Hear us sing

Our 2013 season has drawn to a close as our members now concentrate on their own church choirs through Advent and into the Christmas season.  We next meet on Saturday 15th February 2014 when we will be singing Choral Evensong in the beautiful St Michael's Church in Linlithgow, right next door to historic Linlithgow Palace.

In the meantime though you can have a listen to RSCM Scottish Voices singing the Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis in D by Sir George Dyson during our recent recital in Dunfermline Abbey for the Carnegie UK Trust by clicking this link which should take you to SoundCloud.  This is the first time any recording by RSCM Scottish Voices has been made available, we hope you enjoy it and come and hear us sing live at some point.

Andrew Carnegie concert

As part of the celebration of the legacy of Andrew Carnegie, RSCM Scottish Voices in conjunction with the Carnegie UK Trust and Carnegie Corporation of New York are delighted to present an organ and choir recital on Saturday 12th October 2013 at 7.30pm in Dunfermline Abbey entitled

'Most Elevating of Voices'
The musical legacy of Andrew Carnegie: a transatlantic celebration

Entry is free, but a ticket must be presented (see below for details).

As well as the singing of RSCM Scottish Voices, directed by Frikki Walker, you can hear the internationally renowned organist Michael Bawtree demonstrating some of the finest organ music in existence.

The programme will commence in the mediaeval nave of the Abbey with:

• Hosanna to the Son of David (Thomas Weelkes)
• O sacrum convivium (Thomas Tallis)
• Sing joyfully (William Byrd)
• Ascendit Deus (Peter Philips)

and then continue in the Abbey church with:

• Prelude and Fugue in E flat, "St Anne" (JS Bach)
• Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in D (Sir George Dyson)
• Master Tallis' Testament (Herbert Howells)
• O pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Herbert Howells)
• Sonata IV: Allegro (Felix Mendelssohn)
• And I saw a new heaven (Edgar Bainton)
• Ye choirs of new jerusalem (CV Stanford)
• Worthy is the Lamb (GF Handel)

The following is from the Carnegie UK Trust's own publicity:


Background
The Carnegie UK Trust and the Carnegie Corporation of New York are jointly promoting two concerts to celebrate Andrew Carnegie’s support for church organs, and the Carnegie UK Trust’s historic role in the revival of Tudor church music and support for British music in the 1920s. This transatlantic collaboration will take place in Dunfermline Abbey, Scotland on 12 October 2013, and in the Cathedral of St John the Divine, New York City on 20 November 2013. The concerts will include some of the finest organ and choral music, as well as choral music from the Tudor Church Music collection and by other composers associated with the Carnegie UK Trust, which celebrates its centenary in 2013.


Celebrating the centenary of Carnegie UK Trust
Tudor church music was rediscovered, edited and published with support from the Carnegie UK Trust in the 1920s. The English composers in the programme include Sir George Dyson, who was a chair of the Trust and a life trustee and Herbert Howells, who worked on the Tudor music project as a research assistant, and was an early recipient of support from the Trust for his own compositions. English composer Edgar Bainton worked with the Trust as a judge on its music publication scheme in the 1920s.


Booking
To book your place, please contact Georgina Bowyer (centenary@carnegieuk.org, 01383 721445). Tickets are also available from the Dunfermline Abbey shop. The concert begins with some Tudor motets sung in the mediaeval nave at 7.30pm. The remainder of the programme takes place in the modern part of the church from 7.45pm. There is a limit on the numbers we can have in the mediaeval nave so please arrive early to avoid disappointment. It will also be possible to hear the first part of the concert from the church. Once the mediaeval nave is full, we will ask any additional members of the audience to move to the church. The event is free but a ticket must be shown.

Andrew Carnegie’s International Legacy: Shaping the Future festival
This concert is the first event in a week of events concluding on Saturday 19 October. The highlight of the week is the Andrew Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy 2013 which will be presented on Thursday 17 October at the Scottish Parliament. For more information please visit www.andrewcarnegiesinternationallegacy.org



Cathedral of St John the Divine Concert, New York, 20 November 2013
The concert in Dunfermline is twinned with an almost identical programme in New York, in the magnificent Cathedral of St John the Divine, one of the largest cathedrals in the world. The organist will be Kent Tritle, Director of Cathedral Music and Organist, and the choirs will be the Cathedral Choir, Cathedral Choristers and the Oratorio Society of New York.

Dunfermline Abbey

On Saturday 19th May 2012 at the later than usual time of 5pm RSCM Scottish Voices will be singing Choral Evensong in the historic surroundings of Dunfermline Abbey, directed by Frikki Walker and accompanied by the Abbey Organist and Master of the Music Dr. Norman Mitchell.

The music will be:

• Introit: Ascendit Deus (Peter Philips)
• Responses: Clucas
• Canticles: Herbert Sumsion in G
• Anthem: Faire is the Heaven (William Harris)
• Final Responses: Edward Naylor

Dunfermline Abbey dates back to 800 AD, and it's a fine building, well worth a visit even at times when we're not singing there!

Omission from CMQ

The latest edition of the Royal School of Church Music's rather excellent publication Church Music Quarterly (CMQ) with its sister publication The Network, unfortunately contains a couple of errors by omission whereby technology has conspired against publishing details of two of our forthcoming events, a visit to Old Saint Paul's Episcopal Church in Edinburgh on Saturday 28th April, and a visit to Dunfermline Abbey on Saturday 19th May.

Rest assured, despite these visits not being listed in the official RSCM magazine, we WILL be going to each and you just need to check back here for further details like the music lists in due course.

Vist to Dunfermline postponed and transferred to Paisley

Due to problems caused by the terrible weather in December, Dunfermline Abbey have had fire and flood (literally!) so we've taken the prudent decision to postpone our visit there and reschedule it some time in the (hopefully not too distant) future.

Instead, our next service will be on that day, Saturday 22nd January 2011, at Thomas Coats Memorial Baptist Church in Paisley, where at 4pm we shall be singing the Choral Evensong we should have sung there last month, except that service was also cancelled because of the poor weather and the church heating breaking down!

The music list for Paisley is:

• Introit: Let all mortal flesh keep silence - Sir Edward Bairstow (1874-1946)
• Responses: John Bertalot (b.1931)
• Canticles: Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis in B flat - Sir John Stainer (1840-1901)
• Anthem: And I saw a new heaven -Edgar Bainton (1880-1956)
• Vesper: In Pace - William Blitheman (c1525-1591)

Dunfermline Abbey Music List, January 2011

Update 7th January 2011:  Due to fire and flood at Dunfermline Abbey caused by atrocious weather conditions, this visit to Dunfermline has just been postponed and instead we shall be singing Choral Evensong in Thomas Coats Memorial Baptist Church in Paisley at 4pm that day.

On Saturday 22nd January 2011 at 4pm RSCM Scottish Voices will be singing Choral Evensong at the beautiful and historic Dunfermline Abbey in Fife.  The music at this service will be as listed below, and I've also pasted some YouTube videos for your delectation.

• Introit: We wait for thy loving kindness – Willam McKie
• Responses: Bernard Rose
• Canticles: Herbert Sumsion in G
• Anthem: Praise Our Lord, all ye gentiles – William Byrd

The Introit, We wait for Thy loving kindness, by William McKie, is below, as sung by the choir of Westminster Abbey



Unfortunately I couldn't find a video with the full Bernard Rose Preces and Responses, but below is the second part (the Responses part).



The anthem, Praise our Lord, all ye Gentiles, by William Byrd, is below.  I've posted this one previously, and mentioned at the time that it's quite an apt one because it was recorded (albeit not by the Cathedral choir) in the very beautiful Wells Cathedral where our own Musical Director Frikki Walker was a Vicar Choral in the choir for a few years



I couldn't find the Sumsion in G Canticles.

Cancelled Paisley visit

Visit to Paisley Cancelled

A combination of concerns of the safety of anyone travelling to Paisley through the foul snowy weather afflicting the whole of the UK right now, uncertainty over who will actually be able to make it to the church on the day, and now the news this evening that the heating for both the church and hall has broken down and there is no guarantee that it'll be fixed by Saturday, has led to me taking the decision to cancel the visit by RSCM Scottish Voices to Thomas Coats Memorial Baptist Church, where we were due to sing Choral Evensong at 4pm on Saturday 4th December 2010.

We WILL visit the church, it's a fine building and a magnificent organ, but it's now back on the to-do list for the future, so watch this space.

The next time you can hear RSCM Scottish Voices sing is on Saturday 22nd January 2011 in the beautiful and historic Dunfermline Abbey, where we shall be singing Choral Evensong at 4pm.

2011 season is announced

The 2011 season for RSCM Scottish Voices has now been finalised, and it's going to be a cracking year!

We kick off on Saturday January 22nd with a visit to the historic Dunfermline Abbey.  The photo below is by Paul McIlroy

Dunfermline Abbey

On Saturday 5th March we pay a welcome return visit to Dunblane Cathedral.  The photo of Dunblane Cathedral is by Kevin Rae.

Dunblane Cathedral

After our last visit in January 2009 which was slightly marred by appalling blizzard conditions causing numerous choristers not to make it, on Saturday 21st May we return to St Mary's Parish Church in Haddington where although we hope to get better weather we couldn't hope for a better welcome than we received last time.  The photo of St Mary's Church is by kind permission of RSCM Scottish Voices choir member gordonrasmith.

St Mary's Haddington

Coinciding with a planned weekend of events in the city held by RSCM Scotland, on Saturday 18th June the choir will be visiting Aberdeen for the first time, singing Choral Evensong in St Andrew's Episcopal Cathedral at 4pm.   The image below is from their own Website.

St Andrews Cathedral, Aberdeen

From Friday 5th to Sunday 7th August our 2011 residential rehearsal weekend will again be in the delightful surroundings of Strathallan School, Forgandenny, Perthshire.

Strathallan School

 
On Saturday 17th September St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral in Glasgow will be where we sing Choral Evensong at 4pm.  The photo of St Mary's Cathedral is by Finlay McWalter.

St Mary's Cathedral, Glasgow

To round off the year, on Saturday 5th November the choir will be back in Glasgow, this time in the glorious St Aloysius Roman Catholic Church in Rose St, where we will be singing in their 5.45pm Mass.  This will be the first time RSCM Scottish Voices has taken part in a Roman Catholic service, but it certainly won't be the last.  The photo of St Aloysius, which shows the stunning interior, is by Stephen Lipton, who happens to be a singer who has conducted his own group, Scottish Chorale, in St Aloysius a few years ago.

St Aloysius

Individual posts containing the music list and finalised times and directions will be made here nearer each service, and of course the RSCM Scotland site will also have details.