An English Choir is enthusiastic
about Hey Organ Company
"Singing together with an organ built by the Hey Company
from the Rhön is a dream". So said Colin Baldy, the Choir and Church
Music Director, after the concert in the Pilgrimage Church of Kreuzberg in
the Rhön. His thanks went equally to Herbert and Christian Hey for
having (as Baldy said) "made possible a sound-picture of the variety of
organs in the Rhön". Herbert Hey, still thrilled by the concert and the
words of praise from the Choir Director, said that there could be no doubt
that the members of the Choir from St Mary's Church in Maldon, Essex,
England, would return. "We hope for, and would dearly love to have an
organ from the Hey Organ Company" said Church Music Director Colin Baldy.
The organ for St Mary's Church will be built at the works in Urspringen
during the coming year.
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It was, indeed, a very special Concert, experienced on
Sunday afternoon by more than 200 visitors to the Monastery Church at
Kreuzerberg, and so it was to be expected that, during the performance, one
heard several expressions of praise such as "That is simply beautiful...
Exquisite singing". Herbert and Christian Hey confirmed that similar
comments were heard at the earlier concerts in Reckendorf in the Hassbergen
and in Schleusingen. These concerts were also very well-attended.
Stephen Moore opened the concert on the Hey Organ in the
Pilgrimage Church at Kreuzberg, together with the choir, with the Cantique
de Jean Racine by Gabriel Fauré. Right from the outset, not only the
choir thrilled the audience, but also Stephen Moore, who demonstrated the
full range of capabilities of the Hey Organ at Kreuzberg. One does not often
hear such exciting playing on the "Queen of Instruments". The organ
builders, who were also in the audience and so could also experience the
variety of sounds of their instrument, were visibly proud. The Choir
sang the Benedictus of John Taverner, and after that the Little Organ Mass,
Sancti Ioanni de Deo, of Josef Haydn. One could have heard a pin drop,
so silently transfixed were the listeners. And then the break gave the
opportunity for prolonged applause.
Next came the evocative anthem by Edgar Bainton: "And I
saw a new Heaven", during which the organ was once more heard accompanying
the singers. In this piece one heard the representation of the
twittering of birds and the buzzing of bees on flowers as the choir told
ofhow God is in everything, even in the flowers, the birds and the frogs.
Bainton's hymn of praise then closed with the powerful cry that everything
in the earth praises God. Stephen Moore was heard here, again, as he
caused all of the stops of the Kreuzberg Organ to ring out, and both Organ
and the voices of the Choristers filled the entire Church.
The Choir ended this extraordinary afternoon concert with
a Kyrie and Agnus Dei, "Rejoice in the Lamb" and the powerful Magnificat by
Herbert Howells. More prolonged applause shewed the guests from Essex
in England how wonderfully their concert had been received.
Colin Baldy, who conducted the Choir through the
programme, gave occasional explanations in German, inspired us with his
skilful interpretation, and provided some information about the Choir. Thus
the audience learned that the Choir, which is part of the Catholic tradition
of the Church of England is an important component at the celebration of the
Mass. Each week, the Choir sings a different Mass setting, which
ranges from the polyphony of the 16th Century (for example, the music of
Palestrina, Victoria and Byrd) to modern English composers such as Howells &
Britten. In addition to this, once a month the Choir sings the
Anglican Office of Choral Evensnog, which has been the high point of the
great tradition of English choral music from the time of Queen Elizabeth
Ithrough to the current day.
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