St Peter’s Choir
About this week’s music
This week’s Mass setting is the Communion Service in C, by Sydney Nicholson (1875 – 1947), with an anthem by the Renaissance composer Jacob Clemens Non Papa (1510 – 1555), the Ecce Quam Bonum. Please also come to Evensong – the canticles are by Philip Moore (b. 1943), and the anthem is the O Salutaris Hostia by Herbert Howells (1892 – 1983).
Sydney Nicholson was born into a family steeped in the life of the church – his father was a well-known ecclesiastical architect and his brother was a stained-glass artist. He studied under Charles Villiers Stanford and was an integral part of the movement to establish the Royal School of Church Music.
Jacob Clemens Non Papa was a composer and church musician from the Netherlands. Little is known about his life – even the origins of the suffix Non Papa, possibly a tongue-in-cheek means of distinguishing him from Pope Clemens VII or the poet Jacobus Papa, is lost to history. It is known that by his late twenties he had published a collection of music, and that he held various church positions throughout his life; it is also known that he did not make any travel to Italy and therefore his music is entirely influenced by the Franco-Flemish traditions. The text of the Ecce Quam Bonum is taken from Psalm 133, one of the Psalms of Ascent which likely would have been sung as part of First-Temple period pilgrimages to Jerusalem; this one begins with a focus on the unity of the faith community.
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.