891 research outputs found
Contemporary musical expression in Anglican Churches of the Diocese of Cape Town developments since the liturgical, theological and social revolutions of the twentieth century
Includes bibliographical references.The broader purpose of this study is to investigate musical change in relation to theological and liturgical change. The particular focus of this thesis is to explore the link between liturgial revision and musical development in the Diocese of Cape Town, South Africa, between 1964 and 2010. This doctorate is situated in musicology but also embraces features of liturgical theology. Le Huray's account of musical change during the Reformation, in Music and the Reformation in England 1549-1660 (Cambridge, 1978), served as a model on which to view contemporary developments. Pass' definitions of the role of music in church (kerygmatic, koinoniac and leitourgic), contained in Music and the Church (Nashville, 1989), have also been used as a basis for the study. Additionally, the author developed a series of terms to distinguish the relationship between musical and liturgical change
Anglican choral evensong and the church of Norway. Aspects of integration and worship practice
Norges musikkhøgskole. Masteroppgave. KirkemusikkAbstract -
Anglican choral Evensong was introduced into the Church of Norway in the late 1960s by Norwegian church musicians. The inspiration for this came from high quality performances in English cathedrals and university colleges; these were the primary encountered sources. Evensong is also widely practised by parish church choirs across the UK and the Anglican Communion and has several recognised and established variations. Only a limited range was introduced to Norway so that current practice does not reflect the full breadth of Evensong from the Church of England.
The purpose of this study is four-fold. It is undertaken in order to understand the context into which Evensong is now placed, how the process of introducing Evensong has taken place, through an examination of the changes to the liturgy and performance practice which have occurred, and finally, it is an exploration of possibilities leading to further integration, so that it might be incorporated into the liturgical tradition of the Church of Norway.
The material in this investigation is gathered from secondary and empirical sources, including interviews and personal experiences, and information from relevant literature regarding liturgical history. A practical project was set up to explore ideas about choral repertoire and musical identity which could assist in the progression of integration.
A key finding of this research is that the parish church choir can be a valuable resource for the integration of this liturgy into the Norwegian context, linking together the cultural and spiritual life of the local Norwegian parish church
Sir Frederick Ouseley, the foundation of St Michael’s college, Tenbury Wells, and the ideals of Anglican choral tradition in the Victorian age
The Church and College of St Michael and All Angels, Tenbury Wells was founded in 1856 by The Rev'd Sir Frederick A. G. Ouseley. It wasintended to serve as a model to the cathedral churches of England and choral services were performed twice daily by a choir of men and boys. The choristers were to benefit from Ouseley's second aim at St Michael's - the provision of a good grammar school education. Ouseley's decision to devote his life to the improvement of the choral aspects of church life in this way, was clearly a result of his personal experiences. However, as a composer, scholar, antiquarian, gentleman, Ouseley was representative of the ideal Victorian churchman. Consequently, his philosophy is inherently linked with that of the Victorian Church in general. His work must be considered in the context of the test of strength facing the Church in the form of poor finances, low morale and various intellectual developments that questioned its basic doctrines. The importance of St Michael's was acknowledged by the brief account edited by M, F. Alderson & H. C. Colles in 1943 (updated in 1988 by Watkins Shaw). However, these books do not consider this important relationship between the college and events in the Church in general. In looking at the life of St Michael's, one can draw parallels with the trends in the Church as a whole - the improvements for which the Oxford Movement was striving, the revival of Gothic architecture and the Victorian conception of a "sacred" musical style. It is also possible to see the implementation of Ouseley's personal beliefs, and to consider the extent to which these influenced the lives of those boys and young men who came into contact with Ouseley and St Michael's in their formative years
Glimpses into the Music and Worship Life of a Victorian Colonial Cathedral: The Anglican Cathedral of St Michael and St George in 1900 (Grahamstown, South Africa)
This article documents one year (1900) in the musical life of a colonial Anglican cathedral in Grahamstown (Cape Colony, South Africa), during the British colonial period. The source material for the music-lists is drawn mainly from the Saturday editions of two local newspapers: Grocott’s Penny Mail and the Grahamstown Journal. The author analyses the musical trends of the cathedral by exploring the content of the cathedral’s musical repertoire and relating it to the choir’s size and competency; commenting on the preference for certain composers and what this might imply about local musical taste; examining the precentor’s hymn choices and how they might reflect the ecclesiastical ethos of the cathedral; and discussing special services which took place and how they relate to the wider South African context of the Boer War and the fierce Anglican debates both for and against Anglo-Catholicism. Through these analyses, the author demonstrates that the cathedral reflected attributes of a typical moderate English Victorian parish church, slightly influenced by the Anglo-Catholic movement, but not overwhelmed by it
The music of St Paul’s cathedral 1872-1972: The origins and development of the modern cathedral choir
The state of the cathedral's music in 1872 is first described, at the time of Stainer's appointment as organist: an extensive account is given of the means by which the choir was re-organised, disciplined and enlarged, with an examination of how the repertory was affected by these changes and by developments in the Liturgy. There follows a description of the consolidation of these reforms, with detailed consideration of the musical and religious principles upon which this modern cathedral choir had been founded, and of public reaction to the 'eclectic' method of choosing its music. Developments and continued progress later in the nineteenth century are related, and the onset of a decline in the Edwardian period. The effects both musical and financial of the First World War and its aftermath are considered, as are the severe interruption to the Cathedral's services by the closure of the dome area for structural repairs, the re-introduction of full choral services after its re-opening of the cathedral in 1930, and the difficulty of maintaining standards thereafter. The break with tradition in appointing a new Organist from outside is explained, with a comparison of his reform of the repertory at Durham and St Paul’s. The Second World War seemed to represent a most serious threat to the survival of cathedral choirs: credit is given to the Dean and Chapter for their example in maintaining the choir school in exile at Truro while the men continued to sing at St Paul's. A sympathetic appraisal is given of the choir in the post-war years, though the need of reform is admitted, and the thesis is concluded with an evaluation of a new Dean and Organist's prescription for the modernisation of the cathedral's music and worship, and the creation for the 1970s of a modern cathedral choir
Choral Cathedral Music in the Church of England: An examination into the diversity and potential of contemporary choral-writing at the end of the twentieth century
In 1964, Erik Routley (1917-1982) published a book entitled Twentieth Century Church Music, an expansive solo debate on the nature and development of contemporary writing for the Church. Routley said, 'this is the beginning of a discussion', yet this remark was to prove ironic: serious criticism of new church music has been minimal since that day, especially within cathedral and high-church circles. However, this is not to say that cathedral music has become static, or that its new repertoire is unworthy of comment. Indeed, in consideration of the wealth of material produced by composers for the Cathedral in recent years, musical assessment following Routley's ideas seems long overdue. Thus, to facilitate an accurate assessment of cathedral music in the present day, the thesis begins by recalling Routley's 'discussion', and detailing the pathway of contemporary cathedral music repertoire over the last thirty-six years. The appendix, the Sacred Choral Music Catalogue, compiled by the author, takes 1965 as its starting point, listing the majority of modem choral cathedral music currently in British circulation to aid the reader's knowledge of the repertoire. Thus, guiding the reader through the diversity associated with contemporary cathedral music, assessing the style and potential of contemporary composers and evaluating the place of the Cathedral in modern-day secular society, the thesis examines the contributions of six composers: Tavener, Part, Harvey, Weir, Swayne and Ridout. It seeks to show that cathedral music continues to thrive, and that despite the age-old conflict between tradition and innovation, the genre remains far from the decline that many have predicted
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Four Handel oratorio libretti published by John Gregory of Leicester, 1759 - 1774
George Frederic Handel had links with Leicestershire through the very wealthy writer and patron of music and literature Charles Jennens of Gopsall Hall, who, amongst other things wrote and prepared the texts for Messiah and several other important Handel works, and created the most comprehensive library of Handel scores and manuscripts. Between 1759 and 1774 the Leicester printer John Gregory, the founder and publisher of the Leicester Journal, printed and sold full texts of the libretti of four Handel oratorios: Messiah (ca. 1759), Judas Maccabaeus and Esther (both 1761) and Jephtha (1774). All were produced for specific Leicestershire performances of the works. The first three were part of the Church Langton ‘Music Meetings’ of William Hanbury, which included the first known church performance of Messiah in 1959. The fourth was printed for the 1774 Anniversary festival of the Leicester Infirmary. organised and funded by Joseph Cradock, one of Gregory’s fellow Governors of the Infirmary, and brought together many of the leading interpreters and scholars of Handel, creating what was widely regarded as the most important musical event ever held in Leicester
The choral music of Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924 and the press c.1875-1925
This detailed survey of Stanford's choral music is divided into two parts. Part One outlines those influences in the composer's family background and career path that encouraged him to produce so much music for choirs, both sacred and secular, and seeks to contextualise the British cultural environment in which he lived and worked. The sight-singing movement of the 1840s and the rapid spread of choral singing, the development of parish church choirs, choral societies and musical festivals, the slower improvement of musical standards in cathedrals and college chapels, and the growth of music publishing are each examined in turn, with frequent reference to Stanford himself. A complete chapter is devoted to the rapid expansion of the press and the steady evolution of musical journalism during the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Part Two contains a chronological examination of Stanford's choral output with particular emphasis on the reception of individual works by critics and the general public, making direct and extensive reference to critical articles in more than forty different newspapers and journals. From this evidence attempts are made to identify the most and least successful of the composer's choral works. A concluding chapter refers to the English Musical Renaissance and Stanford's recognised status as one of its chief protagonists, and also examines the concept of academicism (or 'cleverness') and its impact upon critical appraisal of the composer's works, especially from Shaw and his disciples. Three appendices provide statistical and factual information on Stanford's choral output, and include some material not previously available in published writings on the composer
The Madeleine Choir School (Salt Lake City, Utah): A Contemporary American Choral Foundation
This document chronicles the work of the Madeleine Choir School, founded in 1996 by Gregory Glenn as a ministry of the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City, Utah. The school teaches children in pre-kindergarten through grade eight the choral arts as practiced within the sacred liturgy of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church in the cathedral setting, offering students the opportunity to participate daily in the Cathedral's Opus Dei, or "work of God." Part I of this document provides a general history of cathedral choir schools in the European tradition, focusing especially on Westminster Cathedral Choir School in London (the model for the Madeleine Choir School), before proceeding to recount the founding and flourishing of the Madeleine Choir School under Gregory Glenn and the cathedral rector and renowned liturgist, Monsignor M. Francis Mannion. Part II focuses on the musical education provided to the cathedral choristers and their work in the Cathedral Choir of the Madeleine. Finally, this document argues for the school as a model for the Christian education of youth
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