Dunblane 2016

Psalm rehearsal

Yesterday saw the first half of our 2016 season draw to a close with Choral Evensong in Dunblane Cathedral, directed by Frikki Walker and accompanied by Steven McIntyre, including music by Peter Hurford, Richard Seal, Herbert Murrill, and Malcolm Archer.

Unfortunately the Rev Colin Renwick is ill at the moment, we wish him a speedy recovery, so the service was led by Richard Finch, the readings were done by Nigel Hart and Neil Parker, and the cantor was David James, all choir members.

Dunblane had been hosting a training day for the Scottish Churches Organist Training Scheme (SCOTS), which we gather went very well, and this meant that the congregation was boosted by many of the organists who had been enjoying their own music making earlier in the day.  Some of them joined various choir members in the Tappit Hen across the road from the Cathedral for a post-service refreshment, and it was nice to chat to them.

Some of us will get together with the choir of St Mary's Cathedral in Glasgow to celebrate RSCM Music Sunday on 12th June, then some of us are singing at the wedding of two of our members in August in Ayrshire (them having met in the choir) and in late August we have our residential rehearsal weekend when we'll start to learn repertoire for the next 12 months and of course we'll socialise hard!

The next time we shall sing as a choir together though is on Saturday 10th September when we'll be in Bothwell Parish Church (where one of our members is the organist) singing Choral Evensong at our customary time of 4pm.

There will soon be the annual meeting to plan our next year's activities, so that hopefully all the dates and confirmed venues can be announced to the choir at the rehearsal weekend (this is BY FAR the busiest time of the year for the choir administrator), so watch this space because they'll be announced here soon after the choir members get to know.

Wind and Fire of Pentecost

Join us at 4pm on Saturday 14th May 2016 in Dunblane Cathedral, when on the eve of Pentecost we sing Choral Evensong, directed by Frikki Walker.


Introit:         Litany to the Holy Spirit (Peter Hurford)
Responses:  Richard Seal
Canticles:     Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis in E (Herbert Murrill)
Anthem:       Rejoice, the Lord is King (Malcolm Archer)

Happy Easter

Happy Easter from all members of RSCM Scottish Voices.  We hope all your singing commitments during Holy Week and over the Easter weekend have been successful, rewarding, and spiritually uplifting.

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

Carlisle

Our visit to Carlisle Cathedral got off to a wonderful start with our first rehearsal being in the Fratry, which used to be the dining hall for the monks of the mediaeval Priory.  How fantastic is this for a rehearsal venue!

The nice people of Carlisle were very welcoming and friendly, particularly James and John the vergers, and all of the choir thoroughly enjoyed our visit.  If they'll have us, we'll be back!

Our next meeting is on familiar territory when we will take part in a Chrism Mass in St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral in Glasgow on Saturday 19th March at 4pm.  The setting will be the Communion Service in F Major by Harold E Darke, and the anthem will be the rather lovely Ubi Caritas by Ola Gjeilo

Carlisle

Carlisle Cathedral

Our 2016 season gets off to what promises to be a cracking start on Saturday 6th February when we make our first visit as a choir just across the border into England, and sing Choral Evensong at 5.30pm in historic Carlisle Cathedral.

The music list is:

Introit: Peace I leave with you - Frederick Wadeley
Responses: Richard Shephard
Canticles: Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis in F (Collegium Regale) - Charles Wood
Anthem: A song of praise - George Dyson

Please do come to the service if you're in the Carlisle area, we're very much looking forward to our visit and it'd be great to see a few people in the congregation!

Happy Christmas

As all our members toil away at the singing commitments in their home choirs, we'd like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very happy Christmas, and a magnificent year of music-making in 2016!

Error in CMQ

Eagle-eyed recipients of the fine RSCM publication Church Music Quarterly and its accompanying booklet The Network may spot in the December edition (which our administrator received through the post today) that on page 20 of The Network we are listed as singing Choral Evensong in Dundee on 5th March 2016. 

We aren't. It's a typo. 

That date and venue relates to our wee sister choir RSCM Young Scottish Voices, not us.  So please go there at that time on that date to support them, but you won't hear RSCM Scottish Voices singing.

Season's end, brrrr!

Our 2015 season has now drawn to a close, after our very successful and enjoyable Choral Evensong yesterday with members of our wee sister choir RSCM Young Scottish Voices in Old Saint Paul's Episcopal Church in Edinburgh's Old Town.

Around 40 adults and 15 youngsters braved the rather low temperatures of the church (despite the heating being on, it had a battle on its hands against the cold Edinburgh chill!) and sang to a very appreciative congregation of almost 40 hardy souls.

Despite the temperature we enjoyed a warm welcome from Old Saint Paul's, and we're looking forward to returning there in the future.  Perhaps we'll schedule it for summer next time though!

The next time we meet as a choir is on February 6th 2016, when we make the journey south to Carlisle Cathedral to sing Choral Evensong at 5.30pm.  Several choir members have already booked overnight accommodation in Carlisle, so it looks like it's going to be a great social occasion as well as a musical one.  Will it be warmer? Here's hoping!

Old Saint Paul's 2015

After a great sing yesterday in Perth our 2015 season draws to a close with a collaboration between the adults of RSCM Scottish Voices, and the youngsters of our wee sister choir Young Scottish Voices, when at 4pm on Saturday 14th November we will join forces to sing a splendid Choral Evensong in the delightfully atmospheric Old Saint Paul's Episcopal Church in Edinburgh, directed by Frikki Walker and accompanied by Richard Walmsley.

• Introit: Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace (S S Wesley)
• Responses: Richard Seal
• Psalms: 123, 124, 125 (chants by George Thalben-Ball, Samuel Wesley, and Charles H Lloyd)
• Canticles: Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis in A (Herbert Sumsion)
• Anthem: Love Divine (Howard Goodall)

Looking ahead, our 2016 season will kick off on 6th February next year when we are delighted to be making a first foray across Hadrian's Wall to sing Choral Evensong at 5.30pm in Carlisle Cathedral. 

Watch this space for more details, and don't forget to follow us on Twitter @RSCMScotVoices

Perth 2015

Our next outing is a very welcome return visit to St Ninian's Episcopal Cathedral in Perth on Saturday 3rd October 2015, where at 4pm we will sing Choral Evensong directed by Richard Walmsley and accompanied by Matthew Beetschen (former chair of RSCM Scotland).

Introit: God be in my head (John Rutter)
Responses: William Smith of Durham
Canticles: Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis Fauxbourdon (John Bertalot)
Anthem: The Canticle of Brother Sun (Grayston Ives)

All are welcome at the service which will last under an hour.

Oban

On Saturday 5th September 2015 we will visit the glorious west coast town of Oban for the first time, where at 4pm we will sing Choral Evensong in St John's Episcopal Cathedral, directed by Richard Walmsley, and accompanied by Steven McIntyre (assistant organist of St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral in Glasgow).

Introit: Sing Joyfully (William Byrd)
Responses: Bernard Rose
Canticles: Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis in B flat (Sir John Stainer)
Anthem: And I saw a new heaven (Sir Edgar Bainton)

All are welcome in the service, which will last less than an hour.

2016 season announced

Hot off the press, our choir members have just been enjoying our annual residential rehearsal weekend which this year has been at the Scottish Police College, Tulliallan Castle, and during the weekend all of the venues for our 2016 season were announced, so including the remaining three events of 2015 all of our confirmed future activities can now be revealed to the world as:

• 5th Sep 2015, 4pm - St John's Episcopal Cathedral, Oban - Choral Evensong
  
• 3rd Oct 2015, 4pm - St Ninian's Episcopal Cathedral, Perth - Choral Evensong
• 14th Nov 2015, 4pm - Old Saint Paul's Episcopal Church, Edinburgh - Joint Choral Evensong with Young Scottish Voices
• 6th Feb 2016, 5.30pm - Carlisle Cathedral - Choral Evensong
• 19th Mar 2016,  4pm - St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, Glasgow- Choral Evensong
• 9th Apr 2016 - Peterborough Cathedral - RSCM Cathedral Singers Golden Jubilee Celebration
• 14th May 2016, 4pm - Dunblane Cathedral - Joint Choral Evensong with Young Scottish Voices
• 19th to 21st Aug 2016 - Residential Rehearsal Weekend (no public performance)
• 10th Sep 2016, 4pm - Bothwell Parish Church - Choral Evensong
• 8th Oct 2016, 4pm - St Cuthbert's Parish Church, Edinburgh - Choral Evensong
• 12th Nov 2016, 4pm - Culross Abbey - Joint service with Young Scottish Voices

With so many lovely cathedrals, abbeys, and churches around the country it's sometimes hard paring down our wish-list to something workable, but 2016 looks like it's going to be a great year with a couple of welcome return visits (St Mary's Cathedral, Glasgow and Dunblane Cathedral), and the rest being first visits for us, including of course our first real foray across the border to our friends in England.

Full details of each service will be announced here and on Twitter nearer the time, and of course dates and venues are always published in The Network which is distributed to RSCM members and affiliated churches alongside Church Music Quarterly.

Royal links

Today we visited beautiful Royal Deeside and sang unaccompanied Choral Evensong in St Margaret's former Episcopal Church in Braemar.

Braemar is just a few miles along the road from Balmoral Castle, Scottish home of Her Majesty the Queen who is the Royal Patron of the Royal School of Church Music, and it didn't seem right for an RSCM choir to be singing almost on her doorstep without letting her know, so a while back our administrator sent off a letter to Buckingham Palace advising Her Majesty of our visit, and inviting her to the service should she be in the area.

The response, from The Chief Clerk to The Queen, was that The Queen's engagements are planned A LONG time in advance and therefore regrettably she was unable to attend.  In the envelope though, in addition to the reply from The Chief Clerk, was a letter from Her Majesty herself, containing congratulations to all involved in the regeneration of St Margaret's Church, and best wishes to the choir!

Her Majesty's letter was reproduced in the Orders of Service today, and a scan is reproduced below.

Royal Deeside

Our next choral outing is a visit to Royal Deeside where directed by Frikki Walker we shall be singing unaccompanied Choral Evensong at 4pm on Saturday 9th May 2015 in St Margaret's former Episcopal Church in the beautiful town of Braemar.

Last used for regular worship in 1997, St Margaret’s was built by the prominent Scottish architect Sir John Ninian Comper between 1899 and 1907 and ceased to be an Episcopal Church in 2013 when it was transferred into the care of the Scottish Redundant Churches Trust since when it has been developing into an arts and performance venue.

We see our visit to sing Choral Evensong as harking back to its illustrious past while firmly looking to what the future holds for this architecturally significant building set in beautiful Royal Deeside and less than 10 miles from Balmoral, home of Her Majesty the Queen, Royal Patron of the RSCM.

Introit:         Cantate Domino (Pitoni)
Responses:   Richard Ayleward
Psalms:        47 & 48 (chants by James Turle & Stanley Vann)
Canticles:    Magnificat Primi Toni (Giovanni Perluigi da Palestrina)
                     Nunc Dimittis (Thomas Luis da Victoria)
Anthem:      Praise our Lord (William Byrd)

Young Scottish Voices are recruiting

Our wee sister choir, RSCM Young Scottish Voices is currently recruiting new members. 

Under new Musical Director, our very own Frikki Walker, they next sing together on 21st March 2015 in St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral in Glasgow and if you're resident anywhere in Scotland, aged 10-18, and already in a choir, it's not too late to join and be part of that day!  Future meetings will take place in various places around the country.

Please contact administrator Chris Wilson at youngvoicesadministrator@rscmscottishvoices.org.uk if you'd like more information.

Free concert!

RSCM Scottish Voices member Sadie Maskery together with the other half of her regular duo Graham Cumberland are joining forces with soprano Sally Penman and pianist David Brown for an evening of light classical and jazz music entitled "Simply Because...." - simply because they want to help Rebecca Dalgleish raise money for the Children's Hospice Association Scotland. 

The concert is at Dirleton Kirk, East Lothian, Scotland EH38 5EH at 7.30pm on Sunday 22nd March 2015, and will include songs by Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin and Karl Jenkins. There is no charge, everyone is invited just to turn up on the night for a hour of enchanting music, followed by refreshments in the Dirleton Kirk hall. All donations are for Rebecca Dalgleish, whose mum Pam will a special guest at the evening (although she says she won't be singing!)

You can easily donate online by visiting https://www.justgiving.com/Rebecca-Dalgleish

Haddington 2015

After a lovely candlelit Epiphany Carol Service in Greyfriars Kirk, we now loook forward to continuing our 2015 season with a return visit to the lovely historic St Mary's Parish Church in Haddington, a few miles east of Edinburgh, on Saturday 7th March when we will sing Choral Evensong there at 4pm.

Directed by Frikki Walker and accompanied by Richard Walmsley, the music includes pieces by William Smith of Durham, Daniel Purcell, Maurice Greene, William Walton, and Philip Stopford.

Epiphany Carols by Candlelight

Come along to Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh on Saturday 17th January at 4pm to hear us sing a wonderful selection of Epiphany Carols, as part of Greyfriars' Spark Festival of Worship & the Arts.  Then stay around for a ceilidh afterwards (see contact details on the poster for how to book a place for the ceilidh).