St Peter’s Choir
About this week’s music
This week’s Mass setting is Missa Hor Le Tue Forze Adopra, written by Felice Anerio (1560 – 1614). The anthem is a repeat of Percy Whitlock’s Here O My Lord, published in 1930 two years after Whitlock’s early death. Please also do attend Evensong, which features a soprano and alto duet: the Magnificat of Isaac Posch (1591 – 1622) and an anthem by Maurice Green (1695 – 1755), O Come Hither, a setting of verses 14 and 17 of Psalm 66.
Felice Anerio was an Italian composer of the late Renaissance and early Baroque musical periods, who spent his whole life in the church, starting from his time as a boy soprano at the Julan Chapel in Rome. With only a few secular compositions to his name, he succeeded Palestrina as the official papal composer, before himself becoming a priest in 1607. His Missa Hor Le Tue Forze Adopra, one of the myriad compositions written for the Roman church, is a paraphrase of the secular madrigal Hor Le Tue Forze Adopra, itself likely written in 1606.
Isaac Posch, an Austrian composer and church musician, is predominantly known for his dance music. His little-known Magnificat is complemented by a plainsong Nunc Dimittis in this week’s Evensong. Our Evensong anthem is by Maurice Green, an English composer and organist who was a contemporary and friend of Handel. The son of a cleric, he started his career as a boy soprano at St Paul’s Cathedral and worked in church music all his life.
About the St Peter’s Choir
Founded in 1847, the choir of St Peter's Eastern Hill is one of the oldest continuing Anglican church choirs in Australia.
Music plays an important part in the liturgical life of St Peter’s, with the choir singing at High Mass on Sundays as well as regular Evensongs. Our repertoire ranges from Plainsong to more recent liturgical settings, with a range of familiar and lesser-known composers. We are particularly enjoying re-discovering English Communion settings of the late 19th and early 20th century, alongside the great Mass settings of the Renaissance.
Membership is made up of volunteers, professional musicians, and a quartet of Foundation Scholars who are studying singing at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. The Church recently launched the music foundation to support this endeavour and to provide opportunities for young up-and-coming singers to develop their performance experience while contributing to our liturgy; if you would like more information about this, or to support this vital ministry, please contact the Director of Music, Christopher Watson.
Join the choir
The choir rehearses at 9 am for a 10.30 am service, with no mid-week rehearsal or other commitment. We encourage amateur singers who wish to sing regularly or occasionally to get in touch with our Director of Music, Christopher Watson, to arrange an audition.