Music

St. Mary's Anglican Church has a fine tradition of music. Choral music of all genres is an integral part of our worship. "Mass for a Country Parish" written by Rosemary Webber is a new musical setting of the Eucharist and is used at St. Mary's.

[Director of Music] [St. Mary's choir] [St. Mary's organ] [Triduum Music]

Director of Music

Beverley Phillips

Contact through the Parish Office

St Mary's Choir

St Marys has a small but enthusiastic choir which practises each Tuesday evening in the Church from 6.30 pm to 8.00pm and sings at the 10 am Parish Mass on Sunday mornings.

St. Mary's Choir welcomes new members.

Choir Commitment

• Tuseday evening practice 6.30 - 8pm
• Sunday morning 9.20am practice, liturgy 10am until 11.15am
• Passiontide and Easter/Advent and Christmas seasons involve the choir in some extra rehearsals and liturgies

Repertoire

• responsorial psalmody from gregorian chant to C20th
• Palestrina motets to contemporary Australian
• unision to 5 part a capella

St Mary's Organ

The original mechanical action organ in St. Mary's was installed by Roberts of Adelaide in 1880 but was converted to electrical action in 1930 By the end of the 1970s its workings were just a tangled mass of rusting wire and the instrument was falling through the floor. It could only play basic hymn melodies, over 200 of its original pipes having been removed in a regrouping of its usable parts around 1970.

In 1983 the parish purchased from the Uniting Church in Queensland the organ which had been in the former Methodist Church at Toowong, Brisbane. This organ had been built in Germany in the 1950s by Werner Bosch Cassel and shipped out to New Zealand. From there it went to Toowong and in 1983 came south to Melbourne and St Marys to undergo apotheosis into its present form.

Danish organ builder Knud Smenge who had just opened his business in Melbourne was engaged by the Parish to rebuild the organ for its new location in St Marys.

This most successful rebuild has given to St Marys a fine fully mechanical action classical instrument which has been described as the gem of Melbournes smaller organs. It has been a great asset to the parish and has been highly comended by many visiting organists from overseas who have performed on it.

Triduum Music

Palm Sunday

Mass setting: Phillips "Pange lingua"

Psalm 31: R Heagney

Motet: "That Virgin's child" Thomas Tallis (1505-1585) Text John Gwynneth (ca.1530)

Organ prelude: "Valet will ich dir geben" JS Bach BWV 735

Organ postlude: "O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde gross" JS Bach BWV 622

Maundy Thursday

Mass setting: P Matthias "Christ Church Mass"

Psalm 116

Introit: "Three holy days enfold us now" C Hayward; text D. Dufner OSB

Motets: "If I, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet" D Lord, "Ubi Caritas" M. Duruflé

Where there is charity and love, there is God. The love of Christ has gathered us together. Let us rejoice and be glad in him. Let us fear and love the living God and let us love each other sincerely from the heart. Amen

Organ prelude: M A Charpentier "Pange lingua"

(no postlude)

Good Friday

Mass responses: Phillips "Pange lingua"

Reproaches: J Gelineau

Motet: "In the departure of the Lord" John Bull (1563-1628), "Drop, drop, slow tears" Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625) Text Phineas Fletcher 1582-1650)

Gospel reflection: Ciacconna from Partita no. 2 in d minor for violin solo, J S Bach BWV 1004, soloist: P Tulloch

(No organ prelude or postlude)

Easter Vigil

Mass setting: "Paschal Mass" R Proulx

Exultet: Plainsong New, G Cox

Psalms: R Heagney & C Willcock

Motet: "Resurrection Jubilee" Glenn L Jones

Organ Postlude: "O Filii et Filiae" J Langlais

Easter Day

Mass setting: "Paschal Mass" R Proulx

Psalm 118: C Willcock

Motet: "Maria Magdalene" (The first day of the week) A Gabrieli (ca 1520-1586) Text Matthew 28:1, 6-7

Organ Prelude: Offertoire for Easter "O Filii et Filiae" F Dandrieu arr for organ E Power Biggs.

Organ Postlude: "Christ ist erstanden" J S Bach

[Director of Music] [St. Mary's choir] [St. Mary's organ] [Triduum Music]

top
email info@stmarys.org.au
last updated : 03-Apr-2009
home