This is an unusual Liturgy in the sense that the canticle setting is the Herbert Howells’s New College Service sung by the Choir of Clerks and Boys of New College (University of Oxford). It’s the Service that Howells wrote especially for this Chapel, its acoustics and its Choir. It’s extremely rare to hear the performance of one of Howells’s canticle settings that was composed especially for a parish, chapel or cathedral church, its acoustics and the Choir for which it was written.
As an aside: It’s just as unusual as hearing Howells’s rarely performed anthem, “I Love All Beauteous Things.” I’ve never heard a “live” performance of that. It’s supposedly in the repertoire of The stellar Trinity College Chapel Choir at the University of Cambridge (Oxbridge), but I’ve never heard them perform it.
Usually one of Howells’s Big Three canticle settings is chosen (the settings he wrote for the Collegium Regale/King’s College Cambridge, Gloucester/for Gloucester Cathedral or Saint Paul’s/for Saint’s Paul’s Cathedral in London) is performed.
Like with Händel — who wrote 29 oratorios — you would think that Messiah was the only oratorio Händel ever wrote since Messiah is dragged out every holiday season on cue. Even Israel in Egypt has been relegated to the dusty shelves in music libraries. That used to be performed on occasion.
Howells composed 20 canticle settings but you’d never know it; one might think he only wrote 3 settings because it’s the Big Three that still get most of the attention. So I was glad they chose the New College Service, and the New College Choir of Clerks and Boys performed it splendidly.
I’m not sure who chose the repertoire for this Michaelmas Term since the Choirmaster Robert Quinney is on sabbatical and Andrew Lumsden is Interim Organist – which means he also serves as Choirmaster.
My choral friend watched it and said, “those boys are really good.” Yes they are and they’re exceptional for their age. Singing Howells at their young age? That’s extraordinary, although it’s not that unusual in the Anglican Communion with the finest Choirs of Clerks and Boys. The Clerks of the Choir are also excellent.
Dr Andrew Lumsden, whose departure as director of music at Winchester Cathedral brought down a clerical house of cards, has moved on to his next engagement.
He writes:
Delighted to say that I will be directing chapel music at New College, Oxford for the Michaelmas Term, while Robert Quinney takes a well deserved sabbatical. The fact that I started my musical career as a chorister there, with my father as Choirmaster, makes it even more special. I feel hugely honoured to have been asked, and am really looking forward to it. [Source]
New College is at Oxford as I said earlier, and Oxford was where the High Church (Anglo/Catholic) movement began. Well, you’d never know that today observing the Low Church congregation.
The only persons I see observing High Church protocol are the Verger (he’s the guy in the black robe back by the door to the Chapel during the canticles) and the professor who read one of the Lessons. Those two bowed during the Gloria of the Magnificat and the Nunc Dimittis, but no one else did that I saw. How difficult is it to bow, people? Don’t put yourselves out!
From what I’ve observed from watching various streams of Anglican Liturgies, Anglicans/Episcopalians are more High Church in the States than they are in the established Church of England. I would think it would be just the opposite, but not so. And as I have written before, if anyone is going to be High Church, it’s always a guy, consistently. Most females seem to think they are above being High Church. What makes them think they’re so special and entitled?
Anyone can be bottom basement Low Church. There’s nothing special about Low Church. I find Low Church dull, uninteresting and boring. Low Church people can easily be mistaken for being any other Christian faith.
For those who know nothing about the Anglican Church, you’ll see that some of the new/smallest boys are wearing only the black or purple (the colour changes) cassock:
Probationer vs. Full Chorister status attire:
- Probationers: New or junior choristers wear only the cassock, which is typically red or another solid colour. During this time, the probationer boy choristers learn the music and the traditions of the Choir.
- Full choristers: After completing their training period and demonstrating competence, probationers are admitted as Full Choristers in a special Liturgy. During this “Admission of Choristers” Liturgy, they are formally vested with the surplice, which they then wear over their cassock from then on. This tradition, common in Anglican and Catholic choral programmes, uses vestments/surpluses to create a visual hierarchy that reflects each chorister’s rank and experience within the Choir. Although I suspect some people who know nothing about the Church of England/Anglican Church think, “They must not have enough of those white things (they’re called surplus/vestments) to go around for the smallest boys; maybe they should order more.” No, it has nothing to do with that.
New College doesn’t allow comments below their videos, which is wise. Some of the other Oxbridge chapels allow comments where viewers can write their opinions about the music and level of choral excellence. There are also those people who feel the need to write religious bunk, sometimes copying part of the Liturgy from the service leaflet and pasting it as a comment (why?), such as the text of the Kyrie. It’s their way of proselytising and I question whether they are Anglicans because from my experience, Anglicans don’t wear their religious beliefs — or lack there of — on their sleeve and they also don’t proselytise. Although these people that I’m talking about could be (evangelical) Catholics since they do that type of tacky thing.
If you don’t want to watch the entire Evensong, the Magnificat begins at approximately 17.45 in the video above, and the Nunc Dimittis begins at roughly 25.55 in the video above.