St Peter’s Choir

About this week’s music

This week’s Mass setting is the Mass for St Peter, written for St Peter’s Eastern Hill by David Goode (b. 1971). The anthem is the Rorate Caeli Desuper of William Byrd (1541-1623).

We open Advent by hearing for a second time the Mass for St Peter’s, commissioned specially for the Petertide Festival this year, and written by David Goode. David is a British organist and composer, who has written and toured extensively both in the UK and internationally. We remain grateful for and to the very generous parishioner whose donation made possible the commissioning of this setting.

Byrd’s Rorate Caeli Desuper was written in 1605, using the text of Isaiah (45.8) and the opening line of Psalm 84 to call for the opening of the heavens and the pouring down of justice, the budding of a saviour. We are reminded that God has blessed the land and ended the brutal captivity of the people of Judah during the Babylonian exile, and are encouraged to turn our hearts and minds to the hopeful wait for the birth of our Lord.

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.