Music at St Edward's

Music at St Edward’s accompanies Sunday Mass at 11:00, major services such as Midnight Mass and The Easter Vigil. We generally provide an organist and choir for funerals, and, of course, for weddings on request.

We have several organists who rotate the duties between them which means that we are in the happy position to never want for an organist. If you are an organist and would like to play, then please contact Marie Cradock who manages to ensure that we have only one organist every Sunday and no Sundays with none! Clare Corry is our principal organist and she would be very happy to discuss the details with you.

The organ itself is a single manual organ with 8 stops. It was not originally built for St Edward's and is a much later addition, arriving in the 1970s. It was built in about 1920 and carries a small plaque which reads: ‘Robert Spurden Rutt, Organ Builder, Leyton, London, E.’

It was extensively rebuilt in 1996 under the guidance of Bramwell Bourne who was the organist at the time. The rebuilding involved adding several new pipes in the bass which involved blocking off the north window , adding a two-and-a-half octave pedal board, converting the controls from being purely mechanical to being partially electronic and painting the display pipes at the front of the organ gold. We are currently researching the archives to try and find out more about its history and would welcome any input you may be able to make. It is situated in a loft above the entrance hall at the back of the nave which is where the choir sings from as well.

The Choir

Our choir consists of about 8 sopranos (of whom generally only about five are on duty for any one service), three altos, two tenors and two basses. We always welcome new singers and you do not have to audition to join. Only about half of the choir can read music and the others learn their parts by ear.

Our choirs heritage is greatly indebted to Sister Anna from St Mary's convent who was our musical director for several years and who had many battles with Fr Jeanneau to introduce different music, for example into the Easter liturgy.

We have a repertoire of four masses and about 30 or so Motets which we tend to sing during communion. We rotate them and try and add new material throughout the year. We generally sing the Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus and Agnus Dei with the congregation, mostly in English but occasionally in Latin. We also sing the psalm between the readings and the Alleluia before the Gospel. We use The New Church Anthem book extensively but we have many other sources as well. Some of our current motets are listed at the bottom of this page. The congregation uses the Liturgical Hymns Old and New book.

There are currently two Choir Practices each week – one on Tuesday morning at 10:30 for those who really can’t make the Friday one which is at 7:30 in the evening, both held in St Edward’s. For more important occasions we add extra joint rehearsals on an ad hoc basis. Occasionally the times of practices change to accommodate services but that is very rare.

Joining the Choir
The only real qualification for joining the choir is that you have to be able to climb the steep and narrow spiral stone staircase to the organ loft! If you can read music then that is a bonus but don’t worry if you can’t, we will happily help you through.
To find out more, please feel free to contact Marie Cradock either by email or by phone. Her phone number is 01747 852313. Or, simply turn up to one of the choir practices!

Our Communion Motets include:

A Gaelic Blessing – Rutter
Adoro Te – Moreno
Adoramus Te, Domine - Jacques Berthier
Adoramus Te, Domine Deus - Margaret Rizza
Agnus Dei – Byrd
Agnus Dei – Faure
Agnus Dei – Terry
The Alleluyas of St James – French carol melody
Ave Verum – Elgar
Ave Verum – Mozart
Ave Verum – Plainchant
Awake thou wintry earth – JS Bach
Bless the Lord, my soul - Jacques Berthier
Blessed are the pure in heart - Walford Davies
Bread of life from heaven - Argentinian, arr. Marty Haugen
Call to remembrance – Farrant
Cantique de Jean Racine – Faure
Calm me Lord - Margaret Rizza
Carol of the Atonement – English trad.
Cantate Domino – Pitoni
Come, Holy Ghost – Attwood
Christus Factus Est - Anerio
Dona Nobis Pacem – unk.
Eat this bread - Jacques Berthier
Exultate Justi – da Verdana
Fairest Lord Jesus – Silesian, arr. M How
God be in my head – Walford Davies
God so loved the world – Stainer
Holy, Holy, Holy – Schubert
Holy, Holy, Holy – Tchaikovsky
If ye love me – Tallis
Jesu, Joy of man's desiring – JS Bach
Jesus, you are the bread - Bernadette Farrell
La Sagesse - Pere Andre Gouzes, O.P.
Laudate Dominum - Mozart
Laudate Dominum - Jacques Berthier
Lead me Lord – SS Wesley
Locus Iste – Bruckner
Not on bread alone - Stephen Dean
One Bread, one Body - John Foley S.J.
O taste and see – Vaughan Williams
Panis Angelicus – Franck
Panis Angelicus – Moreno
Taste and see - Anne Ward
The Lord Bless you and keep you - Rutter
The strife is o'er – Ley
Turn thy face from my sins – Attwood
Virgin born, we bow before you - Bourgeois

Organists, Choirmasters & Musical Directors

For many years we had no organist at all. Details of them are sketchy but as far as we can remember, the principal ones have been:

Paddy Russill (responsible for the installation of the organ)
Alison Johnstone
Theo Hetherington
Sister Anna (responsible for building up the repertoire)
Bramwell Bourne (responsible for overseeing the rebuilding of the organ)
Clare Corry