Chrism Mass

Our 2018 season started in fine style yesterday with a totally unaccompanied Choral Evensong in the wonderful acoustic of the mediaeval quire of historic Bothwell Parish Church, directed by Frikki Walker and with the service led by Rev Jim Gibson, Minister of Bothwell and Chaplain in Ordinary to Her Majesty the Queen in Scotland.

Our thoughts turn now to our next meeting, on Saturday 24th March, when at 4pm we shall be providing the music for the Chrism Mass in St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral in Glasgow, led by the Bishop of Glasgow & Galloway, the Right Reverend Dr Gregor Duncan. 

Frikki will, as normal, be directing the choir and we are glad to be accompanied again by Kevin Duggan of Dunblane Cathedral.

Setting: Communion Service in G (Dr Francis Jackson)
Motet: A new commandment (Peter Nardone)
Motet: Let all mortal flesh keep silence (Sir Edward Cuthbert Bairstow)

2017-18 music list

The music list for the next 12 months has just today been finalised and announced, and we're really looking forward to a lovely balance of revisiting some previously performed classics and learning pieces we've never sung before. Please do come along to any of the services if you're in the area.

All of it is contained on our "future services and events" page on this site, but is reproduced below.


7th October 2017
St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, Glasgow
Choral Evensong at 4pm
Director: James Kealey
Organist: Christopher Nickol

Introit: O pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Herbert Howells)
Responses: Bernard Rose
Psalm: 37 vv 1-11
Canticles: Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis in F (Peter Aston)
Anthem: Evening Hymn (Henry Balfour-Gardiner)

11th November 2017
St Paul's Episcopal Cathedral, Dundee
Choral Evensong for Remembrance at 4pm
Director: Frikki Walker
Organist: Kevin Duggan

Introit: The souls of the righteous (Herbert Murrill)
Responses: John Bertalot
Psalms: 60 & 61
Canticles: Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis in F (George Dyson)
Anthem: Though I speak with the tongues of men (Edward Cuthbert Bairstow)
Vesper: For the fallen (Douglas Guest)


17th February 2018
Bothwell Parish Church
Unaccompanied Choral Evensong in Mediaeval Quire at 4pm
Directors: Frikki Walker & Kevin Duggan

Introit: This is the day which the Lord hath made (Anonymous, probably Osbert Parsley)
Responses: Richard Ayleward
Psalm: 43 (Scottish Paraphrase - tune: Martyrs)
Canticles: Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis First Service (Robert Parsons)
Anthem: Hear the voice and prayer (Thomas Tallis)


24th March 2018
St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, Glasgow
Chrism Mass at 4pm
Director: Frikki Walker
Organist: Kevin Duggan

Setting: Communion Service in G (Francis Jackson)
Motet: A new commandment (Peter Nardone)
Motet: Let all mortal flesh keep silence (Edward Cuthbert Bairstow)

19th May 2018
Durham Cathedral
Choral Evensong at 5.15pm
Director: Frikki Walker
Organist: Kevin Duggan

Responses: Herbert Sumsion
Canticles: Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis in B flat (Sir John Stainer)
Anthem: Though I speak with the tongues of men (Edward Cuthbert Bairstow)

2018 season announced

After several months of work our administrator has finally put the last pieces into place for our 2018 season, so we can now officially announce all of our future dates and venues from this point onwards.

All of it will be rewarding and enjoyable, but in particular we're looking forward to our second proper foray across the border, and having sung in Carlisle Cathedral in 2016 we travel a little further south and lots further east to the magnificent Durham Cathedral.  Another highlight will undoubtedly be taking part in a Mass in King's College Chapel in Aberdeen, featuring music by Francois Couperin (1668-1733) which has been a particular interest and study subject of our Musical Director Frikki Walker who had the opportunity to travel to France in June this year with a group of fellow organists from the Royal College of Organists to play various organs including one in the Palace of Versailles.

Friday 11th to Sunday 13th August 2017
Annual Residential Rehearsal Weekend, Scottish Police College, Tulliallan Castle (NB no public access)

9th September 2017
St John's Episcopal Church, Dumfries
Choral Evensong at 4pm

7th October 2017
St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, Glasgow
Choral Evensong at 4pm

11th November 2017
St Paul's Episcopal Cathedral, Dundee
Choral Evensong at 4pm

17th February 2018
Bothwell Parish Church
Choral Evensong at 4pm

24th March 2018
St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, Glasgow
Chrism Mass at 4pm

19th May 2018
Durham Cathedral
Choral Evensong at 5.15pm

2nd June 2018
Along with choirs from around Scotland we will be taking part in the RSCM Scotland Triennial Festival in Dundee

Friday 10th to Sunday 12th August 2018
Annual Residential Rehearsal Weekend, Scottish Police College, Tulliallan Castle (NB no public access)

15th September 2018
St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, Edinburgh
Choral Evensong at 4pm

6th October 2018
King's College Chapel, Aberdeen
Mass at 4pm, featuring music by Couperin

17th November 2018
Dunblane Cathedral
Choral Evensong at 4pm

We are a non-denominational choir that sings in churches of varying traditions, and often in them we sing Choral Evensong which although of Anglican origin is a beautiful Christian service which lends itself wonderfully to some of the most fantastic music ever written.  The following was spotted by our administrator in a cathedral in England and they did not object when they were asked if we could use it, so for several years it has been included in all of our Choral Evensong Orders of Service:

Some have said that Choral Evensong seems to be more of a concert that an act of worship. That would be true if the singing were offered to those present – but it isn’t. It is offered by the Choir, on behalf of the whole church, to Almighty God – who alone is the audience to all worship; we are part of that offering, even though we say little and sing even less; by our presence and our silent assent we are worshipping as we allow the Choir – doing something beautiful for God who creates, preserves and redeems us – to lift our hearts beyond the mundane into the realms of the eternal and glorious life of heaven.

Glasgow 2016

It was a day different to the usual one we enjoy, but enjoyable nonetheless.  Originally scheduled as Choral Evensong, we were asked by the Right Reverend Dr Gregor Duncan, Bishop of the Diocese of Glasgow & Galloway of the Scottish Episcopal Church, to instead provide the music for a Chrism Mass when priests from all over the diocese gather to renew their ordination vows and to bless various oils used in their ministry.

The Bishop delivered a homily, and made the choir feel particularly welcome and an integral part of the service during it, which was commented on afterwards by several choir members.

Directed by Frikki Walker and accompanied by Steven McIntyre the setting was Harold E Darke's rather nice Communion Service in F, with the soprano soloist Ruth Elder, tenor and baritone soloist Ian Gibson, and solo quartet made up of Ruth Elder, Pam Barrowman, Ian Gibson and Stewart Macrae.  Well done to all of them!

The anthem was a little gem by New York based Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo, called Ubi Caritas which if you haven't heard it before is well worth a listen.  A recording during which you can look at the sheet music too can be seen on YouTube here, and the sheet music is available to purchase from the RSCM here.

The next outing is for 20 of our singers who are making the journey south to Peterborough Cathedral on 9th April to join forces with our counterparts from the rest of the country as we celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the founding of RSCM Cathedral Singers by Martin How, in what promises to be a splendid Choral Evensong which includes O praise the Lord, a new introit written by Martin How for the occasion, Ayleward Responses, Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis in D by George Dyson, and Surrexit a mortuis by Charles Marie Widor (written not only for double choir but for two organs!).

The next time the full choir meets is on 14th May when we close the first half of our 2016 season with Choral Evensong in Dunblane Cathedral.  Originally planned as a joint service with RSCM Young Scottish Voices, for various reasons the youngsters aren't now available to join us for that service which will include Litany to the Holy Spirit (Peter Hurford), Richard Seal Responses, Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis in E (Herbert Murrill), and Rejoice the Lord is King (Malcolm Archer).

Chrism Mass

Join us at 4pm on Saturday 19th March 2016 in St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, 300 Great Western Road, Glasgow, as we provide the music for the Chrism Mass when priests from all over the diocese of Glasgow & Galloway meet to receive Chrism Oils.

Directed by Frikki Walker, and on this occasion accompanied by Steven McIntyre, we will sing the Communion Service in F Major by Harold Darke, and the anthem Ubi Caritas by Ola Gjeilo

St Aloysius' Vigil Mass

Our last meeting of 2013 took place on Saturday when we were delighted to make a return visit to the wonderful acoustic of St Aloysius' RC church in Glasgow city centre, where we provided the music for their Saturday evening Vigil Mass, and followed it with some most enjoyable socialising.

Byrd's lovely Mass for four voices was the setting, and Sir Edward Bairstow's Let all mortal flesh keep silence was the post communion motet with the solo Bass and Tenor parts being performed by Neil Parker and Gary Young respectively, and the glorious echo provided by the church between the alleluias in that piece showed what Bairstow must have had in mind when he wrote it while organist of York Minster. Stunning!


Sadly, at short notice one of our members, Angela, was unable to join us on Saturday as her father-in-law had passed away unexpectedly, but Fr Smith kindly agreed to remember him during the service and so we prayed for Donald Brown together.

Rest eternal grant unto him O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon him.  May he rest in peace and rise in Glory. Amen


The next time you can hear RSCM Scottish Voices sing will be on Saturday 15th February 2014 in St Michael's Church, Linlithgow (right next door to Linlithgow Palace) when we shall sing Choral Evensong at 4pm. Full details of dates and venues for all of our 2014 season are contained on our "future services and events" page which can be accessed from the sidebar at the top right.

Glasgow Vigil Mass

After our recent triumphant and most enjoyable concert in Dunfermline Abbey, we now look forward to a return to one of the most spectacular acoustics in which we've sung, that of St Aloysius' RC Church, Rose Street, Glasgow, where we shall be bringing our 2013 season to a close by singing in the Vigil Mass on the eve of the Feast of Christ the King at 5.45pm on Saturday 23rd November 2013.

Music will include the beautiful Mass for Four Voices by William Byrd (c.1540-1623) and the equally ethereal Let all mortal flesh keep silent by Sir Edward Cuthbert Bairstow (1874-1946).

If you haven't ever visited St Aloysius' you really should consider it, it's a lovely building, so why not combine the visit with the chance to hear gorgeous music sung by a very good choir!

2013 season announced!

The next time you can hear us sing is on November 10th 2012 in St John's Episcopal Church in Dumfries when we bring our 2012 season to a close with a Remembrance themed Choral Evensong, but hot off the press this weekend the 2013 season for RSCM Scottish Voices has now been announced.

We start the year on Saturday February 2nd in St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral in Glasgow, home church of our Musical Director Frikki Walker and several of our choir, where we shall be taking part in a Choral Mass for Candlemas at 4.30pm.

On Saturday 9th March we will be making a first visit to the university town of St Andrews, where we will be singing Choral Evensong in Holy Trinity Parish Church, which in the past has been host to concerts by The Sixteen and The Tallis Scholars.

Saturday 27th April sees us helping celebrate the 850th anniversary year of the founding of Paisley Abbey, with our first visit to sing in that historic building.

In June we will be singing somewhere, but the exact date and the venue is still in negotiation, so watch this space!

Friday August 2nd to Sunday August 4th* will be our annual residential rehearsal weekend, venue to be decided but it features no public performance so the finer details may well not be publicised here.
* please note this is a date change from that first posted here (updated 13/10/2012)

Our stretching of the Scottish geographic boundaries continues on Saturday 14th September when we pay a first visit to sing Choral Evensong in St Andrew's Episcopal Cathedral in Inverness.

As well as the 850th anniversary of Paisley Abbey, the year 2013 is the centenary of the Carnegie Trust undertaking the first ever publishing of Tudor Church Music, and we're delighted to be able to help them celebrate this auspicious occasion by singing Tudor music for them on Saturday 12th October.  The venue is still to be finalised, but we're hopeful it'll involve singing in a suitably old abbey, cathedral or church.

Our 2013 season comes to a close with a return visit to the outstanding acoustic of St Aloysius' RC Church in Glasgow, where although the details of the service have still to be discussed we hope to take part in their regular Vigil Mass on Saturday 23rd November.

Full details, including music lists of all of the above will be announced here as and when information becomes available, and on a rolling basis our Future Services and Events page will be updated.

Choral Mass

At 5.45pm on Saturday 5th November 2011 RSCM Scottish Voices will be taking part in Choral Mass in St Aloysius' RC Church, 25 Rose Street, Glasgow G3 6RE.

The Mass setting will be Missa Brevis by Giovanni Perluigi da Palestrina (c1526-1594), and the communion Motet will be Ave Verum Corpus by William Byrd (c1539-1623).

St Aloysius' is a genuinely stunning building, full of marble and fine decoration, and this service promises to be the wonderful culmination of the 2011 season for the choir, performing beautiful music in the type of building for which it was written.

Missa Brevis

The first four YouTube videos below feature the beautiful Missa Brevis by Giovanni Perluigi da Palestrina (c.1525-1594), which is one of the pieces RSCM Scottish Voices will be rehearsing during our forthcoming residential rehearsal weekend for use in future services.  As an extra treat at the end is the lovely Ave Verum Corpus by William Byrd (c.1539 - 1623) which is on the music list for the same sevice in which we'll be singing the Palestrina Mass.

The Mass recordings below are by the excellent Tallis Scholars (as appears to be the Byrd), and I would recommend buying the CD from Amazon and the sheet music can be downloaded free from CPDL as a PDF from here

For those who know about such things, you may notice that the Credo is missing, but that's simply because we won't be singing that movement in the Mass.

Kyrie



Gloria



Sanctus & Benedictus



Agnus Dei I & II





Ave Verum Corpus

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.