Views from the Choir Loft

Free Recordings • British Boys’ Choir

Andrew Leung · July 28, 2016

AST NIGHT, I went to a concert featuring the famous boys’ choir of the King’s College, Cambridge. The music was just splendid and beautiful! I have always love the traditional choirs formed by men and boy choristers! Their blending, energy and color is amazing. The concert reminded me of the YouTube channel, Collegium Regale. On this channel, you can find free recordings of the most famous British boys’ choirs, mostly from the choral evensongs and vespers that they performed.

Due to the recent tragedy in France, I thought it would be appropriate to share the following recording, Victoria’s Requiem sung by the Westminster Cathedral Choir at the All Souls’ Day Mass.

There are many more recordings of British Cathedral Choirs and College Choirs. I like to play them as background music as I am working and praying. I hope you would enjoy them. Here are a few recordings of the two famous Catholic boys’ choir in London, the Westminster Cathedral Choir and the London Oratory Choir:

– Choral Vespers from the London Oratory, 30th November 2011

– Choral Vespers from the London Oratory, 11th June 2014

– Choral Vespers from the London Oratory, 20th January 2016

– Choral Vespers from the Westminster Cathedral, 7th November 2012

– Choral Vespers from the Westminster Cathedral, 8th October 2014

– Choral Vespers from the Westminster Cathedral, 1st July 2015

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

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).

6 January 2021 • Anglicans on Plainsong

A book published by Anglicans in 1965 has this to say about Abbat Pothier’s Editio Vaticana, the musical edition reproduced by books such as the LIBER USUALIS (Solesmes Abbey): “No performing edition of the music of the Eucharistic Psalmody can afford to ignore the evidence of the current official edition of the Latin Graduale, which is no mere reproduction of a local or partial tradition, but a CENTO resulting from an extended study and comparison of a host of manuscripts gathered from many places. Thus the musical text of the Graduale possesses a measure of authority which cannot lightly be disregarded.” They are absolutely correct.

—Jeff Ostrowski

2 January 2021 • Temptation

When I see idiotic statements made on the internet, I go nuts. When I see heretics promoted by people who should know better, I get angry. Learning to ignore such items is difficult—very difficult. I try to remember the words of Fr. Valentine Young: “Do what God places in front of you each day.” When I am honest, I don’t believe God wants me to dwell on errors and idiocy; there’s nothing I can do about that. During 2021, I will strive to do a better job following the advice of Fr. Valentine.

—Jeff Ostrowski

31 December 2020 • “COMITES CHRISTI”

The feasts for Saint Stephen Proto-Martyr (26 December), Saint John the Evangelist The Disciple Whom Jesus Loved (27 December), and the Feast of the Holy Innocents (28 December) seem untouched by any liturgical reforms. These are very powerful feasts—I believe they once possessed octaves—and I believe they could sometimes “overpower” a Sunday feast. The rules for octaves in the olden days are extremely complex. These feasts are sometimes referred to as a single entity as: Comites Christi (“Companions of Christ”). This is just a guess, but there seems to be a triple significance: STEPHEN martyred after Christ lived, JOHN was a martyr who knew Christ personally, and the HOLY INNOCENTS were martyred before Christ’s birth.

—Jeff Ostrowski