The Parish Church of
St Mary Magdalene, Clitheroe

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| Hymns & Music | Organ | Music At St. Mary's |

Choir

The choir at St Mary’s, Clitheroe sings at the service each Sunday morning and once a month we also sing at choral evensong. There has been a long tradition of music at St Mary’s and the current choir and organist work hard to maintain this and to continue to expand the range of music which we perform. Our repertoire is very varied; we sing music from the Renaissance through to compositions which have been composed in the last couple of years. We also perform very different styles of music ranging from settings of  the canticles by Stanford to anthems by Bob Chilcott and Taizé chants.

At the morning service on Sunday we sing a congregational setting of the Gloria and also sing the Sanctus, Benedictus and Agnus Dei to a choral setting. Usually these are fairly straightforward in style, although we are currently learning Haydn’s Little Organ Mass and an arrangement of Fauré’s Messe Basse and hope to perform both before the end of the year.

We also sing an anthem after communion. We have around 100 anthems in our repertoire so we have a good selection to choose from. The pieces which we sing range from the quite simple such as Fairest Lord Jesus – an arrangement for 3 parts by Martin How  - to more demanding examples such as the Jubilate in C by Britten or Ireland’s Te Deum in F.

At Evensong we sing the responses, a psalm, the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis and an Anthem.

In recent years we have sung Evensong at a number of other churches and cathedrals including Blackburn Cathedral, Carlisle Cathedral, Bolton Abbey. Earlier this year we sang Evensong at Beverley Minster with the choir of Knaresborough Parish Church.

Last year saw the choir take on the challenge of giving a performance of  Fauré’s Requiem as part of a concert with the Clitheroe Chorale. This was a very successful event and one which we hope to repeat in the coming years.

We currently have 14 members of the choir – 6 sopranos, 3 altos, 2 tenors and 3 basses who range in age from 13 to over 80! However we are constantly looking for new members. You don’t have to be able to read music – in fact some of our best singers can’t – but you do need to be friendly, enthusiastic and interested in singing to the best of your ability and we are particularly interested in encouraging children to join the choir. Singing is a great way to meet new people and to learn more about music. It also helps to keep you fit!

We rehearse on a Tuesday Evening from 7.30 until 9.00.

If you are interested in joining us then please contact James Lonsdale on 01204 852284 or by e-mail at jimalibob@tiscali.co.uk. – you’ll be very welcome.

| Choir | Organ | Music At St. Mary's |

Hymns & Music

| Hymns & Music | Choir | Music At St. Mary's |

Organ

James Lonsdale MA ARCO, LRAM,ARCM. Organist and Choir Master

The instrument was built by messrs Binns in 1913. It was rebuilt and enlarged by Nicholson & Co in 1961.
Following fire damage in 1979 it was rebuilt by Messrs Sixsmith of Ashton under Lyme when the opportunity was taken to redesign and improve the whole instrument. It is now an organ of four manuals and pedals which control six departments. It was rededicated on Sunday 28th February 1982 and the opening recital by Charles Myers took place on Saturday 6th March 1982.
To see more detail of the organ, click on the organ picture above.

The organ plays a central role in weekly Sunday Sung Eucharist and at monthly Choral Evensong. The Organ Society (recently renamed Music at St Mary’s), now in its 47th year, holds regular, well attended seasons of concerts and recitals. The instrument is also used for both town and valley functions and is widely used by schools.

The time came to rebuild and update this magnificent instrument in 2007. The task began in May 2007 and was completed by February 2008.

The work carried out came under the following principal headings:

1. Replace worn out electrical switchgear with a more reliable solid-state system.

2. The present elaborate console controls are to be made more reliable and user-friendly.

3. To re-instate the substantial amount of bass tone which was lost in the rebuild after the fire in the late 70's and further enhance the bass to produce the maximum majesty of sound.

4. To re-organise some of the internal layout, so that the sound can be more audible to listeners in the body of the church. Subtle modification of the lower casing will be undertaken to facilitate better sound transmission.

5. To ensure that the layout permits easy access by the tuner to all the pipes, so that he can provide the best tuning service in the time available to him.

6. To clean and regulate the pipes so that the fine tone which they originally produced can be restored for the enjoyment of the present and future generations.

The completion of this work will ensure that the splendid reputation of this instrument is upheld and enhanced, making it one of the finest instruments in the North West!

The work was carried out by Geoffrey Coffin of Principal Pipe Organs of York. (Restorers of the organ in York Minster.) The project was supervised by Roger Fisher

"The organ in Clitheroe Parish Church is a very special instrument, not only because of the fine sound that it makes, but because it is one of the larger instruments built by the noted Leeds organ builder, James Jepson Binns. Binns was famous not only for the superb quality of materials which he put into his instruments, but also for the skill with which he used them. In the case of the Clitheroe organ, it has been lovingly cared for by the church ever since it was built in 1913. The 1960's work by Nicholson and the 1980's work by Sixsmith, all carried out under the expert guidance of Charles Myers have upheld and enhanced the work of the original builder and there is an excellent foundation for the work which is now to be carried out."
Roger Fisher M.A., F.R.C.O., A.R.C.M., A.T.C.L.
Organ Adviser to the Diocese of Lichfield (Written in 2006)

Completion - February 2008

Roger Fisher reports: 'It's a great pleasure to be able to write and sign-off the Clitheroe Organ Project. The standard of the work is so high that, I'm very happy indeed with the completed organ.'

'There is no doubt that the presence of the galleries does make it difficult for the bass frequencies to travel effectively, but, I'm glad to say that I now find the bass greatly improved and everything possible has been done within the space available. When Geoffrey (Coffin) extemporised on it yesterday afternoon, the organ sounded very grand and exciting indeed and a visiting organist from Bishop Auckland made it sound magnificent.'

'Where the tonal finishing is concerned, I'm impressed by the even regulation of all the pipes ranks and the finesse with which they have been cared for, and the fact that only a very few notes indeed have prompted from me even the slightest critical comment.'

'This has been one of the most interesting projects that I've ever been involved in and I'm most impressed with the way the sound of the organ has developed at each stage of the work. The technical excellence of Geoffrey's work, almost goes without saying, especially as the console is now easy to control and the organ exceptionally comfortable to play.'

| Hymns & Music | Choir | Organ |

Music at St Mary's

Music at St Mary’s organises around 8 concerts per year at St Mary’s.  These are focussed around the magnificent Binns organ at St Mary’s which has recently been restored. In the past many famous names have played in concerts at St Mary’s and this is a tradition which has continued to this day.

To celebrate the completion of the rebuild of the organ -
a n Evening Concert will take place
on Thursday 5th June 2008 at 7.00pm
and our guest performer will be
the International Concert Organist
David Briggs

The evening will commence at 7.00pm with a talk about the restoration of the organ to be given by Roger Fisher, the organ consultant to the church and the organ builder Geoffrey Coffin, followed by the recital at 7.30pm.

We are very pleased with the restoration work carried out on the organ. This has vastly increased its range of colours and tones and makes it a very exciting instrument to both play and listen to. The console has also been the subject of a lot of work which means that the organ is now much easier and enjoyable to play.

We are also very pleased that David Briggs will be giving the opening recital. David is an internationally renowned organist who has built a world-wide reputation as an innovative musician and dazzling performer. Having held positions at Truro and Hereford Cathedrals and King’s College, Cambridge, where he was Organ Scholar, David Briggs is Organist Emeritus at Gloucester Cathedral, where he directed the music for eight years. David’s recent engagements include the National Cathedral in Washington, DC, Notre Dame in Paris, and Severance Hall in Cleveland, so we are very lucky to have the opportunity to hear him at Clitheroe.

David’s programme includes Bach’s famous Toccata and Fugue in D minor as well as Widor’s magnificent Toccata from his Fifth Symphony. He will also be playing works by Howells and Reger, together with his own arrangement of Grieg’s Peer-Gynt Suite No 1 which includes “Morning” and “In the hall of the Mountain King”. David is well known for his skill in improvisation, having the distinction of being the first British winner of the Tournemire Prize at the St Albans International Improvisation Competition, so we are very pleased that his recital will also contain an improvisation on a given theme.

Tickets for the recital are £10 each and can be purchased on the door or preferably in advance by contacting the Parish Office on 01200 422828. Accompanied children and students are free.

I do hope that you are able to join us for what promises to be a splendid and memorable evening.

David Briggs is one of the foremost concert organists of his generation. For those who would like more information about him at this time, can I suggest that you visit his website by clicking here.