I deliberately indicated in the title that Westminster Abbey (Church of England/Anglican) is not to be confused with nearby Westminster Cathedral, which is Roman Catholic. The latter is the Mother Church of the Roman Catholic community in England and Wales and serves as the seat of the Archbishop of Westminster.
Whereas Canterbury Cathedral is the Mother Church of the Church of England and the symbolic centre of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Spiritual Head of the Anglican Church.
The music for this Choral Evensong includes:
Palestrina: Fuit homo missus a Deo
Clucas: Responses
Canticles: Sumsion: Evening Service in A
Farrington: Rejoice
Andrew Nethsingha is the current Organist and Master of the Choristers, and Sub-Organist: Matthew Jorys. Assistant Organist: Paul Greally.
The Farrington anthem “Rejoice” — which begins around 39.30 in the above video — is quite difficult and quite a sassy anthem for both the choristers and the organist. These trebles/boys didn’t seem to have any problem with it, even though I think most adult choristers would find the piece a challenge to perform. The organ accompaniment is just as difficult.
The boys are trained at the Westminster Abbey Choir School which is located beside the Abbey in Dean’s Yard.
The Organ Voluntary is the Toccata in G, Johann Adam Reincken (1643–1722)
I think most people who see Westminster Abbey would erroneously refer to it as a Cathedral. But it is not a Cathedral because it’s not the seat of a Bishop.
Westminster Abbey is one of 15-16 Royal Peculiars, meaning they are under the jurisdiction of the Sovereign, King Charles III, the Head of State and the Supreme Governor of the Church of England.
There are roughly 15-16 active Royal Peculiars in the Church of England. Because they are governed directly by the Monarch rather than a local diocesan Bishop, the exact list can fluctuate. The most famous are Westminster Abbey and St George’s Chapel, Windsor.
Other Royal Peculiars include:
- Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace and The Queen’s Chapel
- Chapel Royal, Hampton Court Palace
- [King’s Chapel of the Savoy] (duchyoflancaster.co.uk estates/the-savoy-estate/the-queens-chapel-of-the-savoy/)
- The Queen’s Chapel of All Saints in Windsor Great Park
- Royal Foundation of St Katharine
- The Temple Church in London
The City of Westminster is home to the United Kingdom’s government and houses some of the world’s most famous landmarks, including the Abbey of Westminster. Westminster takes up a large area of London’s West End.
Maybe at some point the Abbey will install a camera by the organ console. The cameras show the Organist at a distance in his red cassock. As with many/some Anglican Churches the organ console is high up on the Quire screen (often called the Organ Screen). The pipe cases are built on top of this screen on either side.