Music News - May 2026
Now that Easter has come and gone, the choir and junior choristers have had a well-earned break from their labours. On Palm Sunday, as well as the morning eucharist, the choir and juniors performed a devotional offering featuring two of Mozart’s most loved late choral works. The motet Ave Verum Corpus was written less than six months before the composer’s untimely death and his Requiem was unfinished when he met his end. James Razzell accompanied the choir with sensitivity and poise in the Ave Verum and Philip Sunderland played the Requiem. The choir were superb in both, not only taking the choir parts but also providing the considerable solo elements of the Requiem. As the final D minor fugue came to its relentless conclusion, there was complete silence in the semi-darkness of the church for a good half-a-minute: a tribute not just to the music itself but to the commitment and power of the performance, led so inspirationally by Oli King.
The Maundy Thursday eucharist was marked by a wonderful performance of Christus Factus est, by the cheerfully named Felice Anerio and there were two services on Easter Day. The morning service, accompanied by brass and organ, came to a joyful conclusion as the whole church rose to sing the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah. Choral Evensong featured the great Irish composer Charles Wood – and for those of you who like trivia, Wood is buried in the Ascension Burial Ground in Cambridge.
Looking forward to May, Choral Evensong on the 10th of the month is a must for music lovers. The anthem, Evening Hymn by Balfour Gardiner, is one of the most joyous and uplifting anthems in existence and this can of course be followed by prosecco and nibbles at the end of the service, which potentially could be equally joyous and uplifting.
On the 17th May, the congregation are warmly invited to attend the SMMA AGM which will follow the morning service. This is an opportunity to hear reports of the musical year, to thank Oli and all the musicians at the church and to enjoy some more prosecco and nibbles before heading home for Sunday lunch. Please do come if you are able: the meeting will take place in the Parish Rooms.
Lunchtime recitals, paused by the lighting project, will restart in May, organised, compered and catered for by Hannah Razzell. The first concert is on Wednesday 27th and sees the return of Derek Scurll, piano, and Sarah Lamont, soprano. This was an incredibly popular concert last year, so please come early if you want a seat as well as a sandwich as they will run out quickly!
One last bit of information, James Razzell has been asked to stay for another year as organ scholar. His playing has come on in leaps and bounds in his first year: he is an equal player at all of St Mary’s services. We are very glad he has accepted the offer and look forward to his continued contribution to the musical well-being of the church.
Philip Sunderland.
Photograph by Martin Hugall
26/04/2026