Even More than Hymns – Preparing for Choral Classics

Gerard Sekoto, Choir Singers

It was a great joy to lead Choral Classics at St Stephen Walbrook on 23rd September, which you can watch at this link. Our theme then was ‘More than Hymns’ – Choral settings of some of our favourite hymns. Preparing for Choral Classics involves finding out about the music being performed and selecting two poems or readings that fit the theme, ensuring the choral works and the script to link them together lasts between fifteen and twenty minutes. This post contains some of the information I didn’t have enough time to include in the script for the service and shows some of the alternative options I considered for the two readings.

Choral Classics - More than Hymns

It was a great pleasure to introduce Choral Classics at St Stephen Walbrook today, live in church on Thursday 23rd September 2021 and broadcast online on Monday 27th September 2021. My script is below. You can watch the recording below (the video will not appear in ‘mobile view’ – please click “view web version” at the bottom of the home page if reading on a tablet or phone) or watch on YouTube at this link.

Daily Devotion - There's a wideness in God's mercy

Jesus and Peter on the Water by Gustave Brion, 1863

A Daily Devotion written for St Stephen's Rochester Row. You can read all the Daily Devotions on the church website at this link.

It was wonderful to be back at St Stephen’s Rochester Row to celebrate Jeremy Cavanagh’s ordination to the Diaconate and a great treat to sing a hymn again for the first time in six months - and quite appropriate to sing this particular hymn in the great outdoors!