellent lunch afterwards!

 

2nd February [Wednesday evening]

Candlemass 2nd Vespers.

St Mary, Bishophill Junior, York

Likely to be Schola only as many people rehearse on Wednesdays with other choirs.

 

12th February. (National Event No.1)

English Martyrs' York 4pm.

Sung Mass at the conclusion of a Nationally organized training day for servers in the EF.

 

26th March (National Event No.2!)

YORK MINSTER/Bar Convent Chapel. Now confirmed!

 Missa Cantata for the Feast of St. Margaret Clitherow. 1.30pm

This is going to be as part of a National Pilgrimage to York in her honour. The plan is for Mass, followed by a  procession to her shrine at the Shambles, and then later in the day, 4pm I believe, going to the Convent chapel for Veneration of her relic & Benediction.

We would need a full choir for the Mass, but could cope with chant only for Benediction, though it would be nice if we had a quorum to sing a little polyphony here as well.

Music: Byrd 5, Iustorum Animae, Ave Verum & Ave Regina Caelorum. + chant proper from the Mass of Martyr Not A Virgin. (Didn't realise such a Proper existed, so I'm glad I looked it up! I was originally going to choose one from the Common of Martyrs - you learn something new every day!)

 

I've had a look at the side chapels, and there are one or two that could be suitable, depending on numbers of pilgrims, but I suspect a lot of people will come to this, & we may well end up in the Nave - so we'll need to be prepared!

 

30th April

Stow Minster, Lincolnshire 12.PM

Confirmed invitation for the Full choir, to sing a Sung Eucharist - votive of Our Lady in Easter Week.

 

18th June, venue to be arranged, but hopefully, St Joseph's, Scarborough. (I have now written to ask, but haven't had a reply yet, but hopefully, it'll be here!) 

15th Anniversary Mass (Vigil of Trinity Sunday?)

The reason I'm going for this church, is that it's accessible for most of us re parking [lifts will be given to non-drivers!], and it has a generous acoustic AND a large West Gallery. Essential from my point of view, because I'd like everyone who has been involved with us for the last 15 years to be invited. (I realise some won't be able to make it, but it's the thought that counts!)

 

16th, 23rd, or 30th July [to be confirmed]

St Mary's Church, Barnard Castle

The Annual Founders' Day Requiem

The last 6 years this has just been the Gregorian Chant Requiem. Nothing wrong with that, but it would be great in our Anniversary Year to have a full choir to sing a polyphonic Requiem

 

10th September [provisionally]

Brinkburn Priory [to be confirmed]

It's usually the Second Saturday in September, weddings & other services permitting!

The Annual Solemn High Mass.

We've had a request for  RVW's Mass in G minor!

 

October/November

Venue to be confirmed, but probably St Mary's Bishophill Jnr,

Choral [probably Orthodox] Divine Liturgy

Full choir. Not sure yet whether it will follow the Ampleforth model of various composers, or be a composed setting by an individual. I have a full score of Ippolitov-Ivanov's Liturgy which is very singable, but it will need to be transliterated, as the text is in Old Church Slavonic. For those of us who can read it, that's not a problem, but I guess we'll be in the minority!

 

Monday 19th December [provisionally]

St Mary's Bishophill Junior

The Annual Service of Carols by Candlelight.

 

Obviously, some of this may change, as I'm working up to almost a year in advance, but this is a general idea of what we are/or likely to be invited to this year! There are some other events likely to involve some, if not the full choir. These are at the Greek Orthodox Church in Leeds, where we hope to sing, in English, a new setting of the Liturgy in Byzantine Chant. 

The others largely concerns Gregorian Chant, but MAY involve some polyphony also, as there are provisional plans for liturgical workshops to take place at Middlesbrough  & Lancaster Cathedrals. 

 

There will probably be other services throughout the year mainly in York, and there's always Compline or Vespers at St Mary's Bishophill on a regular basis, usually on Saturday evenings. Stay tuned! If you want to join us in what will be a very busy, but exciting year, please don't hesitate to get in touch!

That's it for us this year

I'm exhausted! We've finally come to the end of our singing engagements for this year, signing off with yet another splendid Carol Service at Bishophill Jnr. I'm now going to take a break until the New Year & see if I can shake off this infernal cold that I've been nurturing for far too long now! I had been asked if I could sing for a Midnight Mass in Leeds, but that simply isn't going to happen this year. I'll be quite content to listen to others do the singing, just for a change!

Next year brings its own challenges, as it's going to be a very busy one for us due to the 15th Anniversary celebrations + the first ever service (Missa Cantata) for the Rudgates in York Minster. I've sung there several times previously, both in services and concerts, but this is going to be completely different as I'm planning the Liturgy! It's going to be a national event too. :-) Does this make me nervous? Not much... ;-)

I know it's still Advent, just, but I'm going to wish you a Merry Christmas now!

Normal (more regular, hopefully!) service will resume after the weekend.

Coolest. Incipit. Ever!

I make no apology whatsoever for reposting this, and can't wait to sing it again this evening @ Bishophill Jnr!

Roll on 9pm :-)

By (Jeffrey Tucker) - originally posted on the New Liturgical Movement site.

Advent will soon be upon us, which means many things, among which is the annual fight--a polite one, no doubt--over who gets to sing the incipit (opening phrase) to the solemn version of Alma Redemptoris Mater.



The Original Post on NLM has a splendid version of the solemn tone sung to Ambrosian Chant.

Redundancy

Apologies for the hiatus between posts, but as you can gather from the title, I'm officially 'at risk' of redundancy. It's been looming since February, with all the uncertainty that goes with an internal review, but confirmation came in at the end of October. Hopefully, I'll be found another job within the firm, but until/unless that happens, the days are being ticked off to the time my position expires.. It's a very depressing situation to be in. I know it's happened to thousands before me in all forms of employment, and now I'm on the receiving end!

Since the last time I put anything up here, the Pope has come and gone, and we've sung at various events, principally at Sheffield for the Golden Jubilee of St Theresa's church, York for All Souls, and at Scunthorpe for Remembrance Sunday. The next major event in our diary is the Annual Carol Service at Bishophill Jnr, on 20th December. If you're in the area and want to come along, you'll be most welcome. It might just cheer me up a bit to see familiar faces in the congregation! The service starts at 7.30pm. By then, I may know a little more on the job front. Fingers and everything else crossed! Prayers of course, especially welcome!

...... And Relax

That's the general idea anyway. I'm now on holiday, the first time off I've had since April. I won't dwell on it here, but the months in between have been very stressful work wise, and I'm not looking forward to the pile of work waiting for me on my return a week on Monday, because I know it won't get done in my absence, thanks to the 'wisdom' of my employers not replacing two full-time positions within my department. But, that's not till a week on Monday.

I'm writing this just after having sung for two Solemn High Masses in 4 days. The first at Brinkburn was a resounding success, and was blessed again with glorious weather. It never seems to rain when we go there, although first thing Saturday morning, conditions were very much wetter! By the time we got round to eating, we were at the risk of getting sunburnt...

The music was great. The chant Kyrie: Clemens Rector, Tallis' Mass for 4 voices, Monteverdi Ave Maris Stella & Adoramus Te & the 'York' Salve Regina, complemented by the Jarrow Schola singing the Proper of the Mass. I was quite relieved that the only time the Kyrie was mistake free, was during the Mass itself, because the rehearsals beforehand were full of errors. It's a piece of chant that I've been longing to sing for a few years, and the opportunity provided by the Tallis Mass having no Kyrie was too great to resist. :-)

Brinkburn this year also provided us with the opportunity to have a full choir photo taken, the first in over 4 years. So here we are!

5 people in the above photo are original members from 1996. 3 others actually sang with us for the very first time. (I hope it wasn't a baptism of fire!) Looking back, it's incredible that we only got together for what was thought to be a one-off, or at most, an annual occasion...

The second High Mass, for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, to be honest, could have been better. Perhaps it was tiredness creeping up on me. However it was an opportunity to sing in one of Yorkshire's finest catholic churches, St Charles Borromeo in Hull, so the Eremite, Jimitrius B, and myself were the Schola for the evening, or if certain terminology is to be interpreted, the Band! Perhaps next time we sing a chant Mass, we should be accompanied by electric guitars and a massive sound system instead of the organ. Mmm.... Anyway, here's a photo from last night.

I'm off to see the Pope this weekend, and then spend a few days in Wales. When I get back, I've got music to prepare for a sung Mass in York, and then solemn EF & OF Masses in Sheffield the weekend after in addition to the day job. It never ends....

We're only making plans...

Compline by Candlelight continues at Bishophill Junior. As can be seen from the above photo, we're getting the Lady Altar set up more or less how I'd like. :-) There's still more work to do though, but it's coming...

Meanwhile, here are some Rudgate future dates:

11th September THIS Saturday. Annual High Mass at Brinkburn Priory in Northumberland, with glorious music by Tallis, Monteverdi and chant from the Use of York.

14th September: Solemn High Mass for Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Schola only. More details here.

1st October: Solemn High Mass in honour of St Thérèse of Lisieux. Schola only.

3rd October: Solemn OF Mass for the Golden Jubilee of St Theresa's Church, Sheffield. Full choir - if we can get one, bearing in mind it's a Sunday morning!

14th November: Remembrance Sunday. Victoria Requiem à 6 in Scunthorpe

8th December: Solemn Mass for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the BVM. Schola only.

20th December: Our Annual Carol Service!

And if that wasn't enough, I was chatting to the wonderful Columba Aspexit (who's already proved to be more than worth his weight in gold, so to speak, since his move to York) last night after Compline. We're both very keen on the Divine Office, so expect Vespers to become a regular feature of the liturgical life of York (whether the city's ready for it or not!) whilst we've both got the energy... :-)

Catching Up

A quick resumé of what I've been up to since the last entry here, which has been dominated by work & sleep with the occasional dalliance with Facebook.

17th July saw myself and a friend from the York EF Community visit the medieval church of All Saints, North Street to witness an (Anglican, obviously) Pontifical High Mass for the Feast of Our Lady of North Street according to the Use of York. An interesting experience backed up with super singing by 4 members of the excellent Ebor Singers.

The following day saw what could have been a potentially disastrous EF Missa Cantata turn into something of a mini triumph. With just a few hours to go, some key singers for the planned polyphonic music pulled out due to illness, leaving me with a makeshift schola of 8 and hastily rearranging the bulk of the music. It turned out to be one of the best chant Masses I've been involved in for ages, and that includes Ushaw, a credit to all involved, especially those who turned up for the rehearsal expecting to sing polyphony & ending up sight-reading chant instead!

Moving on to the next weekend, which saw me back in London - eventually, after discovering my train had been cancelled on the Friday evening, resulting in a taxi [not paid for by me] down to Doncaster Station in order to catch, literally the last train to London that night. The following day saw my host roydosan & I off to Oxford for the Diaconate Ordination of Br Lawrence, an old friend & one of the first choral scholas of Leeds Cathedral Choir, when even then, I was a veteran Bass [or so it seemed!] Let's not forget the other two Ordinations to the Sacred Priesthood that day of Frs Robert & Thomas, who I'm pretty sure were Deacons on the day that Lawrence made his Solemn Profession back in September last year. You can read more about the days events here. Sunday was a little different. We decided to visit the Chaldean Catholic Community in West London. There was me thinking 'What sort of church will they be using?' only to find out that they make use of a catholic parish church, which to all intent, could easily be mistaken for an aircraft control tower! Nevertheless the liturgy was an interesting mix of middle eastern languages, a [very] little of which I recognised, having sung in liturgical Arabic for the Ordination of an Orthodox Priest from the Patriarchal jurisdiction of Antioch - in Doncaster. The ordaining bishop came from Syria, & had to learn enough English in order for the Liturgy to proceed smoothly, but there were bits in Arabic, & I therefore claim to be one of a few Western Christians to have invoked the name of 'Allah' liturgically! The Arabic theme stayed with us for lunch, which was at a Lebanese restaurant just a few minutes walk from the London Oratory, where Solemn Vespers & Benediction was not to be missed.

So, this brings me to the following weekend, which saw the Rudgate Singers reduced to one [me], for the Annual Founders-Day Requiem at Barnard Castle. It very nearly wasn't even that, as I had a horrendous journey up to Barney, due to very heavy traffic in & around York & then the roadworks on the A1. I made it to church with literally 3 minutes to spare! Fr Elkin gives a good account of the day here.  

This brings me up to August, a month which singers usually take a well-earned break, but behind the scenes, plots are already being hatched for major services which will take us right up to the end of this year and beyond...!

Next on the agenda is the Annual High Mass at Brinkburn Priory in Northumberland for which we rehearse on Bank holiday weekend. If you're in, or can get to, Brinkburn on 11th September, do come along. It should be a super occasion & we're planning music to match!

With Synod Over, Br. Stephen Asks "What Now for the Ordinariates?"

With Synod Over, Br. Stephen Asks "What Now for the Ordinariates?"

I don't know how many of you have been following the recent developments at the C of E's Synod here in York. I happen to have friends on both sides of the debate, and they shall remain friends, no matter what. It's not a personal issue for me, as I'm not an Anglican, but I can't help but take notice as it affects so many friends of mine. I've been attempting to follow some of the arguments, especially since Anglicanorum coetibus was issued last year, and have consequently been following one or two blogs as a result.

I'm highlighting this one because the very last sentence scored a bullseye personally, a direct hit, straight between the eyes, whatever! You see, I have my 'parish'. I know the place. I know the people. I even have a key for the church. How can I not pray for my friends in this situation? If any of you reading this, could do the same, regardless of your personal position, I'm sure your prayers will be gratefully received.

Compline Returns

This may be of interest. If you're free, please do consider coming along. If you're not, but know of anyone who might be interested, spread the word!

If you're free this coming Saturday we would love to see you!

ST MARY'S CHURCH,

 BISHOPHILL JUNIOR,   YORK  

AD COMPLETORIUM

(The Rite of Compline)

According to the

Roman Breviary of 1960

10th July 2010 9pm.

The Traditional Night Office sung to Gregorian Chant 

Mike 

The Annual Founders' Day Memorial Requiem for John and Josephine Bowes

Saturday 31st July, 2010

St Mary's Church,

Birch Road,

Barnard Castle,

Co. Durham.

DL12 8NR

The annual Requiem for the founders of the church & museum.

This is an unashamed plug for a service we've been involved in for the last 6 years. Our Schola has sung the Gregorian Chant Requiem + Absolutions, and will do so again at the end of the month, unless we get enough volunteers for a polyphonic setting of the Requiem instead. :-)

The Parish Priest, Fr Wilfrid Elkin has been a tutor at Ushaw for the past two trad Training Conferences, and gave a super talk about one aspect of life there as a seminarian at the close of this year's conference, which was very well received! He's a wonderful priest, and it would be great to see a good turnout for this year's Memorial Requiem. Do come along if you can.

Some info from the parish website...

If John Bowes' birth had been legitimate, then he would have become the Earl of Strathmore and our history would probably have been different. As it was, he inherited lands and money from the old Earl, his father, and after a classic education for a gentleman of his time he developed an interest in the theatre, was a successful owner of race horses (his horse Western Australian won the Derby in 1853), was a popular MP for several years, and together with his French wife Josephine became a great collector of French paintings and other artifacts which he intended to house in a great museum to be built at Barnard Castle. John was not a Catholic, but his wife was. He was devoted to his wife, who was much younger than him, and when she died in 1874 he decided to fulfill her desire to have a chapel next to the museum on which work had already started. The chapel reached the height of the eves when John became short of money to complete the museum. Work was stopped, and the chapel stood for almost fifty years as a folly. John died in 1885, but his will was not probated until 1905. Then began years of discussion between the trustees of the museum and the trustees of the chapel as to its siting and use. Eventually in 1926 agreement was reached for the chapel to be moved to a corner of the museum site, and the building was finished and opened in 1928. The bodies of John and Josephine Bowes were brought from their temporary resting-place at the vault at Gibside Hall, Dunston, and they rest now behind the apse of St Mary's Church with their tomb directly facing the front door of their Museum. A Requiem Mass for Founders' Day is celebrated each year in July.

Useful links.

http://www.stmarys-rc-barnardcastle.org/Default.asp

http://www.thebowesmuseum.org.uk/about/bowes/

Future Dates

Our 'appointments diary' for the rest of the year is filling up quite nicely! In addition to our now monthly Masses in York, we've been invited to sing for the following services so far...

31st July 12pm. St Mary's Church, Barnard Castle
Annual Founders' Day Requiem

11th September 12pm. Brinkburn Priory, Northumberland
Annual High Mass

1st October 7.30pm. St Theresa's Church, Sheffield
Solemn High Mass [EF]

3rd October 11.00am St Theresa's Church, Sheffield
Solemn Mass [Latin, OF]

[Both these Masses are part of a triduum of Masses for the Golden Jubilee of the consecration of the
church]

14th November 3.00pm. Holy Souls' Scunthorpe

Solemn Requiem Mass [Remembrance Sunday]

The music - Victoria à 6 was confirmed in November last year when we sang it during the Octave of All Souls.

20th December 7.30pm. St Mary's, Bishophill Jnr, York

Our Annual Carol Service.

There's also the church of St Marie, Halifax to fit in somewhere, and another Orthodox Divine Liturgy, but these will probably have to wait until 2011, more of which later as it will be our 15th Anniversary year!


Suggestions for the Carol Service most welcome. We'll see how many we can actually incorporate. :-)

Resurrecting Tradition - A Man for All Seasons

I've been to another concert this evening, with a slight difference. It was free, with a retiring collection for a very deserving charity. The choir 'Resurrecting Tradition' was a group of students from the University of York supported by Cassoc, the Catholic Students' Society, though by no means exclusively Catholic. [A bit like us in a way, but a lot younger!] Indeed, the concert took place in a Methodist church, where Nic, the conductor, is the organist. The choir - dare I say not all experienced singers, but full of enthusiasm[ :-) ], took us on a musical journey based around the Church year interspersed with Readings from the Bible and concluding with a couple of fun secular pieces. There was very little in the programme that I didn't know, which added to my enjoyment of the concert. They deserve HUGE credit for tackling this programme and singing  a cappella, especially in not the most friendly of acoustics. (The temperature inside the church was stifling to say the least!) The two solo pieces were great as well.

We need to show our support for such initiatives as this, and I'm pleased that several people came & not just from the University. Otherwise choral music will be relegated to concerts sung by professional & aspiring to be professional choirs - at a price. You'll rarely hear it in church liturgically [where it's supposed to be] except perhaps in major Cathedrals & Parish churches which are able to fund it.

I'm very much looking forward to the next time they sing. Details will be posted here when I find out!

London Revisited

This time last week, I was back in London again. I've actually invested in an Oyster Card, since my visits are becoming much more frequent, to save the hassle of paying up front for day Travel tickets! Anyway, my visit this time was to attend the annual CIEL UK Mass and Conference, as I'd heard that James MacMillan was one of the speakers. A good account of the days proceedings can be found here. What struck me about the Mass though was that despite being informed some time before that the Mass Ordinary had been chosen specifically to encourage the congregation to sing, it, (Missa cum jubilo) was sung in such a way as to positively discourage such activity. We were even given the music, but that was a fat lot of good because there was no indication as to when we should have been singing! A rare black mark for the Oratory! If the congregation were going to be excluded in this way, we might as well have had a full polyphonic Mass. Sigh....

That said, the Mass itself was marvellous, despite the 11th hour adjustment to accommodate the Full Proper of the Mass for Ember Saturday in Whitsun week. Full credit to Anthony and the rest of the CIEL officials for organising this and the following conference.

After the conference & Benediction in the Little Oratory, I got the opportunity to meet and chat at length with Dr MacMillan. What a gentleman! It is a pleasure to talk to someone, justifiably famous who puts you at ease and even lets you discuss your own musical activities - such as they are! It's reassuring to know that his own church choir in Glasgow [how many other eminent composers/conductors direct their own parish church choir?] struggles from time to time to attract a fair balance of voices. We are definitely in very good company then! The sheer contrast with being able to talk to such a distinguished composer in such a manner compares very favourably with my experiences with members of a certain liturgical group, one of whose members made me feel like something my sisters dog had deposited - and this while talking about a Diocesan Director of music whom we both knew. It was a case of 'I am a liturgical superstar, and you are nobody' I can still remember the occasion quite vividly. It was in the catholic cathedral in Newcastle after a 'Choir' Festival in which most of the music bore no resemblance to anything like Choral Music which would be familiar to most singers. However, I digress....

The following day my host and I ventured into Camden to visit the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of All Saints for their Patronal Feast Day. After the Pontifical Liturgy, we were treated to a home made BBQ cooked in the traditional Greek manner. For £5, it must have represented the best value Sunday Lunch anywhere in London that day! I shall compare London with Leeds on Monday evening, as I've been invited  to another one there courtesy of the Greek Community & Parish of the Three Hierarchs.

Following my first visit to [& curry in] Brick Lane and a quick boat ride on the Thames, I reluctantly returned home, but not before putting some more credit on my Oyster Card in anticipation of the next visit....

I'm now going to explore the back catalogue of James MacMillan's recordings here.... :-)

Ascension, Parts 1 & 2

Part 1:

The Feastday itself on Thursday sees me (Ceteris Paribus) travelling over to Brigg in Nth Lincolnshire for a full Solemn High Mass complete with choir & orchestra (a very rare event!) who will be performing Haydn's Missa Sancti Ioannis a Deo, better known as the Little Organ Mass.

Part 2:

Sunday Evening sees at many Rudgates who are available that evening singing Byrd 3 & whatever else I can find to suit the complete imbalance of voices we have this time around. We have *no* Altos on Sunday, hence the need to change the music we'd originally planned. :-(

We now have the opportunity every third Sunday in York to sing some wonderful music where it was originally intended - liturgically. It's been more or less handed to us on a plate! All we need is a regular group of singers to keep the third Sunday in each month clear...

We shall of course continue to sing elsewhere throughout the North of England (& beyond, if we ever get a trip to mainland Europe organised). If you're a singer, and interested, get in touch!