June 2004
Church Music in Rathfarnham	Show Menu

David Wilkinson

Rathfarnham is a thriving Church of Ireland parish with 535 families, making it one of the largest in the Republic. Last year we launched our Christ First Project, the aim of which is to implement a new form of collaborative ministry, led by both laity and clergy, which will meet the needs and aspirations of people in a changing cultural environment. The Project Steering Committee, of which I am a member representing "Music", covers every facet of parish life from "Welcome" to "Spirituality and Faith".

Music is a key element of worship in the Church of Ireland, and plays a most important part in our services. It is seen as one of the strengths of Rathfarnham and therefore, in the context of Christ First, it is a case of continuing to develop along current lines. The music must enhance parish worship, which is lively and relevant within an Anglican framework.

There are three choirs in the parish:

• Senior Choir, with 9 sopranos, 8 altos, 6 tenors and 5 basses 
• Junior Choir, with 7 boys and 14 girls 
• Youth Choir, with 7 members

There are four services each Sunday: 8.00 a.m., 10.30 a.m., 12.00 midday, 7.00 p.m. The main service is the 10.30 a.m., with an average congregation of 230. The actual services vary throughout the month: Holy Communion, using a form of service from another part of the Anglican Communion e.g., New Zealand, South Africa; Family Service, in which the Junior Choir participates; Holy Communion, using BCP contemporary language service; Morning Prayer. The choirs operate, therefore, in an exciting environment of varied and, at all times, relevant forms of worship.

The Senior Choir leads the worship at all 10.30 a.m. services. There are rehearsals each Wednesday evening in the Church, at which the average attendance is about 22. The reason for this dedication and commitment is largely due to the fact that rehearsals are both challenging and enjoyable. While we sing settings of the Gloria, Gospel Responses, Sanctus and Lord’s Prayer at communion services, only a small proportion of rehearsal time is devoted to basic music for the following Sunday. As everything is planned well in advance, and the hymns for the following month are chosen by the Rector and myself at our monthly meetings, forthcoming new items are included in rehearsals where appropriate. The Choir also has a wide, and ever-increasing, repertoire of devotional music which is sung during Communion.

The main purpose of each rehearsal is to learn special music for future occasions such as Harvest Festival, Advent, Carol Service/Christmas, Palm Sunday and Easter, and other Sundays throughout the year. For example, on the fourth Sunday of each month we include, where possible, an appropriate anthem, occasionally with flute or clarinet — which allows time for quiet reflection. Congregations enjoy listening to as well as participating in hymn-singing. The music at all times is varied, challenging, and appealing – both classical and modern – and includes compositions by, for example, Carter, McCann, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Rizza, Rutter, Tchaikovsky, Vivaldi, Wilcocks.

The Junior Choir rehearses each Friday from 2.15 – 3.00 p.m. in the Church. It generally provides three items at the monthly Family Service, and also participates in the Sunday evening Organisations Services at Harvest Festival and on Palm Sunday. At the time of writing they are rehearsing the "Resurrection Rock" by Sheila Wilson for April 4th. They are a very lively bunch, looking resplendent and angelic in their Junior Choir sweat-shirts, and certainly enjoy the challenge of participating in the Choir.

The Youth Choir is small but very enthusiastic, and consists mainly of former members of the Junior Choir. Accompaniment is provided by guitars, with special effects as appropriate, plus piano occasionally. Unlike the Senior and Junior Choirs where I select the music, the Youth Choir is very much a joint effort, and the members are encouraged to come up with their own ideas. Owing to the pressures on secondary-school students, the Youth Choir only participates in services at Advent, Christmas, Confirmation and Easter, with rehearsals on the five preceding Sundays from 11.45 to 1.00 p.m. Last Advent Sunday the choir combined with the Senior Choir in opening the service with "Prepare Ye" from Godspell — commencing with Youth Choir and guitars, and gradually building-up to a spine-tingling climax as piano, Senior Choir, choir descant, and finally organ joined in.

On those Fifth Sundays during "The Season" (September to May) we try to do something different at 10.30 a.m. On Advent Sunday we held a Songs of Praise, and on 29th February the Dublin Gospel Choir led the music at Morning Prayer. This added another dimension to our worship, and the attendance of about 600 (almost all parishioners) equalled that on Christmas Day. The Youth Choir was very impressed, and it is planned to send them to the next Workshop organised by the Gospel Choir.

The choirs also get involved in some "extra-curricula" activities! The Senior Choir produced a CD/Cassette — "A Joyful Celebration" — in 2001. At Christmas they always sing in some local nursing home, and also are involved in ecumenical services. All three choirs have participated in charity concerts with the Stedfast Band in Rathfarnham Church – which affords an opportunity to sing entertaining secular music. Last summer, during June and July, the tenors and basses thoroughly enjoyed learning some Barber-Shop songs, which were performed at a parish dinner/cabaret as part of the launch of the Christ First Project.

And of course it cannot be all work all of the time! There must be some time for relaxation and socialising. "Thank-You’s" take various formats:

• The Senior Choir is asked to the Rectory for mulled wine before Christmas; come to our house in January for supper and a chat, and also to hear the choir items from the recent Carol Service; have an end-of-season BBQ in the Rectory garden in May.
• The Youth Choir is more adventurous! — last year the Rev. Anne Taylor and I brought them Quad-Biking, while the previous year we "roared" past Dalkey Island with Sea Thrill.
• The Junior Choir is brought on two outings per year — after Christmas to a show, and in May to some outdoor activity — for example, to Fort Lucan. Each trip includes a mandatory stop at MacDonalds.

Obviously a lot of hard work and effort goes on behind-the-scenes in order to run three successful parish choirs. But I believe that the effort is well worthwhile when one receives such ongoing support from each choir, and positive feedback from parishioners. In addition to the music provided by the Choirs, I play the organ for approximately 15 to 20 minutes before each morning service — classical/non-classical, traditional/contemporary music — and also, of course, a concluding voluntary. As we very seldom use Anglican chanting, we incorporate the psalms into our services either in the form of anthems, or read with quiet background organ or piano music. Some of Ludovico Einaudi’s piano pieces are very appropriate, and can also be used for variation during Holy Communion.

Life is never dull in Rathfarnham from a musical perspective. On the contrary, it is full of energy and vitality. To attract people into choirs, and, more importantly, to hold onto them, I believe it is necessary to:

• Provide challenging music. The degree of complexity will obviously vary from choir to choir
• Vary the styles of music to make it more interesting for both Choir and Congregation
• Hold weekly mid-week rehearsals, always ensuring that there is a definite reason for choir members to attend;
• Be innovative. The music provided by choirs and organists in parish churches must be relevant to the present age. In an era of constant change, Church Music cannot stand still as if locked in a time-capsule;
• Involve choir members in some extra-curricula activities;
• Organise appropriate gettogethers/outings as a way of saying "Thank You".

Certainly the above works in Rathfarnham.

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