We had a wonderful time, as ever, at St Davids Cathedral in Pembrokeshire this August. Wednesday 21 August saw us give a concert (‘Sing unto Him a New Song’) featuring works by Mendelssohn, Annabel Rooney, Rheinberger, Ian Farrington, Richard Lloyd, and others.
After a beautiful service of Compline in Trefin Chapel on Friday, we were back in the Cathedral over the weekend, singing Evensong on Saturday and Sunday and the Eucharist (over which the Bishop presided) on Sunday morning.
We were delighted that Neil Cox was in the congregation to hear his Missa brevis.
Our thanks to the clergy and music team at St Davids for having us back for our sixth visit, and to Anthony Gray for playing the organ so utterly fantastically.
In December 2018 we returned to Pembrokeshire to sing services in St Davids Cathedral and to give a special New Year’s Eve concert in our beloved Trefin Chapel. It was a truly magical time and we are hugely grateful to everyone who packed out both the cathedral and the concert.
We made our biennial trip to St Davids in Pembrokeshire in August 2017, where once again we sang services and concerts in the Cathedral and surrounding area. With a programme entitled ‘Music on Themes of Love and Devotion,’ we performed pieces by 20th- and 21st-century composers including Gjeilo, Walton, Poulenc, and MacMillan. We were very pleased to be able to contribute once more to the restoration of Trefin Chapel, with a service of Compline and a Family Concert (including audience participation, animal noises, and a conductor clad in a chicken hat). We also enjoyed time on various beaches, and singing services in St Davids Cathedral.
Vox Cantab’s 2015 summer tour began with a much-anticipated return to the lovely Trefin Chapel, near St Davids in Pembrokeshire, where the Choir were extremely warmly-received in 2013. We also gave a performance in St Mary’s, Haverfordwest, and in St Davids Cathedral, as part of their summer recital series. The week finished with Evensong at the Cathedral, and we were delighted to have Dr Rowan Williams in the congregation.
We were pleased to welcome back prize-winning organist Tim Parsons to play and conduct for us once more, along with our director Louisa Denby. The Choir also undertook visits to local hospices and nursing homes as part of our Summer Outreach Project.
The programme included a range of music both sacred and secular, from 16th-century polyphony through to our own arrangements of Welsh Folk Songs. The audience joined in enthusiastically when the opportunity arose!
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Monday 17th August, 7.30pm St Mary’s Church, Haverfordwest
Wednesday 19th August, 7.30pm St Davids Cathedral, St Davids
Like as the Hart | A Concert of Psalm Settings
In concert.
The programme included works by Renaissance composers Byrd, Lassus, and Palestrina, and moving through the centuries Purcell, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Vaughan Williams, and others, finishing with a new work, ‘The Lord is King’, but our very own Timothy Parsons, and Parry’s iconic ‘I was Glad’.
Tuesday 18th August, 9.30pm
Trefin Chapel, Trefin, Pembrokeshire
Choral Compline
Introit Jesu, the very thought – Bairstow Anthem My soul, there is a country – Parry Antiphon Salve Regina – Poulenc
Pre-service hilarity.
Thursday 20th August, 6pm St Davids Cathedral, Pembrokeshire
Evensong
Responses Reading Canticles Tomkins Second Anthem Locus iste – Bruckner
Outreach Activities at The Rowans’ Hospice & Steep House Nursing Home, Hampshire, plus a private home visit
A small number of us visited the Rowans’ Hospice, Waterlooville, and Steep House Nursing Home, in order to entertain the residents with a varied selection of music.
We also visited our 94-year-old friend in his home, where we were treated to a sumptuous tea and a glimpse of a ‘Great Bible,’ dating from the 16th Century.
Repertoire included:
The Rowans Hospice, Waterlooville, Hampshire, August 2014
Tallis – If ye love me
Vautor – Sweet Suffolk Owl
Holst – Swansea Town
Trad. Botswanan, arr. L’Estrange – Jesu ukukhanya
Handel, arr. Gritton – Three-minute Messiah
Carter/Hudson, arr. Sund – Goodnight sweetheart
Vox Cantab rehearsing for their one-to-a-part Chalton concert
The first day of our 2014 Summer Tour saw five members of the Choir give a concert of ‘Essentially English’ music at St Michael & All Angels, Chalton, Hampshire.
Soprano Catherine White, Louisa Dawes; Alto Louisa Denby; Tenor Dean Parker; Bass Frank Lee
We had a wonderful time, as ever, at St Davids Cathedral in Pembrokeshire this August. Wednesday 21 August saw us give a concert (‘Sing unto Him a New Song’) featuring works by Mendelssohn, Annabel Rooney, Rheinberger, Ian Farrington, Richard Lloyd, and others.
After a beautiful service of Compline in Trefin Chapel on Friday, we were back in the Cathedral over the weekend, singing Evensong on Saturday and Sunday and the Eucharist (over which the Bishop presided) on Sunday morning.
We were delighted that Neil Cox was in the congregation to hear his Missa brevis.
al, and we were delighted to have Dr Rowan Williams in the congregation.
