The Choir

The term began with a disappointment, in that the Choirs' Festival, held at Ripon for as long as most of us can remember, was held elsewhere, and we were unable to attend. Compensation came, however, in that we were invited to sing Evensong in the choir of Ripon Cathedral. This service was enjoyed by the majority of both St. Peter's and St. Olave's choirs. Singing in such a fine building, accompanied by such a magnificent organ, is an experience not to be missed. The service consisted of the Noble B minor Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis, and the modern anthem "Prayer for Pentecostal Fire", set to music by Ivor Keys. The unusual harmonies of the latter were found difficult in the early stages of practice, but when better known, formed a brilliant climax to the service. We all enjoyed Dr. Marshall's playing, and some of us were to meet him again in the role of adjudicator for the Baird Cup.

Eagerly awaited by the younger members of the choir was their visit to the Royal Albert Hall, an account of which follows. Unfortunately this clashed with the Oxford and Cambridge G.C.E. exams, and as a result the numbers able to attend were diminished.

Shortly after the outing to Ripon, we were invited to sing Evensong in the Minster. Here the choir was smaller, being augmented by only six of St. Olave's choir, and several A.T.Bs. were missing. We performed the same programme as at Ripon, giving us an excellent opportunity to compare the acoustics of the two buildings. By popular request, Dr. Jackson played the Vidor Toccata in F, which further enhanced our enjoyment of the occasion.

This year Whit Sunday was celebrated by a slightly more elaborate form of service than usual. The choir sang the "Prayer for Pentecostal Fire" and "Come, Holy Ghost" (Attwood). The first verse of the latter was sung by Staines, who was joined by Gough (A.), Hudson (T.) and Bailey (B.) for the second, the whole choir singing the third.

The term's climax, for most of us, was the Procession of St. Peter in the Minster, where the whole school gathers under one roof. The service, initiated by the late Dean of York, has as its climax the great anthem "Tu es Petrus" by Palestrina, with its wonderful six-part harmonies.

This term is always notable for the annual choir outing to Scarborough, supplying some material return for spiritual services rendered, and is, for the rest, the climax of the term.

The Term's sung communion was again done to a combination of Merbecke's Plainsong and Darke's setting in F.

The Commemoration Service ended the term's music with the traditional Stanford in B flat "Te Deum", and Brahms's beautiful romantic "How Lovely are Thy Dwellings".

Conditions in the Chapel itself have been greatly improved. The space beneath the balcony used to be screened, to a great extent, from all sound, but the placing of two new loudspeakers, coupled to three microphones at the front, have eradicated this.

We say thank-you to all leavers for their support, particularly Mr. Chilman, who gave us many years of generous service. 31