Choir and music at St Matthew's
Choir
The
enthusiastic choir currently consists of 9 adults and one junior but it is
augmented by visiting family and friends from time to time. They are ably led by John Daffarn,
our long-suffering and talented Musical Director. The choir generally wear robes
(except Family Service) and sing at the 10.30am service most Sundays (except
during August). They also sing at evening services from time to time and at
other services on special occasions.
Anyone is welcome to come along and join in, although you do need to be able to sing in tune, and we pride ourselves on the standard of music making we achieve. It is not unknown for all of the choir items at the Carol Service to be unaccompanied.
The choir has a large and constantly expanding repertoire
from Mozart to Mould and Tye to Taize. There is much good and much bad in both old and new
hymnology. At St Matthew's we try to have a mixture of traditional hymns and
modern worship songs, so that we don't get bogged down in trends or one style of
music. The important thing is to keep sight of the aims and purpose of music in
church, that is to enhance and deepen worship to the glory of God.
In order to be able to sing to the best of our
ability, it is important to be committed to practice, which takes place on
Friday evenings at 6.30pm in church.
We are keen to expand the junior
section of the choir, which children may join from the age of 7. We aim to enable young people to enjoy making music together while providing a good musical training.
The choir is affiliated to the Royal School of
Church Music (RSCM) so it is possible for choir members to take part in
specially organised courses and training schemes leading to the RSCM Voice for
Life awards. This aims to develop understanding in five main areas:
* Using the Voice Well: vocal skills
* Musical Skills and Understanding: general musical skills
* Repertoire: understanding the pieces you sing
* Belonging to the Choir: commitment and responsibility
* Choir in Context: understanding the role of music and the choir
If you think you would enjoy singing with us, please come and join in.
If you would like more
information click here to send an email which
will be passed on to the appropriate person.
The organ
When St Matthew's was first built, singing was accompanied by a harmonium. The first pipe organ was installed in 1883 and consisted of Great and Swell manuals, pedal board and 12 stops. In 1961 the organ was completely re-built and a separate console installed. The present organ consists of Great and Swell manuals, a pedal board and 19 speaking stops with 3 couplers.
The organ is used to accompany the more traditional hymns and the sung parts of the service.
The music group
The more modern worship songs are accompanied by the small but enthusiastic music group. Currently the music group is small and we are always on the look out for more talent. We have an increasing repertoire and are currently looking at how we can enhance our worship further with the limited resources available.