Okay, okay, I’ve been quiet longer than I intended, and even let St Cecilia’s Day pass without much note. It turns out that the thing one does after passing one’s MPhil upgrade is not, in fact, spending several weeks catching up on everything else, but getting further behind while composing a substantial piece of music.
More on that later. On Sunday I had the pleasure of attending a Cecilia-tide Evensong at St Pancras Church, highlighting the London Festival of Contemporary Church Music. In some previous years the music at the Festival hasn’t had a great gender balance, if I’m honest, but the music on Sunday included works by Miriam Mackie and Deborah Pritchard. I tried to find a recording of the Pritchard, a beautifully haunting a cappella setting of Psalm 121, I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes Unto The Hills. Not only was I unable to find a recording, I’ve also not been able to find anywhere that you can buy the sheet music. I guess your best bet is to get in touch through her twitter account.
And if you’re a composer of church music and you’re reading this, or you know a composer of church music and you’re reading this, it’s well worth submitting new music to LFCCM before the deadline, which is Friday 30th November.