St Peter’s Choir
About this week’s music
This week’s Mass setting is the Communion Service in C, by Charles Villiers Stanford (1852 – 1924). The anthem is by Olivier Messiaen (1908 – 1992), O Sacrum Convivium. Our worship on Sunday concludes with Evensong, with canticles by Betty Roe (b. 1930) and Thou Art the Way by Christopher Steele (1938 – 1991).
Charles Villiers Stanford was a Dublin-born composer who became one of the most important composers in the English choral tradition. Inspired by German traditions of composition, he takes a series of themes for his Te Deum, Communion and Evensong settings, all in C major, and weaves them into a cohesive and coherent unit.
Olivier Messiaen takes the text of the Sacrum Convivium – O Sacred Banquet – attributed to Tomas Aquinas, and sets it using what he called modes of limited transposition , invented scales which do not behave like ordinary major or minor scales. Where conventional composition would use clashes and resolutions to build tension, Messiaen used dissonances which lingered without resolution; without any particular sense of rhythmic pulse, the music seems to be without trajectory. It has been described as music designed not to carry a listener but to hold them in a moment – not unlike the sacred banquet which Aquinas’ poetry describes.
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.