The Music
The principal musical services are
Eucharist on Sundays at 9.45am, and on Holy Days
during the week. Choral Evensong is sung on the first and third Sundays of
each month at 6.30pm.
The following information introduces the music at All Saints, and gives details of the musical history in this place, the organs and forthcoming concerts and events. Click here for the All Saints Music List for the current month.
It is clear from past records that fine music was always offered in the services and that the liturgy was presented with due dignity. The first organ was installed in 1522 and there has been an unbroken tradition of choral singing certainly for the last one hundred and fifty years.
Since the beginning, plainsong, the ancient music of the Church would have been sung, often in English and this is still in frequent use at All Saints today. Settings of the Mass are usually congregational and the New English Hymnal is in use, together with a wide variety of other hymnals and publications. Choral Mass settings and Psalms with traditional texts are often featured on Holy Days.
The present choir of over thirty members has an extensive repertoire with the music of the English sixteenth century composers Byrd, Gibbons, Tallis featuring prominently along with their continental contemporaries Palestrina, Victoria and others. Composers of later centuries to the present day also have their place.
We are affiliated to the Royal School of Church Music and there is an opportunity for singers of all ages to join us. A number of choristers have reached the high standard of the Bishop’s Chorister Award.
The choir rehearses on Thursday evenings in term time from 8.00 - 9.15pm.
In addition to the standard services, the choir also sing special services at festivals, hold workshops and occasionally spend time in residence at a cathedral.
If you or your children would like
to find our more about singing with us, do please contact our Director of
Music, via the Parish Office.
The Organ
The
first record of an organ at All Saints’ is in 1522, by an unknown builder,
but in 1793 the notable English organ builder Samuel Green erected an
instrument in the West Gallery.
Following successive rebuilds and enlargements by Hill and Willis, the instrument now stands in the North Chancel and possesses forty six speaking stops on three manuals and pedals. A detailed history of the organs at All Saints with specifications is held at The National Pipe Organ Register. www.npor.org.uk
Events
All Saints is used as a concert venue throughout the year. Click here for details of forthcoming events.