St Mary’s Music Department Annual Report, 2021

2021 proved another challenging year with the continuation of Covid restrictions, yet the St Mary’s Music Department was able to respond positively with resilience and creativity.

January began with choral services suspended as a precautionary measure in response to a significant local increase of Covid-19 infections. Organ music continued to support the Sunday morning liturgy before each service, at the Offertory, the Communion and at the end of the service. Musical content for the Central Swansea Online Worship continued until June 2021 with an organ voluntary and occasional choral contributions.Choral music returned to services at St Mary’s from Ash Wednesday, though with restricted numbers in the choir. Services were shared between a Choral Scholars’ Team, an Upper Voice Team and a Gentlemen’s Team. Choral Evensong was re-introduced from Passion Sunday, setting two choral services as the weekly Sunday routine and this was maintained consistently throughout the summer term. The liturgies of the Holy Triduum were supported chorally. Tuesday Evensong returned from November 2021, the schedule now back to three choral services a week. Numbers then established themselves at 15, according to risk assessments and social distancing, allowing the singing of a more standard repertoire.

Several significant services punctuated our choir routine included Archbishop John attending on Passion Sunday, ahead of his retirement. ACivic Service of Thanksgiving for HRH Prince Philip took place on Sunday April 18^th with the first performance of a specially composed anthem by William Reynolds - Choral Fanfare: Christ is the Morning Star.

On Monday 14^th June the Gentlemen of the Choir sang at the annual South Atlantic Medals Association Falklands Memorial Service. All Souls Day was observed on Tuesday 2^nd November with a Requiem Mass sung by the Gentlemen of the Choir and the Annual Civic Service of Remembrance was held on Sunday 14^th November. We were delighted to be joined by congregations from across the Afon Tawe Deanery for the Advent Carol Service by Candlelight on Sunday 28th November. Choral Evensong on 12th December featured music by Henry Purcell accompanied by the Cambrian Consort Baroque Strings. The City Carol Service took place on Thursday 16th December, with a first performance of the carol Adam lay ybounden, to a setting by William Reynolds. The choir term ended with the Midnight Mass when we sung Joseph Haydn’s Missa brevis Sancti Joannis de Deo with chamber orchestra accompaniment.

At the Choral Eucharist on 28th May we said thank you and farewell to Canon Ian and Revd Helen after almost five years of ministry among us - Canon Ian taking up a new post as Archdeacon of Monmouth. At the same service, a presentation was made to Prof Tony Davies in recognition and celebration of sixty years as a member of St Mary’s Choir, 1960-2020. At the other end of the spectrum, we welcomed Roland who joined us in June 2021 following the lifting of restrictions on out of school children’s activities and the resumption of junior choir practices. In the summer term we saidthankyou andfarewell to Morgan Darcy Rees- Deacon our soprano choral scholar on her graduation concluding three years study at Swansea University.Also in the summer, Dr Ian Ruttfinished in his role as Director of Music at Swansea University.We are grateful to him for the support he has given to the development of our Choral Scholarship programme, and his involvement at St Mary’s deputising on the organ for services and performing in our Summer Organ Series.

On Sunday 5^th December we officially welcomed three new Choral Scholars from Swansea University into St Mary’s Choir. Sarah Johnson (soprano) studying Computer Science, J-P Ilomuanya (tenor) studying Classics, Stephen Turvey Aguilar (bass) studying Population Health and Medical Sciences. We are delighted that, alongside Will, Charlotte, Nathan, and Dan, we now have a team of seven university Choral Scholars.

We are grateful to our supporters and funders (individual and corporate) for having made this possible, especially a revenue grant of £1,500 received in May from the Cathedral Music Trust. The recognition and financial support given to the St Mary's Music Department from a national body such as the Cathedral Music Trust highlights the importance of music at St Mary's, inspiring support locally. This has given a positive message to all at St Mary's as Covid restrictions are lifted, and renewed enthusiasm for the music in the church.

Our present Choral Scholars bring to St Mary’s a formidable wealth of experience from choirs across the country, including Lichfield Cathedral, Worcester Cathedral, Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, St Mary Redcliffe, Bristol, Jesus College, Oxford, and All Saints, Leamington Spa.

We look forward to involving our Choral Scholars in the life of St Mary’s. During their time with us we will be supporting and encouraging their musical development through the Choir, with the provision of individual singing tuition and though other appropriate musical opportunity. Furthermore, we look to our Choral Scholars as positive role models for our junior Choristers, and to integrate musically and socially with our more established choir membership as part of the choral tradition, worship, and ministry of a major city centre church.

Much new repertoire has been explored over the past year, including several new anthems (including What love is this? Trad. American, arr. Reynolds, and

Hail true body, born of Mary, Plainsong melody, arr. Reynolds). New communion settings have been introduced - the Mass of St Cedd by Peter Nardone, Communion Order One by Peter Aston, St Ann’s Mass by James MacMillan, Faure’s Messe Basse, David Bednall’sSt Martin’s Mass – and Responses by Joanna Forbes L’Estrange.

St Mary’s Church is affiliated to the Royal School of Church Music, and we are keen to utilise RSCM resources and be actively involved. RSCM Music Sunday was celebrated at evensong on 6^th June with a specially commissioned anthem from the RSCM,O God of all creation by Chris Totney. The RSCM Wales Region online Choral Festival took place on Saturday 19^th June from Brecon, Llandaff, and Newport Cathedrals, with Emily Reynolds providing a reading from St Mary’s, Swansea. Preparation for wider participants was via the technologies of MyChoralCoach, a Zoom link for a live afternoon rehearsal, and the actual service broadcast via YouTube. The RSCM publishes its magazine, Church Music Quarterly, which for the September 2021 issue I contributed an article, ‘From choir stalls to Archbishop's throne (via the organ bench)’, outlining the musical influences on the career of the Most Revd John D. E. Davies as Archbishop of Wales.

Education and learning continue to be significant features of the St Mary’s Music Department. During the Covid restrictions I Continued with a weekly email to the choir offering encouragement during these difficult times while advancing a shared interest in our choral heritage. A series of online lectures was produced and broadcast by the RSCM, early in 2021 we subscribed to the Diocese of Leeds Schools Singing Programme and Emily and John have been taking part in their daily online singing activities, and we followed a series of online singing lessons produced by English Touring Opera. The choir was also encouraged towards watching some fascinating BBC Four music documentaries.In May 2021I presented a lecture, ‘Music and Singing in Worship',for the St Padarn's Institute's BTh first year degree module, 'Introducing Anglican Worship'.

The St Mary’s organ remained in regular use for practice, recording and services. Maintenance work on the organ took place in May 2021 to re-leather the pneumatic motors to certain bass notes in the swell organ and re-leathering of two of the bellows.We are grateful to Nick for the maintenance work, the quarterly tunings, and the care he has extended to the St Mary’s organ, also for the loan of a continuo box organ for the Purcell Evensong in December. We were delighted that the Summer Organ Series could once more take place during August, though pared back to five recitals.

I wish to pay tribute to the commitment, flexibility, and co-operation of Choir membersin responding to the constantly changing circumstances presented by Covid., and acknowledge my appreciation of the support, advice, and encouragementextended from the organ bench byAndrew Goodwin, Huw TregellesWilliams, and Heather James. Support has also come from Canon Ian and the clergy team in encouraging the musical life of the church (particularly from Fr John and Fr Sam for their ministry at Evensong) and for pastoral support throughout the challenges presented this past year.

Dr William Reynolds, Director of Music