Autumn 2025: Stanford & Parry
Saturday 11th October at St Michael’s Church, Lewes
Accompanist: Howard Beach
Parry: ‘Blest pair of sirens’ (8 part anthem) and ‘There is an old belief’ from Songs of Farewell
Stanford: ‘Coelos ascendit’ from Three Latin Motets, and Canticles in G (with soprano and baritone semichorus)
Nick’s note:
“In this workshop we’re exploring some beautiful classic choral pieces by two major figures in the British musical world of the early 20th century: Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924) and Sir Hubert Parry (1848-1918).
Parry’s ‘Blest Pair of Sirens’ written for 8-part chorus, was commissioned by Stanford to be sung by the Bach Choir alongside the first London performance of Hector Berlioz’s Te deum in 1887. It is a setting of the words to John Milton’s ode ‘At a Solemn Musick’. Considered to be one of the outstanding English choral works it has remained a standard in church music. One of its higher-profile performances in the 21st century was by the choirs of Westminster Abbey and the Chapel Royal at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in April 2011.
‘There is an old belief’ is one of Parry’s six motets ‘Songs of Farewell’ and is scored for SSATBB. Parry composed the sequence during the First World War when several of his students at the Royal College of Music were killed in action. The words are by John Gibson Lockhart and it’s a wonderfully moving piece.
Parry’s contemporary Charles Villiers Stanford was born in Ireland but is generally considered one of the foremost composers of Anglican music of his time. He was a huge influence on a number of composers at the Royal College of Music, where he taught, including Vaughan Williams, Gustav Holst and Herbert Howells.
‘Coelos ascendit’ is one of his three Latin motets written for the choir of Trinity College Cambridge where he was both an undergraduate and later Director of Music. It’s an exciting piece scored for two choirs and I’m sure we shall have fun with it.
Stanford composed settings of the canticles for Evensong in many keys, but the Magnificat and Nunc dimittis in G are notable for being based around treble and bass solos. We hope some Sopranos and Basses will volunteer to sing these at our workshop as a semi-chorus.”
Schedule:
10.30am – Registration/Tea & Coffee
11.00 – 1pm Morning session
1 – 2pm Lunch break – participants are welcome to bring a packed lunch and stay to eat it in the venue, or explore the area’s many eateries
2 – 4pm Afternoon session, including final sing-through as appropriate
4pm – day ends
How to Book:
The cost is £25 to include all music hire plus tea/coffee, biscuits & cake. Places are limited and as usual Nick will be looking for a good balance of voice parts.
To book, please email workshops@musicsussex.org.uk stating your preferred voice part and we’ll get back to you with payment details. Please note, emails are answered in order of receipt and places are only confirmed when payment is received.