September 2009
Music at St Bartholomew's Church, Ballsbridge, Dublin	Show Menu

Robin Heather

St Bartholomew's Church, Clyde Road, Ballsbridge has a rich tradition of music and liturgy dating back to 1867. The parish was constituted in 1864 out of the Parish of St Mary in Donnybrook and the present church was designed by Thomas Wyatt, a well known Victorian architect, and built on lands donated by the Earl of Pembroke. The decoration of the interior of the building was added by Thomas Deane in 1879.

The church was consecrated in December 1867 at a time when the 'Oxford Movement' was gathering momentum and profoundly influencing the Church of England and Ireland. The movement emphasised the essential independence of the Church from the state, placed a high value on the sacraments and stressed continuity with the early Christian Church. Many of the movement's adherents preached a radical gospel of social justice. From the outset, vicars of St Bartholomew's were sympathetic with the ideals of the Oxford Movement, whose worship tradition - often described as Anglo-Catholic - has been maintained ever since.

Choral music is very much a part of the Liturgy at St Bartholomew's, which has maintained a robed choir of boys and men since 1867. The church adopted the use of Hymns Ancient and Modern and Helmore's Plainsong Psalter for the services as these books were widely used in churches of the Anglo-Catholic tradition at the time. In the early days, whilst the restoration of Christ Church Cathedral was being carried out, the church was used for major services in the diocese.

The singing of the psalms to plainsong tones has always been a tradition in St Bartholomew's Church and was further enhanced in 1939 when Walter Vale, then organist at All Saints' Church, Margaret Street, London presented a set of plainsong psalters to the parish following a visit to hear the choir. The Vale Psalter is still in use to this day, the originals replaced in 1998 by a senior choir man in memory of his late parents.

William Henry Vipond Barry was organist and choirmaster at St. Bartholomew's from 1884 to 1938, a period of 54 years. He maintained a choir through the difficult years of the First World War and the years that followed. He died on St

Bartholomew's Day (24 August) 1938. His legacy lives on at the annual patronal festival service with the singing of 'Jesu, gentlest Saviour' to the tune 'St Bartholomew' composed by him (Hymn 583, Irish Church Hymnal 1960 edition).

The organ at St Bartholomew's is a magnificent three-manual Gray and Davison instrument, dating back to 1887, rebuilt in 1962 by Walker & Sons, and again in 2002 by Trevor Crowe & Company. The 2002 rebuild repositioned the Great Organ so as to speak into the nave of the building.

In recent years the choir continued to thrive under the direction of Malcolm Wisener (now Organist and Choir Master of St. Fin Barre's Cathedral, Cork), Hymns Ancient and Modern was replaced with The New English Hymnal and a girls' choir was established. The boys and men have travelled regularly to sing for the week after Easter at cathedrals in England and Wales — Chester, Exeter, Gloucester, Hereford, Lichfield, Ripon, St David's and Worcester — as well as undertaking two concert tours to Paris. The girls' choir has visited cathedrals in Cork, Cashel, Kilkenny and Armagh in recent years and plans are afoot for a trip abroad in 2010.

Fraser Wilson, a former organ scholar at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, was appointed director of music in 2008 and he is assisted by Peter Parshall, who is the Irish coordinator of the RSCM. In the past year, the introduction of the RSCM ‘Voice for Life’ scheme has allowed the boy and girl choristers to reach new standards and has given them a better understanding of music notation and general theory. The choirs sing each Sunday at two services, 11 a.m. Solemn Eucharist and 6 p.m. Choral Evensong, and at major festivals. Full details of the music are published each Saturday in the Irish Times and on the parish website www.stbartholomews.ie.

Regular concert seasons are now a feature of St Bartholomew's and the choir magazine, Music@St Bartholomew's, is available at the church and on the parish website.

The director of music is always interested in hearing from potential choristers, and may be contacted through the website to arrange a meeting and audition.

Robin Heather is a member of the choir of St Bartholomew's. He has sung in choirs for 41 years, including those of St Ann's, Dawson Street and Christ Church Cathedral.

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