Bury Parish Church

Bury Parish Church is fortunate in its long tradition of offering a high standard of music, both in organ playing and in its choral work.We have a substantial number of adults and younger choristers, all of whom strive for the highest standards under the leadership of the Director of Music and Organist, Mr David Scott-Thomas (pictured left).  We are also have the services of an assistant organist; John Ellis. 

The choir rehearses each Friday evening and assists the worship at both the Sunday Family Communion Service at 10.05am and Evensong at 6.30pm.

It also can be present at weddings and funerals, when requested, and provides music at concerts, services on special occasions, festivals and at events organised by, amongst others, the Prayer Book Society and The Royal School of Church Music. It sang the services for a week at Worcester Cathedral in the summer of 2005;  in addition to visiting Windsor in 2006 and Bristol in 2008. This required a good deal of fund raising by the choir to pay for transport, food and accommodation. The choir also actively supported raising money for the “Step Inside” Appeal.

Choristers are expected to be able to read music and young members are encouraged to take formal music qualifications offered by the RSCM in order to improve their knowledge and skill.

The dedication and commitment of all members is very much appreciated.

Although the choir maintains consistent numbers, the Director of Music is always keen to hear from the parents of children who would like to be part of the musical tradition at the church.

 

 

At the end of August, Nick Castell married Becky Day in a moving and well attended service here in Bury Parish Church and they left to begin a new phase of their lives in Chelmsford.  They go with our love and very best wishes for the future, along with grateful thanks for the five years Nick spent as our Director of Music.  Nick’s excellent musicianship and leadership skills have done much to enhance the quality and enjoyment of our choral music and the establishment of the Junior Choir School, the biennial cathedral residencies and the series of ‘Come & Sing’ concerts will hopefully be of benefit to our choir and the wider community for many years to come.

Congratulations to David Newsholme and Kate Findon on their engagement.  David has been our Assistant Organist for the last two years, whilst completing his studies in Manchester, during which time we have revelled in his magnificent playing and chuckled at his self deprecating dry wit.  Kate has, of course, been a much valued member of the choir for nigh on a decade and we shall miss her singing and her irrepressible good nature.  We wish them every success and happiness as they move to Winchester. 

In early September, we welcomed David Scott-Thomas as our new Director of Music.  David is a highly accomplished musician and his enthusiasm, commitment and good humour have been much in evidence during his first couple of weeks with us.  We look forward to a long, happy and fruitful association. 

John Ellis has been appointed Assistant Organist.  John has been rehearsing with us and playing for services for a number of weeks and his thoughtful and often delicate playing has been much admired.  We are sorry to hear of his recent illness and wish him a speedy recovery. 

We welcome Lydia Argenio, who is the newest member of the Junior Choir; joining her sister, Lauren.

Off to university are John Findon Jnr and Chris Parsons.  John sings with the same passion and enthusiasm that he seems to bring to everything he does and his contribution to the Tenors (and the Basses, the Altos and occasionally the Sopranos) has been immense.  Chris, who has been a member of the Bass section for the past two years, is also a talented trumpeter and has played at our carol services and on other festive occasions.  We wish them both well as they continue their studies.

David Pollard

September 2009

 

 

 

 

Sing praise to the Lord! All things that give sound,

Each jubilant chord, re-echo around.

Loud organs, His glory tell forth in deep tone,

And trumpets the story of what He has done.

(Henry W. Baker, 1821-1877)

 

St. Augustine was right when he said, “Whoever sings, prays twice.” As Christians we offer worship to the Almighty with all our hearts, minds and voices. God’s gift of music is one of the greatest gifts we have; so in setting our liturgy to music we are catching just a glimpse of heaven on earth. As with all aspects of our worship, anything which deepens our contemplation and increases the beauty of our devotion is, by definition, appropriate and good. Here at Bury we strive for the best possible standards of music through our choir, organ and bell-ringing.

 

O sing unto the Lord a new song:  for he hath done marvellous things.

(Psalm 98.1)

 

What’s all this about a ‘new song’? At Bury we sing plenty of ‘new’ music – just how new depends on your point of view; but we also sing some of the oldest songs on the planet; hymns from the 1st century, written long before the English language existed, let alone the Church of England. Does the Psalmist mean that we should be singing newly composed anthems every week? Does he mean we should only perform the music of the day? Not at all. The Old Testament meaning of the word ‘new’ refers to a new song of salvation in Christ. It stands in contrast to the old song, a song of sin and death. The Jewish scriptures, including the Psalms, point to the coming of the Messiah – that is Jesus Christ, the one who makes us Christians. And he has indeed done ‘marvellous things’ in redeeming the world. That is why we sing a new song unto the Lord; that is why our worship is so special.

 

St Paul says:

 

Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

(Colossians 3:16)

 

When we praise God in church, we are not alone. Our congregations, choristers and organists – the Church Militant here on earth – are far outnumbered by the Church Triumphant in heaven. The Te Deum from the Book of Common Prayer reminds us:

 

The glorious company of the Apostles praise thee. 

The goodly fellowship of the Prophets praise thee. 

The noble army of Martyrs praise thee.

 

The role of our music here at Bury is quite simply to glorify God, who is Alpha and Omega – the beginning and the end – made personally available to us in Jesus Christ. In doing so, we pray that we and all who worship with us will indeed catch a glimpse of heaven on earth.

 

Alpha and Omega he!

Let the organ thunder,

While the choir with peels of glee

doth rent the air asunder.

(From the Moosburg Gradual, circa 1360; tr. Percy Dearmer, 1928)

 

Each Friday night, at the beginning of choir practice, we say the Choristers’ Prayer:

 

Bless, O Lord, us thy servants,

who minister in thy temple.

Grant that what we sing with our lips,

we may believe in our hearts,

and what we believe in our hearts,

we may show forth in our lives;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

(Sir Sydney Nicholson, 1875-1947)

 

Nicholson was founder of the Royal School of Church Music, and composer of our Communion Setting in C, sung every Sunday morning at Bury Parish Church.