Music at Pusey House
Music at Pusey House continues to flourish with continued sustained effort from the octet, coupled with supportive accompaniment from our Organist Laurence John.
Over the summer we bid a fond farewell to Ley Clerks Emily Brown Gibson, Jacob Clark, Ben Musachio, and Matthew Buchan. In their stead, we have been fortunate to appoint Sula Cotterell (soprano, Choral Scholar at St Peter's College), Finn Blakey (tenor, Choral Exhibitioner at Merton College), Alex Jenkins (tenor, Choir of Lincoln College), and James Tomlinson (bass, Choral Scholar at The Queen's College), and it is a testament to their musicianship that we have been able to create a fine homogeneous sound so early on in the year.
Aside from enriching services with predominantly Renaissance repertoire, 2018-19 saw the choir tackling a broader range of styles which included settings by Matthew Martin (b. 1976), Jehan Alain (1911-40), Jean Langlais (1907-91), and Imogen Holst (1907-84), amongst others. The year saw it's true culmination with the Friends Festival at which the choir sang music by Harris (reflecting our historical link with Christ Church), Morales (our fondness for Iberian polyphony), Gibbons (an Oxford connection), and ending with the Te Deum set in the key of B flat by Stanford.
Plans for the year ahead include a fund raising concert to be held during Hilary Term where the instrumental as well as vocal talents of the choir will be showcased: were are fortunate to have recorder, viol, organ, and theorbo players represented. Our link with St Cross continues with a planned Family Carol Concert during December, featuring our choir.
We have been extremely grateful to the Ousely Trust for having provided the choir with significant financial support, and without which the quality of music within our liturgy would have been diminished. We are now continuing to actively look for other sources of funding, and are always interested to hear from those wishing to help in any way.
Over the summer we bid a fond farewell to Ley Clerks Emily Brown Gibson, Jacob Clark, Ben Musachio, and Matthew Buchan. In their stead, we have been fortunate to appoint Sula Cotterell (soprano, Choral Scholar at St Peter's College), Finn Blakey (tenor, Choral Exhibitioner at Merton College), Alex Jenkins (tenor, Choir of Lincoln College), and James Tomlinson (bass, Choral Scholar at The Queen's College), and it is a testament to their musicianship that we have been able to create a fine homogeneous sound so early on in the year.
Aside from enriching services with predominantly Renaissance repertoire, 2018-19 saw the choir tackling a broader range of styles which included settings by Matthew Martin (b. 1976), Jehan Alain (1911-40), Jean Langlais (1907-91), and Imogen Holst (1907-84), amongst others. The year saw it's true culmination with the Friends Festival at which the choir sang music by Harris (reflecting our historical link with Christ Church), Morales (our fondness for Iberian polyphony), Gibbons (an Oxford connection), and ending with the Te Deum set in the key of B flat by Stanford.
Plans for the year ahead include a fund raising concert to be held during Hilary Term where the instrumental as well as vocal talents of the choir will be showcased: were are fortunate to have recorder, viol, organ, and theorbo players represented. Our link with St Cross continues with a planned Family Carol Concert during December, featuring our choir.
We have been extremely grateful to the Ousely Trust for having provided the choir with significant financial support, and without which the quality of music within our liturgy would have been diminished. We are now continuing to actively look for other sources of funding, and are always interested to hear from those wishing to help in any way.
