Great choral music from Purcell to Dove

St John’s Church, Baildon

Saturday 20 June, 7.00pm

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• Welcome
• If you’re new to classical concerts
• Practical information
• Music listing
• Overview
• About the music – text, translation and notes
• About St Peter’s Singers

Welcome

Welcome to this concert of great choral music given in the lovely setting of St John’s Church in Baildon. The title ‘Songs of Praise’, while a little bit cheeky in its reference to the popular TV programme, correctly describes a selection of music composed over five centuries for singing praise to God.

The tradition of choral music for worship is rich in deeply emotional music expressing lament, sorrow, penitence and suffering, and we can sometimes forget just how uplifting and joyful the music of praise can be, for listener and singer alike. Today’s programme presents some of the finest English church choral music, composed over the course of five centuries. We hope you enjoy this rich and varied programme.

This post gives some background relating to the music as well as the text, an English translation, and some notes about each piece which we hope will prove interesting and make listening more enjoyable and rewarding. You will find that some unusual words are highlighted with a dotted line – just click or tap to see an explanation.

However, it is quite possible to enjoy the music by just sitting back and letting the sound wash over you. We invite you to listen in the way that feels most engaging to you — whether following the text, observing the performers, or simply letting the music fill the space around you. If you wish to applaud, that will be most welcome at the end of each piece.

Please note that audio and video recording of this concert is not permitted.

If you’re new to classical concerts…

we’re really glad you’re here! Classical concerts can feel a little different if you haven’t been to many before. They’re calmer, more spacious, and built around close listening rather than spectacle. You don’t need any background knowledge to enjoy them. Just settle in, let the sound unfold, and take the experience at your own pace.

Fun fact: We call this a “classical” concert, but none of tonight’s music is from the Classical period (1750–1830, the era of Mozart, Beethoven and Haydn). “Classical” has simply become a convenient umbrella term for centuries of Western art music, even though the styles within it vary hugely.

What to expect: tonight’s music was written to be sung during church services, usually services held in Anglican (Church of England) cathedrals. English cathedrals have a long tradition of maintaining a professional choir to sing at services; many of these choirs are absolutely outstanding. The English Choral tradition is famous and respected around the world.

A concert like tonight’s is not a church service and so it takes the music out of its original context, but this allows you to listen and enjoy its beauty. If you connect with it, you can listen further in other concerts or online, or if you want to hear it in its original context, try a service of Choral Evensong at a Cathedral such as Bradford or York Minster.

Not sure when to clap? Just follow the room, no pressure to get it “right”.

You can find out more about what to expect here.

In case this is your first encounter with this kind of music, we hope it opens a door and we’d love to hear what you made of it afterwards. Now sit back and enjoy the performance!

Practical information

There will be an interval of 20 minutes, during which refreshments will be served in the adjoining church hall.

The church is accessible for wheelchairs, which due to the fixed pews are accommodated separately. There are accessible toilets, and there is parking for disabled drivers.

Find out more about St Peter’s Singers and what to expect at a St Peter’s Singers concert

Programme

O Sing unto the Lord	Henry Purcell
My beloved spake	Henry Purcell
Ascribe unto the Lord	Samuel Sebastian Wesley
Justorum animae	Charles Villiers Stanford
Beati quorum via	Charles Villiers Stanford
Coelos ascendit hodie	Charles Villiers Stanford

Interval of 20 minutes

during which refreshments will be served

Jubilate in C	Benjamin Britten
Rejoice in the Lamb	Benjamin Britten
My beloved spake	Patrick Hadley
Seek him that maketh the seven stars	Jonathan Dove
Rejoice in the Lord always	Andrew Carter

St Peter’s Singers

Alexander Woodrow conductor

Overview

The music chosen for this concert has been written over the course of five centuries, starting with Purcell in the late 1600s and moving right through to the present day. You will be able to hear how the styles have changed and evolved, not just in the singing, but in the organ accompaniments as well.

Some of the music is set to Latin words. Latin was the language used by the Church until the Reformation and the founding of the Church of England. It is still used occasionally, usually when music set to Latin words is used. You will find an English translation below alongside the Latin original.

Texts and Translations

O Sing unto the Lord

Henry Purcell (1659-95)

This is the first of two verse anthems, originally for strings and voices, played on the organ in today’s performance. Verses sung by soloists or semi-chorus alternate with sections for the whole choir.

Composed in 1688, and based on Psalm 96, O Sing unto the Lord is one of Purcell’s later works, showing Italianate influence, with antiphony between the soloists and chorus and between organ and chorus. The opening organ section is particularly inventive.

There is a ground bass in the solo alto section “The Lord is great” which continues throughout the following instrumental section.

The addition of numerous Alleluias into the original text, to be sung by the chorus, is like Purcell’s own signature and occurs in many of his anthems. In this case he also omitted some of the text of the Psalm and moved one of the verses. The anthem by SS Wesley later in the programme uses some of the omitted verses as well as some of those used here.

Soloists: Debbie Trigg soprano, Joanna Gamble alto, Robert Ulrich tenor, Quentin Brown bass

Text

O sing unto the Lord a new song [Alleluia]; sing unto the Lord, all the whole earth.[Alleluia]
Sing unto the Lord, and praise his Name; be telling of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his honour unto the heathen, and his wonders unto all peoples.
Glory and worship are before him; power and honour are in his sanctuary.
The Lord is great, and cannot worthily be praised; he is more to be feared than all gods.
As for all the gods of the heathen, they are but idols; but it is the Lord that made the heavens.
O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness; let the whole earth stand in awe of him.
Tell it out among the heathen, that the Lord is King, and that it is he who hath made the round world so fast that it cannot be moved; and how that he shall judge the peoples righteously. [Alleluia]

From Psalm 96

My beloved spake (before 1678

Henry Purcell (1659-95)

My Beloved Spake is an antiphonal verse anthem with two “Symphonies” and ritornelli for string orchestra (played on the organ today) – the verses are sung by soloists alternating with choral passages and solo organ passages.

It was an early piece, written when Purcell was still a teenager and astonishing in its maturity, with some wonderful harmonic writing. The ritornello between the first two verses is in F major and for dramatic effect Purcell modulates (moves) straight from an F major chord to an F minor chord, with no warning, for the text “for lo, the winter is past”. The next two verses, about flowers opening and birds singing, are in F major as are the choruses and the instrumental ritornello. When the soloists sing “And the voice of the turtle” there is an even more dramatic leap from F major to F minor. An F major chord is followed immediately by a D flat major chord, the highest note F being common to both. This was an extraordinary leap for its time. (The turtle is usually interpreted as a turtledove.)

There will be another setting of these words from the Song of Solomon later in the concert.

Soloists: Constanze Hartley alto, John Scholey tenor, Quentin Brown bass, Richard Pascoe bass

Text

My beloved spake, and said unto me,
Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.
For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;
The flowers appear on the earth;
the time of the singing of birds is come,
and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;
The fig-tree putteth forth her green figs,
and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell.
Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.

From the Song of Solomon (also sometimes known as the Song of Songs)

Ascribe unto the Lord

Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810-76)

Wesley was the illegitimate son of Samuel Wesley who followed the unorthodox views on marriage promoted by Martin Madan, of the fashionable nonconformist Lock Chapel; he was also the grandson of Charles Wesley, the distinguished Methodist hymn-writer. His father was an ardent enthusiast for the music of Johann Sebastian Bach (acquiring a very early copy of the B Minor Mass) and named his son after him.

Arguably the leading Church musician of the early Victorian period, the younger Wesley was organist at the cathedrals of Hereford, Winchester, Exeter and Gloucester, and from 1842 at the newly built Leeds Parish Church (now Leeds Minster), where St Peter’s Singers rehearse.

He composed mainly for the Church of England, showing an intuitive sense of natural word-stress and phrasing, and using textual and musical narrative together with varieties of vocal texture. All of these can be heard in this anthem, which, like the first of Purcell’s anthems heard earlier, uses texts from Psalm 96, combined with parts of Psalm 115.

This year we mark the 150^th anniversary of Wesley’s death.

Text

Ascribe unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of the people : ascribe unto the Lord worship and power.
Ascribe unto the Lord the honour due unto his Name.
Let the whole earth stand in awe of him.
Tell it out among the heathen that the Lord is King : and that he shall judge the people righteously.
Let the whole earth stand in awe of him.

O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
Sing to the Lord, and praise his Name : be telling of his salvation from day to day, and his wonders unto all people.

As for the gods of the heathen, they are but idols.
Their idols are silver and gold : even the work of men’s hands.
They have mouths, and speak not : eyes have they, and see not.
They have ears, and hear not : noses have they, and smell not.
They have hands, and handle not; feet have they, and walk not : neither speak they through their throat.
They that make them are like unto them : and so are all such as put their trust in them.

As for our God, he is in heaven : he hath done whatsoever pleased him.

The Lord hath been mindful of us, and he shall bless us : he shall bless the house of Israel, he shall bless the house of Aaron.
He shall bless them that fear the Lord : both small and great.
Ye are the blessed of the Lord : you and your children.
Ye are the blessed of the Lord : who made heaven and earth.

From Psalm 96 & Psalm 115

Charles Villiers Stanford came from Ireland but spent his working life in London. Although responsible for some of the finest music in the Anglican tradition, his music has been somewhat eclipsed on the bigger stage by that of his contemporary Elgar, and his pupils Vaughan Williams and Holst.

A curious person might wonder why so much church music is still written in Latin. It was the official liturgical language of the Catholic Church until 1963, but it has never been part of the Protestant tradition. There are several reasons, including: composers look back on a long tradition of beautiful church music and want to continue it; although there are no native Latin speakers, it is a universal language in use for various purposes and church choirs across the world are familiar with it – this makes for easier access and performances; its rounded vowels and regular syllabic stresses make it a beautiful language for singers. For some, it may evoke a sense of mystery.

Latin settings may have been a very natural approach for Stanford who was brought up in Dublin; though not a Catholic he would have been surrounded by Catholic church music and traditions.

These three a cappella Motets were written in the last decades of the 19^th-century when Stanford was a teacher at the Royal College of Music in London.

Justorum animae

A setting for a four-part choir (SATB) using text from the Book of Wisdom, with two outer sections of peace and a middle section of turmoil.

Text

Justorum animae in manu Dei sunt, et non tanget illos tormentum mortis. Visi sunt oculis insipientium mori, illi autem sunt in pace. Book of Wisdom Ch 3

The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them. In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died, but they are at peace. translation: New Revised Standard Version

Beati quorum via

A meditative setting of a paraphrased Psalm 119 for a 6-part choir (SSATBB). The opening melodic theme is followed by a second one and the two are then combined, after a “mindful moment” when all movement ceases on the repeated word beati.

Text

Beati quorum via integra est, qui ambulant in lege Domini. From Psalm 119

Happy are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord. translation: New Revised Standard Version

Coelos ascendit hodie

Based on a 14^th century German hymn. The 8-part choir sings antiphonally as two 4-part choirs, coming together for the final Amen.

Text

Coelos ascendit hodie Jesus Christus Rex Gloriae: Sedet ad Patris dexteram, Gubernat coelum et terram. Iam finem habent omnia Patris Davidis carmina. Iam Dominus cum Domino Sedet in Dei solio: In hoc triumpho maximo Benedicamus Domino. Laudatur Sancta Trinitas, Deo dicamus gratias, Alleluia. Amen. Anon, 12th century hymn

Jesus Christ, the King of Glory, has ascended today into the heavens. He sits at the right hand of the Father and rules heaven and earth. Now all the psalms of David, our father, are fulfilled. Now the Lord sits with the Lord on the seat of God. In this greatest of triumphs let us bless the Lord. The Holy Trinity be glorified. Let us give thanks to God. Alleluia. Amen

Interval of 20 minutes

during which refreshments will be served

Jubilate in C

Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)

Britten, who died 50 years ago, was arguably one of the finest word setters of his generation. This setting of Psalm 100 was composed at the request of Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and it was played at his funeral in 2021. Although it was written for St George’s Chapel, Windsor, its first performance was in Leeds Parish Church in 1961. The organ obbligato runs around in scales, contributing to the sense of general rejoicing.

There is a characteristic harmonic shift on the words “be thankful unto him” which is marked “very quietly” and in the Key of E major, emphasised by the choir singing repeated chords, before returning to the more joyful material.

Text

O be joyful in the Lord, all ye lands :
serve the Lord with gladness, and come before his presence with a song.
Be ye sure that the Lord he is God :
it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
O go your way into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise :
be thankful unto him, and speak good of his Name.
For the Lord is gracious, his mercy is everlasting :
and his truth endureth from generation to generation.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son :
and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be :
world without end. Amen.

Rejoice in the Lamb

Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)

Britten was always sympathetic to outsiders, people on the margins of society – “non-standard” people. This Cantata was written concurrently with Peter Grimes, whose eponymous central figure was hounded by his fellow townsmen. Rejoice in the Lamb is a setting of part of a poem by the 18^th century poet Christopher Smart who spent some years in an asylum due to mental illness. His poetry is certainly “non-standard”, finding witty and idiosyncratic ways of celebrating the creator God that must have bemused his readers.

Smart managed to find inspiration from his asylum surroundings, citing his cat Jeoffry, mice and flowers amongst all sorts of other creatures, in addition to the Old Testament characters Nimrod, Ishmael, Balaam, Ithamar, Jakim and David.

In the section beginning “For I am under the same accusation” Smart was speaking of his own tribulations and Britten quotes the signature motif of Shostakovich, DSCH, (here transposed up a major third) as a gesture of solidarity with a composer struggling against Stalin’s regime. (In German musical notation ‘S’ means E flat, and ‘H’ means B natural – listen out for the phrase ‘Silly fellow’, which uses these notes D-E flat-C-B).

Britten immersed himself in 16^th and 17^th-century English composers and the “Hallelujahs” are a nod in the direction of Purcell.

Soloists: Hilary Dewhurst soprano, Joanna Gamble alto, Angus McAllister tenor, Quentin Brown bass

Text

Rejoice in God, O ye Tongues;
Give the glory to the Lord,
And the Lamb.
Nations, and languages,
And every Creature
In which is the breath of Life.
Let man and beast appear before him,
And magnify his name together.

Let Nimrod, the mighty hunter,
Bind a leopard to the altar
And consecrate his spear to the Lord.

Let Ishmail dedicate a tyger,
And give praise for the liberty
In which the Lord has let him at large.

Let Balaam appear with an ass,
And bless the Lord his people
And his creatures for a reward eternal.

Let Daniel come forth with a lion,
And praise God with all his might
Through faith in Christ Jesus.

Let Ithamar minister with a chamois,
And bless the name of Him
That cloatheth the naked.

Let Jakim with the satyr
Bless God in the dance,
Dance, dance, dance.

Let David bless with the bear
The beginning of victory to the Lord,
To the Lord the perfection of excellence.

Hallelujah, hallelujah,
Hallelujah for the heart of God,
And from the hand of the artist inimitable,
And from the echo of the heavenly harp
In sweetness magnifical and mighty.
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah.

For I will consider my cat Jeoffry.
For he is the servant of the living God.
Duly and daily serving him.

For at the first glance
Of the glory of God in the East
He worships in his way.
For this is done by wreathing his body
Seven times round with elegant quickness.
For he knows that God is his saviour.
For God has bless’d him
In the variety of his movements.
For there is nothing sweeter
Than his peace when at rest.

For I am possessed of a cat,
Surpassing in beauty,
From whom I take occasion
To bless Almighty God.

For the Mouse is a creature
Of great personal valour.
For this is a true case–
Cat takes female mouse,
Male mouse will not depart,
but stands threat’ning and daring.
If you will let her go,
I will engage you,
As prodigious a creature as you are.

For the Mouse is a creature
Of great personal valour.
For the Mouse is of
An hospitable disposition.

For the flowers are great blessings.
For the flowers are great blessings.
For the flowers have their angels,
Even the words of God’s creation.
For the flower glorifies God
And the root parries the adversary.
For there is a language of flowers.
For the flowers are peculiarly
The poetry of Christ.

For I am under the same accusation
With my Savior,
For they said,
He is besides himself.
For the officers of the peace
Are at variance with me,
And the watchman smites me
With his staff.
For the silly fellow, silly fellow,
Is against me,
And belongeth neither to me
Nor to my family.
For I am in twelve hardships,
But he that was born of a virgin
Shall deliver me out of all,
Shall deliver me out of all.

For H is a spirit
And therefore he is God.
For K is king
And therefore he is God.
For L is love
And therefore he is God.
For M is musick
And therefore he is God.
And therefore he is God.

For the instruments are by their rhimes,
For the shawm rhimes are lawn fawn and the like.
For the shawm rhimes are moon boon and the like.
For the harp rhimes are sing ring and the like.
For the harp rhimes are ring string and the like.
For the cymbal rhimes are bell well and the like.
For the cymbal rhimes are toll soul and the like.
For the flute rhimes are tooth youth and the like.
For the flute rhimes are suit mute and the like.
For the bassoon rhimes are pass class and the like.
For the dulcimer rhimes are grace place and the like.
For the clarinet rhimes are clean seen and the like.
For the trumpet rhimes are sound bound and the like.

For the trumpet of God is a blessed intelligence
And so are all the instruments in Heav’n.
For God the Father Almighty plays upon the harp
Of stupendous magnitude and melody.
For at that time malignity ceases
And the devils themselves are at peace.
For this time is perceptible to man
By a remarkable stillness and serenity of soul.

Hallelujah, hallelujah,
Hallelujah for the heart of God,
And from the hand of the artist inimitable,
And from the echo of the heavenly harp
In sweetness magnifical and mighty.
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah.

My beloved spake

Patrick Hadley (1899-1973)

An underrated composer, Hadley was a teacher at the Royal College of Music and then Professor at Cambridge University. This short anthem was written for a student, Ursula Grotrian, for her wedding and was first performed in Ripon Cathedral. Ursula chose the text. Hadley later suggested modestly that it might be suitable for performance in the spring. We think it can be performed and enjoyed at any time of the year!

It is a very tender setting, very different from Purcell’s, keeping the most dramatic music for the words “Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away”, notwithstanding some beautiful harmonies throughout the piece.

Text

My beloved spake, and said unto me,
Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.
For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;
The flowers appear on the earth;
the time of the singing of birds is come,
and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;
The fig-tree putteth forth her green figs,
and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell.
Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.

From the Song of Songs

Seek him that maketh the seven stars

Jonathan Dove (born 1959)

Jonathan Dove’s own programme notes say, “The anthem begins with a musical image of the night sky, a repeated organ motif of twinkling stars that sets the choir wondering who made them. The refrain ‘Seek him’ starts in devotional longing but is eventually released into a joyful dance, finally coming to rest in serenity.”

Soloist: Sarah Rushton soprano

Text

Seek him that Maketh the Seven Stars Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion
And turneth the shadow of death into the morning.
Alleluia, yea, the darkness shineth as the day, the night is light about me.

From Amos Ch 5 and Psalm 139

Rejoice in the Lord always

Andrew Carter (1939-2026)

Carter, who died in January this year, was a chorister in York Minster early in his career and later founded and directed the Chapter House Choir. 

This setting of words from Philippians is joyful and energetic, with jaunty cross rhythms alternating between duplets and triplets, typical of Carter’s music.

Soloist: David Hawkin bass

Text

Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

From St Paul’s Letter to the Philippians Ch 4

About St Peter’s Singers

Founded in 1977, St Peter’s Singers has enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship with Leeds Minster, and its predecessor Leeds Parish Church. Directed until 2021 by Dr Simon Lindley, and since then by Alexander Woodrow, it performs a wide selection of mostly sacred choral music ranging from the Renaissance to the present day, promoting little-known gems alongside better-known repertoire, and embracing everything from chamber-scale a cappella works to large-scale Passions and Oratorios with Orchestra.

The Choir has a distinguished record of commissioning new works from the likes of Michael Hurd, Francis Jackson, Phillip Moore and Simon Lindley, and was privileged to give the first performances of Penthos, a new Requiem created by two of its members, Hannah Stone (poet) and Matthew Oglesby (composer).

Recordings include One Equal Music (2014), sacred music recorded in the sensational acoustics of one of the premium shopping centres in the North of England, and (jointly with the Choir of Leeds Minster) The Saviour (2025), previously unrecorded music by William Lloyd Webber.

2027 brings our 50th anniversary which we hope to celebrate in a fitting manner!

Visit our website to find out more