Music
A robed church choir and organist lead the music at our Sunday 10:30am and 6:30pm services and at the mid-week services for feast days.
Hymns are taken from the Common Praise hymnbook supplemented by more modern worship songs. The choir usually sing a short anthem at each sung Sunday service. Anglican chanted psalms are sung at Evensong and occasionally by the choir during the administration of Holy Communion. Other ways of singing the psalms (hymns, worship songs, etc.) are also used. A congregation setting of parts of the Holy Communion service (Gloria, Sanctus & Benedictus, Agnus Dei) is sung.
The Advent and Christmas Carol services and a service for Passiontide are arranged by the Director of Music and include a number of items sung by the choir alone.
Choral Evensong is sung on a number of occasions during the year: choral settings of the canticles and responses are sung, a Psalm is chanted and the choir sing an anthem.
The choir
The choir is quite small with 11 members. It sings in four-parts and has quite a wide repertoire which includes anthems from all periods of church music, composers include Tye, Tallis, Handel, Attwood, Goss, Stainer,Wesley, Standford, Wood, Rutter, Chilcott and Stopford; it also sings some settings of the canticles and other service liturgy. The choir are comfortable leading modern worship songs as well as traditional hymns.
The choir is affiliated to the Royal School of Church Music.
The Choir meets for practice every Friday evening in the Church at 7.00pm. Membership of the Choir is open to boys and girls aged 8 years and upwards, and to adults. If you are interested in joining the Choir, or would like to know more, please come along to the church or alternatively contact the Director of Music.
The organ
The organ is a good two manual and pedal Norman and Beard Organ (1912) and has recently been rebuilt and restored.
