Music News - October 2025
October will be a busy month for the musicians of St Mary’s, following their well-deserved summer holiday. On the 5th October there will be a special communion service at 6.30pm at which the world premiere of a mass setting by yours truly will be performed. Hannah’s Mass was written to commemorate the life of my sister who sadly died from breast cancer. The piece is inspired by her and by a quotation of the great C.S. Lewis, which is a sort of family mantra: “Joy is the serious business of heaven.”Scored for choir, organ, brass and a battery of percussion, the mass setting is eclectic in style, reflecting my sister’s wide tastes in music (probably the world’s first ever calypso Hosanna!) but has its sombre moments. The Agnus Dei is punctuated by fifty-seven chimes on the passing bell, one ring for each year of my sister’s remarkable life. Please come and support us – it promises to be a joyful evening!
The choir sing choral evensong on the 12th October at 6.30pm and as is now the norm, prosecco will be served after the service. On the 18th October, the choir are excited to be travelling to Bury St. Edmunds to sing choral evensong at 3.30pm. An important aspect of the church’s outreach programme, we would be delighted for any support – please email Caroline at carolinegoulder@gmail.com if you would like to attend.
Now to news of organ scholars past and present. Former scholar Elliot Randall has been appointed organ scholar at St Martin-in-the-Fields, following his successful studies at the Royal College of Music. Clearly this is an incredible achievement, given the highly professional musical tradition at the church. Furthermore it reinforces the importance of the organ scholar position at St. Mary’s and shows the results of the exceptional training given by Oli and Jeremy.
The SMMA is extremely pleased to announce that our new organ scholar will be James Razzell. James is a product of the music-making at St Mary’s, having started as an eight-year-old with Kate Beare and Joyful Noise, moving on to the Junior Choir and now singing bass with the adults. His commitment to the church has been exceptional and he has performed some notable solos as a treble. An accomplished musician already on piano and violin, James is very excited about the possibilities the organ scholarship will open for him and we are delighted to have such a cheerful, hard-working and motivated scholar!
As the summer light fades, and autumn comes upon us once more, we must try to recall the illumination created by the choir’s performance at Evensong back in July, when they sang the premiere of the uplifting and moving motet ‘Love called for Light’. Brian Moles and Paula Griffiths joined us for this occasion (see photograph on page 13) and it was certainly an Evensong to remember: beautiful text set to wonderfully rich and fitting music.
Unfortunately, our autumn concerts will not be able to take place this year, owing to the disruptions of the lighting project, but we hope for your continued support when the concerts resume, and also at our Choral Evensongs!
Philip Sunderland and Hannah Razzell