Click on track title to begin streaming:
These tracks are excerpts from the recent recording of the Choir - O Magnum Mysterium - which is available on compact disc. If you wish to purchase copies of the CD please send a cheque for £15 per disc (postage and packing included for UK, please add £1 per disc for overseas) to:
O Magnum Mysterium
St Mary's Parish Office
30 Bourne Street
London SW1W 8JH
The music at St Mary’s is funded from weekly giving, not having the benefit of a trust or endowment. We rely heavily on the generosity and commitment of those who listen to, and are nourished by, the music. One way of supporting and securing this heritage is to sponsor the music, in the same way that the flower arrangements are dedicated each week. Please do get in touch with the Treasurer STUART LEAMY if you would like to make an offering in this way.
Click here to download PDF for more information
Click here to view organ specification
Sing, ye faithful, sing with gladness
The music at St. Mary's has always meshed in a special way with the liturgy. The eight-strong professional choir, often supplemented with instruments, and supported by the fine Lewis organ, sings the praise of God week in and week out, through high day and holy day. The choir sings from the west end gallery of the church and this position allows a remarkable musical presence, at once immediate but also self-effacing. The choir is at the very heart of the ceremonial, though not a visual focal point in the manner of a robed choir.
Grounded firmly in the Anglo-Catholic tradition of plainsong sung in English, the liturgy encompasses many styles of music, some looking towards Rome, others firmly rooted in the Anglican tradition. Where else can one hear a polyphonic Mass of the Spanish school alongside motets by Stanford and Parry? Of course, Marian music plays an important role, both as mission in the processions of our Lady and as votive offering to the dedicatee of the church. Whatever your musical tastes, there is usually something on the schedule of music that will enhance and deepen understanding of the Word.
The choir released a recording, O magnum mysterium, in 2003. It was a recreation of a typical Midnight Mass at St Mary’s, one of the most popular and special services of the church year. It included a full orchestral Mass (Mozart), interspersed with carols, plainsong and other motets, exactly as one would hear at midnight on the 24th December. As a valuable part of the church’s mission, a long term plan is to record other characteristic St. Mary's liturgies, such as Easter, Corpus Christi, the Assumption, Remembrance Day and Christ the King.