Music In The Parish
Since the opening of the church the parish has enjoyed a good musical tradition, growing and adapting over the years, in line with the church’s vision of music in the Liturgy, and the resources available to each generation.
Even during World War II the Sunday tradition of sung Mass was maintained along with Benediction. In fact, a gramophone recording of some Advent, Lent and Easter music was made and sent to the troops in France! Many things have happened since then, including Vatican II and the revised liturgy, the renewal of Plainsong and the introduction of new music into the church.
The parish is proud to have a thriving Music Department, headed by the Director of Music, David Gridley, and Assistant Director of Music, Michael Scoble.
The choir consists of approximately 12 members, who lead the music at the 11am Mass each Sunday, special occasions in the church’s year, and at monthly Choral Evening Prayer & Benediction. This is usually the 3rd Sunday of the month at 6 pm.
Music in the repertoire spans a thousand years, from plainsong settings of the 11th century to the music of the 21st century, covering both new and traditional Roman Catholic liturgical music as well as the best of the British choral heritage of our fellow Christian denominations. New compositions of liturgical texts are regularly commissioned for use here by our Director of Music and others such as Mervyn Cousins.
In 2001, 2003, 2007 and again in 2009 our choir accepted invitations to visit and sing in the Catholic Cathedrals of St. Peter and Paul, Clifton (in Bristol) (July 2001), and the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King, Liverpool. This is an interesting link, considering choirs from Bristol and Bath sang at the opening of this fine Victorian Gothic revival church, and the Oblate Fathers who staffed this parish for many years whose Order had a strong link with Liverpool.
During the week in August 2007 which we were in residence to sing the services at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, we also sang Choral Evening Prayer at the recently re-opened Monastery of St. Francis & Gorton in Manchester. This was the first Roman Catholic service to be sung in that fine Pugin Church since its closure for divine worship over ten years ago. This was a high point of our trip ‘up North’ and a moving occassion for us and members of the local community in this Manchester suburb. Due to the success of this visit, we returned again to Gorton in August 2009.
The choir sees these visits as an important part of their gospel outreach.
New choir members are always welcome, and further details can be obtained by contacting the Director of Music via the Presbytery office, or on 07887 608113.