There was a run on the Stanford Service in G near the end of term at some of the College Chapels of Oxbridge (the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, UK). The Stanford Service in G begins at approximately 12.40 in the video above. The Nunc Dimittis begins at approximately 19.00 in the video above. I enjoyed both soloists, both the boy/treble and the bass soloist (who used his chorister voice). My choral friend said about the treble, “He has a lovely voice; all of that sound is coming out of that little boy?” Yes, that’s what Choir School training does.

New College is one of the 43 colleges of the University of Oxford, and the Choir of New College Chapel (Anglican/the established Church of England) performed the Stanford Service in G for Choral Evensong. Their screen caption says Service in C but that’s a mistake. The treble/boy chorister who sang the solo in the Magnificat at New College has a lovely voice and sang the solo superbly. The baritone soloist for the Nunc Dimittis also has a lovely voice but unfortunately the camera didn’t show him.

Around the same time, one of the other Chapel Choirs (The Queen’s College) of another Oxford College sang the same canticle setting. The Queen’s College Chapel Choir has female sopranos which sing with perfect intonation. But for the Stanford Service in G, the female soloist — for some annoying reason — decided to not use her lovely chorister voice so that we could hear that, but instead she used her soloist voice. It’s not opera, dear! I guess it didn’t occur to her that this setting of the canticles by Stanford was written with boy trebles in mind and a treble/boy soloist. Translation: No noticeable vibrato should be used. One might have thought that she thought the piece was opera as she somewhat belted out the solo with some noticeable vibrato as well as body language (roll eyes). It was too loud. Her solo did not at all have the same atmosphere as when a treble sings it (see New College above), and it was a smaller space being in a chapel rather than a cathedral setting, although all of these that I’m featuring are chapels of various sizes. I think the soprano soloist has a lovely chorister voice — and too bad we didn’t hear that — but I wasn’t hot on her soloist voice because of her noticeable vibrato and as I said earlier she sang the solo too loudly. Also, the guy directing the Choir for this Evensong was not the usual Choirmaster, Professor Owen Rees. And from my experience, Choirmasters, Choir Directors and orchestral conductors never correct or make corrections with vocal soloists. They may do so privately but apparently that wasn’t the case here either. From my experience on Concert Hall stages (Kennedy Center and San Francisco’s Davies Symphony Hall), vocal soloists are seen as above reproach apparently simply because they are voice majors usually. Also, the inept camera crew thought it more important that we look at the painting at the High Altar again — they love showing that and the ceiling and windows when the Choir is performing — rather than watching the soprano soloist at the time. I’m sure she appreciated the camera showing a painting rather than her. The Stanford Magnificat begins at 16.35 in the video directly below. The Nunc Dimittis begins at 23.30 in the video directly below.

Then the Trinity College Chapel Choir at the University of Cambridge performed the same canticle setting — they have female sopranos also — and one of the female choristers sang the solo. The Magnificat begins at approximately 24.00 and the Nunc Dimittis begins at approximately 31.00 in the video below. I enjoyed both the soprano and bass soloists. They both used their lovely chorister voice, and the bass soloist has been their Cantor on occasion in previous Evensongs:

Unlike at Oxford, the soprano soloist sang it beautifully more like a treble would sing it. I take it she knew the history of the piece. My choral friend asked me: Why didn’t the Choirmaster or Choir Director say something to the female at the other Chapel who sang it more like opera? Yeah well. As I said, I don’t recall ever hearing a conductor correct a vocal soloist. Again, being composed in the early 1900s, I think the Service in G was composed with boys in mind so I should have thought that she would have tried to sound more like a boy chorister, so turn off the damn vibrato. “We won’t be needing that!” It was interesting though that when her solo was over (in the Oxford performance) and she was singing with the rest of the soprano section, her voice perfectly blended with the sopranos. She had turned off her solo voice and was back to her chorister voice. Yes, choristers can indeed turn on and turn off annoying noticeable vibrato. Why don’t they keep the damn noticeable vibrato off permanently?! What purpose does it serve? Both of the soloists at New College used their beautiful chorister voice fortunately.

The Choirmaster at New College, Robert Quinney, is excellent and a pleasure to watch. He doesn’t make it all about himself and he stands against the Choir stalls which is more discreet. I prefer that rather than the Choirmaster standing in the middle between the Quire stalls which also blocks the view of the High Altar. And I should point out that in Anglican Churches, nothing is supposed to block the view of the High Altar. The High Altar is supposed to be the focal point, the centre of attention, but they seem to make an exception for some Choirmasters. I should also say that the Director of Music/Choirmaster at Trinity College Chapel, Steven Grahl, is also excellent. I like his discreet conducting style and his interpretation of the canticle settings of Herbert Howells.