Society of Saint Gregory

I'm having a go at learning to play the Gloria from the Psallite Mass, as I know it from the Cathedral and like it. (and on a separate point, looking at introducing it at my local parish church, to replace the Salazar setting we currently use.) Can I ask if I am playing the right chords here, in re...

I'm having a go at learning to play the Gloria from the Psallite Mass, as I know it from the Cathedral and like it. (and on a separate point, looking at introducing it at my local parish church, to replace the Salazar setting we currently use.) Can I ask if I am playing the right chords here, in ref...

Have to admit 'O Bread of Heaven' isn't one of my favourites, it somehow just came into my head! I do like a lot of the old Anglican hymns, but also quite fond of some of the stuff that came after the folky '70s era; things like the St Thomas More Group and Bob Hurd, Dan Feiton, John Bell, Michael ...

Thanks both. I don't think I'm quite at that point, mcb, but I can at least get a reasonable idea of how most of the psalm refrains will go by looking at the stave, before we start singing them! I particularly like your sanctus setting and 'Rejoice forever'. Thanks for the heads up about Anthony; I'...

I don't play any other instrument and whilst I don't sing in a choir, I have plenty of experience of singing in the church congregation; specifically at my local cathedral, which is renowned for its diverse approach to the music. This has definitely helped me to 'get the ear for it' and I can sing q...

Hello pdfsd, I would be interested to know if you played the tune of O Bread of Heaven from the notes in front of you, or simply by remembering what you have heard. Are you a young beginner, or a mature person who has not played an instrument before? It is never too late to start, and always worthw...

Thanks. I have an old (mid 90s) Yamaha keyboard at home which still works, but our local church has a small Makin which may be available to have a play around on. Would it suffice to just get to know the keyboard and become comfortable with playing it before moving onto the organ, without going thro...

As someone who is right at the bottom (and no idea whether I even have a natural 'gift' for playing), can I please ask whether or not it is important to learn the piano first before learning to play the organ?

Thanks so much mcb - excellent info! Thanks also to everyone else. I have managed to find a very brief recording of part of an ecumenical service held at the cathedral in early 2000 and an organ can be heard accompanying, albeit not very clearly. Was the pipe organ still in situ at this point? I att...

I'm just asking if anyone has any vivid memories of playing the old pipe organ at Salford Cathedral, or of it being played? What were its main strengths and weaknesses? Was it heavy on the ears or a tame instrument? I can't find any old recordings of it on youtube unfortunately, although it is a few...

Some hymns can sound better sung during the Preparation of the Gifts than as a Processional/Recessional hymn. I can think of a few; 'O worship the Lord', 'Surrexit Christus' by Taize, 'The Servant King' (especially on Palm Sunday) and 'Will you come and follow me' by John Bell.

We have a good 2-manual Makin digital organ in our church, installed in 1997 and with three decent sized exterior speakers (I think one is for the pedal board), it can sound pretty awesome when full organ and is probably slightly too powerful for an average-sized 1920s church building. It is fairly ...

I don't choose the music in my parish, although I do have some input through requests every so often. These are 20 hymns we have sung probably around 5 times or more in at least 1 of the last 3 years, in no particular order: Praise my soul the King of heaven All people that on earth do dwell Tell ou...

Started at 6.30, finished at about 7.55, still light at the end! The Exsultet was sung in full but we didn't have a fire and just had the 3 readings before the Gloria (Genesis, Exodus and Isaiah) and the psalms were (sadly) spoken which made up some time. Wandering off topic slightly but I have to s...

More than likely we'll start off with Away in a Manger for the procession to the Crib, followed by O come all ye faithful as the opening hymn, that's what we've done the last few years. Have to say I'm not a fan of Away in a Manger, I cringe a bit whenever we sing it - we usually sing it a couple mo...