March 2006
Church Music in Monkstown Parish	Show Menu

Siobhán Kilkelly, Organist and Choir Director

One word that is frequently used to describe the singing in Monkstown is enthusiastic! Since I have become the organist in Monkstown, following in the path of Bill Ebbs the former organist for forty-nine years, I have relied on
enthusiasm as an ally on many occasions. It works! We have a mixed choir of approximately twenty members and a junior section currently consisting of about ten young people and we probably defy logic on many occasions to sing the repertoire that we do.

The Choir sings at the main Sunday morning service (Communion on two Sundays, Morning Prayer and Service of the Word on the other two) and the Junior Choir sings at the Service of the Word on the fourth Sunday of each month and on festivals.

The Junior Choir rehearses on Mondays at 7, and is followed by the rehearsal for the Adult Choir at 8.

One aspect which is vital to retain the interest of the choir is the choice of music. I try to choose music in varied styles, mix up the level of difficulty and always aim to select music which is musically rewarding.

The choir sings an anthem every second Sunday and that, apart from the major festivals, helps to maintain the choir’s interest and momentum. I notice the choir makes a special effort to attend when they have something particular to sing — they don’t want to miss it!

We are also fortunate in having an assistant organist who accompanies the choir on two Sundays a month. This gives the choir the opportunity to perform accompanied music with the advantage of a conductor.

The benefits to this are that the choir learns to breathe together and produce a better sound, is generally more confident, and overall it allows greater possibility to shape a musical performance.

Over the years we have gathered a core of singers who join us for certain occasions, such as the Church Festivals, special Evensongs, choir trips away and this also helps in determining the music we do. To know you have a group of experienced choristers, willing to supplement the choir is very reassuring. Some people have joined the choir for a once-off occasion and stayed!

We have undertaken annual trips to sing at Harvest Festivals throughout Ireland for the past ten years or so and twice recently we have had choir trips to England, first to Tewkesbury Abbey in Gloucestershire and last August we sang the services for a weekend in Bath Abbey. These trips, while in some ways terrifying for the choir and life-shortening for the organist and choir director (!), have helped greatly in urging the choir to perform at a higher level and ultimately singing more music in a weekend than would be normal over a period of six months! The opportunity also to sing in those wonderful buildings was really inspiring.

The junior choir is an essential adjunct to the musical life in Monks town, but maintaining the numbers needs constant work. We rely mostly on word of mouth for recruitment, friends, cousins, neighbours etc. but this year we have put together a choir brochure and have planned an open evening to try and attract more young people. It is always worth the work however, because when the junior choir sings well, the congregation melts!

I think we are lucky in Monkstown, music has always been a high priority and as organist I get just the backup I need from the Rector and Select Vestry to meet the challenges of today’s church choir.

CHURCH MUSIC IN ...........
Any volunteers to write the next article in this series? Articles should include what musical services are held and when, what music is sung, how the music is chosen, how many are in the choir, when choir practices are held, how practices are conducted, the organist’s Sunday routine — in fact, anything that might be of interest to other organists! No more than 1000 words, and preferably with a photograph.

How many days in Lent?

Forty Days and Forty Nights is a hymn that is frequently used on the first Sunday of Lent. Everyone ‘knows’ that there are forty days in Lent. But is this really true. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday (this year it is 1 March) and ends on Easter Saturday (15 April this year). Forty days from Ash Wednesday brings us to the Monday of Holy Week, five days before Easter Saturday. So why ‘forty days’ in Lent?

Although I have known of the discrepancy for a long time, I never sought an explanation until this year. The Rector of Howth immediately came up with the answer. The five Sundays of Lent are not regarded as part of Lent, and since forty five minus five equals forty, the number of ‘official’ days in Lent is forty. So — if you’re off chocolate (or whatever) for Lent, you can splurge on any (or all!) of the five Sundays during the 45 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter Saturday. (RH)

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