St Peter’s Choir
About this week’s music
TThis week’s Mass setting is by Charles Wood (1866 – 1926), written in the Phrygian mode (a dark-sounding scale which has a flattened second note, creating a sombre tone which could be mistaken for Spanish or Middle Eastern). The anthem is by Jacob Handl (1550 – 1591), his Rorate Caeli.
Charles Wood was an Irish composer and teacher, including of Ralph Vaughan Williams and Herbert Howells. He was born into a family steeped in church music: his father was a tenor lay clerk and diocesan registrar, and he himself sang treble and was educated in the Cathedral school. He devoted his life to the teaching of music in various Cambridge colleges before becoming Professor of Music at Cambridge University, where he was highly regarded as an unparalleled teacher, particularly of fugue and counterpoint.
Jacob Handl was born in what is now southern Slovenia, and educated in the Cistercian Stičuna Abbey in Carniola. By his mid-twenties he was a member of the Viennese court chapel before becoming choirmaster to the bishop of Olomouc. He aligned himself with the Bohemian counter-Reformation, and wrote extensively for both the church and for secular performance. His Rorate Caeli, written for six voices, is taken from Isaiah 45.8: a plea for the dropping down of heaven and the pouring of righteousness from the skies – a prayer that seems particularly apt in our own time.
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.