St Mary’s Choir: Annual Report 2022

2022 witnessed contrasting occasions ofgreat national celebration and mourning. Significant events marked at St Mary’s have included the Platinum Jubilee of HM The Queen, the 200^th Anniversary of the founding of the University of Wales Trinity St David, the 40^th Anniversary of the Liberation of the Falkland Islands, the death of HM Queen Elizabeth II, and the 150^th anniversary of the birth of composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. St Mary’s Choir has taken a central role locally in all these occasions. All this, in addition to observing a regular schedule of choral services throughout the year with heightened musical involvement during Holy Week as we approach Easter, and for other church festivals.

Choral music through the year at St Mary’s has included classic Anglican music by William Byrd, Thomas Tallis, Henry Purcell, Herbert Howells, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Charles Villiers Stanford, Welsh composers William Mathias and Alun Hoddinott, and continental greats such as Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Haydn, and Tomas Luis da Vittoria.Two newly composed works were sung during the Choral Evensong on the 70^th Anniversary of the Accession of HM Queen Elizabeth II -Behold, O God, our defender by our Director of Music, and an anthem commissioned by the RSCM,In Our Service by Thomas Hewitt Jones. Another specially composed work by our Director of Music,Hark the glad sound! the Saviour comes, was included in the City Carol Service.

On Sunday 9^th October we featured music by the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) as part of a national celebration of the 150th Anniversary of his birth, and in recognition of the distinguished contribution he made to the heritage of church music, particularly through his editorship of The English Hymnal (1904).This was part of a national initiative, RVW150, promoted by The Vaughan Williams Charitable Trust, The Royal School of Church Music, and the publishers of the Revised English Hymnal.An exhibition board positioned at the west end of St Mary’s displayed photographs and information pertinent to his contribution to hymnody and church music.

St Mary’s as a Church is affiliated to the Royal School of Church Music whose mission is to ‘enable the flourishing of church music, thereby bringing people closer to God in worship and encouraging church communities to grow’.On 30^th April, the Director of the RSCM, Hugh Morris visited St Mary’s as part of his UK-wide road trip to all 48 local Areas. At St Mary’s we are pleased to follow the RSCM’s Voice for Life chorister training programme, we regularly sing music published by the RSCM, and involve ourselves in the RSCM’s new initiatives and opportunities as they appear. In August, Emily and Roland attended the RSCM’s Young Persons’ Residential Choral Course for week at Kingswood School, Bath, singing choral services at Bath Abbey. We are especially keen to encourage the development of our junior choristers and congratulate Roland and John who in July were admitted as full choristers and awarded their surplices.

The St Mary’s Choral Scholar Programme has significantly enhanced the music provision at St Mary’s. Our Choral Scholars are all full-time students at Swansea University and are fully integrated in St Mary’s Choir during termtime. As part of their musical training, all the Choral Scholars receive weekly individual singing lessons. A Lunchtime Song Recital on 24^th May by the St Mary’s Choral Scholars showcased solo items and ensemble items learnt through the year including opera, oratorio, and sacred music.Following graduation in the summer, we bade farewell to counter tenor William Playle-de Vries who is now following officer training with the RAF, and in October we welcomed Livia Sullivan as a soprano choral scholar. The scholarship programme is supported financially by a match funding partnership between Swansea University, St Mary’s Church, the Friends of Cathedral Music, and the Swansea St Mary Choral Trust (who in turn has sourced further funding from the Friends of the Swansea Festival of Music and the Arts, and from private donors).

In addition to the commitment and musical contribution of members of the Choir, we are grateful to our team of assistant organists, Andrew Goodwin, Huw Tregelles Williams and Heather James,to Dave Williams, Frank Philips and Ryan Thomas for occasional cover, and to Graham Alsop as guest organist at the City Carol Service. We are also appreciative of members of our chamber orchestra for enriching the musicon Easter Day and for Midnight Mass, andthe trumpeters at the Jubilee Service.

It was a pleasure to welcome Swansea University Chamber Choir to sing Choral Evensongs at St Mary’s on 3rd April and 29^th November, and Vox Angelica for the two choral services on Sunday 21^st August.

In August 2022,Dr William Reynolds achieved a noteworthy twenty years in post as Director of Music & Organist at St Mary’s during which time he has served under five incumbents, most recentlythe Revd Justin Davies inducted in July 2022.I am immensely grateful to those who have actively supported and encouraged the music ministry at St Mary’s during this period.

Dr William Reynolds, Director of Music

St Mary’s Organ: Annual Report 2022

The St Mary’s Organ is in regular use for services, practice, concerts and organ teaching.

A new venture in 2022 was aseries of five weekly Lenten Organ Meditations performed by the Director Music. These formed part of a Thursday evening sequence of ConfirmationClass, Organ Meditation, Lenten Talk from a guest speaker, and Compline.Each recital followed a pattern by including one of the first five Toccatas by Johann JakobFroberger, and a Psalm Prelude by Herbert Howells, with other music inspired by an appropriate scriptural text or hymn.

On Ascension Day it was possible after the enforced break due to Covid for a return of the annual late eveningperformance of Olivier Messiaen Four Symphonic Meditations: L’Ascension, performed by Dr Reynolds.

The 2022 St Mary’s Summer Organ Series consisted of nine weekly lunchtime recitals supported by organists from Wales, England, France and Italy. We are extremely grateful to them for generously giving of their time and musical skillsin supporting the musical life of StMary’s. The retiring collections from the Summer Organ Series support the tunings, upkeep and general maintenance of the magnificent St Mary’s Organ.

The organ’s tuning and maintenance continues in the care of Mr Nick Adams,who earlier in the year attended to essential repairs to a number of damaged reed pipes.

Dr William Reynolds, Director of Music