September 2009

Praise Him With the Sound of the Trumpet: Two Recent Singing Events

SONGS OF PRAISE IN CLONSILLA

On Sunday, 30 August St Mary's Church, Clonsilla celebrated the end of the mixed Irish summer, with a lively, outdoor Songs of Praise service. The service was preceded by a Parish Barbecue in the grounds of the Church and was concelebrated by the Revd Elaine Dunne and Ms Stella Obe, parish lay reader. The singing was led by the choirs of St Mary's Church, Clonsilla and St Brigid's Church, Castleknock. The congregation also joined in heartily in spite of the very inclement weather (it began to pour five minutes after the service began!).

The singing was accompanied by the Blanchardstown Brass Band, who joined the choirs for the event. They made a magnificent sound, playing from the Salvation Army arrangements of hymns which included the following: Praise to the Lord, The Almighty, The King of Creation, Now Thank We All Our God, Alleluia, Sing to Jesus and Come Ye Thankful People, Come. Their spirits also remained very high throughout the rather wet afternoon. The hymns had been chosen by parishioners during August. The final programme was compiled by selecting the most popular of parishioners' choices. The band and choir were conducted by Maedhbh Abayawickrema, organist and director of music in the combined parishes, who was ably assisted by a member of the choir who held a large umbrella over her head in an attempt to keep the music and baton dry!

The choir hopes to collaborate with the band again during the Christmas season and will also be joined at that time by the choir from Mercy College, Coolock to deliver a service of carols and more. We look forward to continuing the tradition of a summer Songs of Praise', started a number of years ago in the parish by Raymond Russell, former organist and director of music in the combined parishes of Castleknock and Clonsilla with Mulhuddart next year. We just hope that the weather will look a little more favourably on us next time!

SUMMER RSCM COURSE

Judy Martin reports.

This year the RSCM's annual adult residential cathedral course was held at Christ Church Cathedral. Singers came from all over the world: from the USA and Canada, the UK, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Ireland. Many who attended have been singing in church choirs for years, and they all feel passionately about their ministry as Church musicians.

Before coming to Dublin in 2003, I had directed several of the RSCM's other cathedral courses. This was, however, the first time that I had worked with an RSCM group of which I had no prior knowledge — a daunting prospect with Choral Evensong on the first evening of the course! The choir rose to the challenge and, with daily rehearsals and workshops and individual training from the internationally-renowned vocal coach, Hilary Llystyn-Jones, the standard of performance rose exponentially during the week.

These are not professional singers but the love and dedication they have for their ministry, and their complete commitment, was inspirational! We gave the course as much of an Irish flavour as possible by including some Irish hymns, an arrangement of Bi,A Íosa, im Chroíse (by Felicity McElroy) and a good dose of Stanford. Further local involvement came from Curate Revd David McDonnell who was an extremely popular course chaplain, and revealed hidden talents as an amazing trad. musician and excellent tour guide during a late night visit to the crypt of St Michan's. Support at the organ came from Tristan Russcher and Peter Parshall, who also led two workshops on Chant, culminating in the entire group singing the Salve Regina to the tricky Solemn Tone at Evensong on 15 August.

The RSCM is a world-wide educational charity providing education and training for musicians of all denominations. I have long believed that Christ Church should be a centre of education for Church musicians, not just as a resource for diocesan musicians, but also to engage with musicians from further afield. Our collaboration with the RSCM has been a major part of our outreach and if you are able to attend Evensong on Saturday, 19 September (5.00 p.m), you will hear a service sung by approximately 40 children and young people from both sides of the border who have passed Voice for Life awards this year.

I, for one, hope that the RSCM makes an approach to Christ Church again, and I know from the comments and letters received, that 35 singers returned to their various communities with a renewed vigour for their ministry as well as with happy memories of a week's worth of exciting achievements. Do take a look at the RSCM Ireland website (www.rscmireland.com) where you'll find a number of pictures taken during the week.

<<Previous | Next >>