The Best Treble Choir in London

[Yorkie]

Have you ever tried to get to evensong at both King's and Jesus College Chapels on the same day?
I agree King's/St. John's is easily doable even for a slow mover like me, but Jesus Chapel looks to be further away and I don't yet know how accessible it is from the street.
I will be in Cambridge in a few weeks and plan on attending St John's on a Wednesday (King's day off) and was planning on trying to get to both King's And Jesus on the Thursday. I know little about the Jesus Chapel Choir other than, like St. Philip's, it is made up of local boys from different schools in the Cambridge area rather than from a choir school.
On Friday there's a concert at Ely Cathedral; Saturday a Britten centenary event in Norwich and then, to top it off, back to London and St Philip's on Sunday evening.

No John, I know nothing about Jesus College Choir. Looking at Google maps I don't think you can do it unless you move quickly. looks like a 13 minute walk or 10 mins by car (if you could park close to King's!).

Looks like you are having a good time that week!

[Yorkie]

Temple church is well worth a look (if you like looking at old churches and I do!) as is St Bartholomew-the Great (another church with Libera & film connections). Temple is tiny though!

I wish cathedral/church/college choirs will continue for many years to come! It's a tradition, really. It's what makes your cathedrals so special. I checked St Bartholomew, and it looks great. What is the Libera connection? Hope time allows for visits to both St Bartholomew and Temple!

In this picture you can see that the choir stalls are divided in to three sections; the choir sits in the middle block (half on one side and half on the other) and if you bag a seat you will be in the block nearest the camera (you can just see the edges of the 'public' block in this photo), so depending on which end you get you could be sat four feet from some of them!

You're making me excited. Who sits in the front block then (in front of the choir)? Do people usually sit that near to them? (Don't want to be looking awkward alone up front. )

Libera have filmed a few videos at Barts; The Aled Jones Christmas video was filmed there (think Gaudete from 2008), Love & Mercy and a few other bits from the Songs of Praise Libera Special:

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Not sure who sits in the first block of the choir stalls to be honest - a few Abbey staff and the odd dignitary I suspect.

[maartendas]

This video of Sanctus was also filmed at St. Bart's:

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St. Philip's is a very modest church, with acoustics to match. But modest doesn't mean 'poor', and I very much enjoyed joining in worship there.

[thewhyb]

Thanks for the links, Yorkie and Maartendas. It's a beautiful place with great singing. I'm still longing for my first Libera concert in a cathedral.

Yorkie, thanks for your information on Abbey and all the other choirs. You're a great help to newbies like myself!

Maartendas, thanks for your comment on St P's. Next time, I hope!

[Yorkie]

You're too kind and certainly too generous with your praise

Hope you have a great trip and feel free to ask if you have any questions - we'll do our best to help.

[thewhyb]

Thanks in advance, Yorkie!

[thewhyb]

Hi again,

I just realised that King's College Choir's schedule for the date I planned is as follows:

SUNG EUCHARIST sung by the choristers
Kyrie, Sanctus, Benedictus, Agnus Dei
Messe basse - Fauré
Introit - Consider, O Lord
Alleluia - God reigneth over the heathen
Offertory - A Song of Peace; Stanford
Communion - Father, while I was with them

1. Does anyone know what is a "Sung Eucharist" and how does it differ from an "Evensong"?
2. Does this arrangement in the schedule look good?
3. What should I do during Offertory and Communion? I am not familiar with traditional services.

Thank you very much!

[maartendas]

1. Eucharist means there will be communion (it's also known as Mass), whereas Evensong is Scripture reading and prayer only.
2. Fauré and Stanford are both class composers (and Song of Peace is very nice) so I'd say it looks fine.
3. I'm Roman Catholic so not 100% sure but my guess would be that Offertory is the part where the altar is prepared for the communion service, so you can just listen (and perhaps there is a collect for the church or a cause). Communion is the part where the faithful are invited to receive the blessed bread (and perhaps wine) as the Body and Blood of Christ. If I recall correctly, in the Anglican church it's OK to receive them if you are baptised in a Christian denomination and agree with the rest of the service. If you're unsure you can just stay in your seat and enjoy the singing or perhaps you can go forward and ask for a blessing instead of receiving communion.
Any Anglicans, please add your info where necessary

[TullyBascombe]

Offertory would be the collection and presentation of the offerings, i.e., passing around the plate.

In the Anglican churches any person baptised in a liturgical Christian denomination is welcome to participate in Holy Communion ( Eucharist or Mass ), the liturgical denominations being those which adhere to the Nicene and Apostolic creeds and recognise the basic sacriments. That would generally include the Catholic churches, the Orthodox churches, Methodists, Presbyrtarians, Reformed, Lutherans and some of the other mainstream protestant churches - basically any church that has Eucharist as part of their services. We don't screen people before they go to the rail. Most people who "technically" shouldn't partake, who belong to denominations which don't utilise the Eucharist as part of their services, probably wouldn't want to partake of an Anglican Eucharist if they're serious about the faith of their church.

AFAIK the official position of the Roman Catholic Church is that Anglican Communion "doesn't count", a member of the Roman Catholic Church may partake of Anglican Eucharist, but he shouldn't consider it to be the same as Roman Catholic Eucharist.

[thewhyb]

Thank you, Maartendas and TullyBascombe! I was a little disappointed at first because it I thought "Sung Eucharist" meant that there wasn't going to be singing by King's College Choir, but rather, those attending had to sing. So thanks for the clarification.

Thanks also for the information on the proceedings. Out of respect to the church (and in order not to commit a faux pas), I think I'll refrain from joining in the proceedings and stay glued in my seat throughout (or stand if everyone else stands).

[Yorkie]

So thewhyb, how did your trip go? Prepared to give us a report on your experiences and what you liked/didn't like?

Cheers.

[thewhyb]

So thewhybe, how did your trip go? Can you give us a report on your experiences and what you liked/didn't like?

Cheers.

Hi there Yorkie, I haven't forgotten, and I certainly owe the good folks here a complete review for all the advice rendered. I'll get down to it within a week. Suffering from a bad jet lag now.

For a start, the choirs I visited are Westminster Abbey Choir, King's College Choir, St Paul's Cathedral Choir, and (outside of London, and unrelated to this topic) the Vienna Boys' Choir. I already have a personal favourite in mind.

[Yorkie]

Hi there Yorkie, I haven't forgotten, and I certainly owe the good folks here a complete review for all the advice rendered. I'll get down to it within a week. Suffering from a bad jet lag now.

For a start, the choirs I visited are Westminster Abbey Choir, King's College Choir, St Paul's Cathedral Choir, and (outside of London, and unrelated to this topic) the Vienna Boys' Choir. I already have a personal favourite in mind.

Excellent, looking forward to it

I'm really hoping your favourite wasn't WSK!!! (although to be fair a member of this forum who usually has good taste in music saw them recently (going in with low expectations) and rather enjoyed their performance).

[thewhyb]

Hi there Yorkie, I haven't forgotten, and I certainly owe the good folks here a complete review for all the advice rendered. I'll get down to it within a week. Suffering from a bad jet lag now.

For a start, the choirs I visited are Westminster Abbey Choir, King's College Choir, St Paul's Cathedral Choir, and (outside of London, and unrelated to this topic) the Vienna Boys' Choir. I already have a personal favourite in mind.

Excellent, looking forward to it

I'm really hoping your favourite wasn't WSK!!! (although to be fair a member of this forum who usually has good taste in music saw them recently (going in with low expectations) and rather enjoyed their performance).

To be honest, I also went in with rather low expectations. But as for the conclusion, I'll keep that bit of suspense for now.

[thewhyb]

Apologies for the delay so far. I've finished the write-up on Westminster Abbey Choir, but I thought I'd post everything together. Need just a few days more.