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Views from the Choir Loft

The Chapel Royal Solemn Vespers is Available on BBC

Andrew Leung · April 1, 2016

CTL Chapel Royal Vespers BOUT TWO MONTHS AGO, the first Catholic liturgies in 450 years was held in the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace. The choral Vespers according to the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite was celebrated by Vincent Cardinal Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster, on February 9. Even though February 9 is not a Marian feast day, the Vespers was dedicated to our Blessed Mother. Over 300 people attended the service.

The music was provided by one of the best choirs in the world, the Sixteen, directed by Harry Christophers. The liturgy was celebrated mainly in Latin (You would think that an ecumenical service with the Anglican Church must be in English, but no! It was in Latin except for the homily, the intercessions and collects.) and the Psalms were chanted with organ accompaniment. The recording of the service is now available on BBC’s Choral Evensong until the end of April.

I am filled with joy to see the Roman Catholic Church and Church of England being united together through music and prayer. There is one interesting thing I noticed about the music selection: Taverner, Cornysh and Tallis are all early English composers who were living during Henry VIII’s reign. The music was truly beautiful, angelic and uplifting! Here is what the cardinal and a few other participants of the choral Vespers have to say about the service and the music:



Let us continue to pray, especially through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of the Church, for the unity of Christ’s body.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Andrew Leung

Andrew Leung currently serves the music director of Vox Antiqua, conductor of the Cecilian Singers, and music director at Our Lady of China Church.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    “Glory To God” • (For Choir + Congregation)
    I wish to thank everyone for the nice comments I received vis-à-vis my Glory To God setting for Choir & Congregation. A gentleman with a musical doctorate from Indiana University wrote: “Love this setting so much. And I will pray, as you asked, for your return to composition more fully. You are very very good.” A female choir director wrote: “I love your harmonizations, your musicality, and the wonderful interplay you have with dissonance and consonance in your music. So fun to listen to, and great for intellect, heart, and soul!” A young woman from California wrote: “Thank you for releasing your new Glory To God in honor of Saint Noel Chabanel. I'm enjoying reading through the various parts and listening to your recordings.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    William Byrd • “Mass for Five Voices”
    Our volunteer choir is learning the “Sanctus” from William Byrd’s Mass for Five Voices. You can hear a short excerpt (recorded last Sunday) but please ignore the sound of babies crying: Mp3 recording. We still have work to do—but we’re on the right track. Once we have some of the tuning issues fixed, I desire to use it as an example proving volunteers can sing complicated polyphony.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Baptism” • A Unique Hymn
    Father Christopher Phillips is the founding Pastor of Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church. One of his hymns is unique and (in my humble opinion) quite beautiful. His hymn is basically a prayer to the Holy Trinity but also speaks of Baptism and the Holy Eucharist. It would be an ideal Communion hymn on Trinity Sunday or the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. You can hear live recording from last Sunday by clicking here.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Thus, by the celebration of a single Mass (in which he offers Jesus Christ in sacrifice), a priest gives greater honor to the Lord than if all men by dying for God offered to him the sacrifice of their lives. By a single Mass, he gives greater honor to God than all the angels and saints—along with the Blessed Virgin Mary—have given or shall give to him; for their worship cannot be of infinite value, like that which the priest celebrating on the altar offers to God.”

— Saint Alphonsus Liguori

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