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  Carol of the Birds

The Choirs of St. Mark's Cathedral, Seattle

LRCD1016

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Advent and Christmastide at St. Mark's Cathedral in Seattle, Washington is a very special time for music. Under the leadership of Canon Precentor Peter R. Hallock, the cathedral experienced 40 years of music, much of it composed or arranged by Hallock himself. A musical service on Advent Sunday always started the season (see Loft Recordings’ LRCD 1020, An Advent Procession based on the Great “O” Antiphons). Hallock was among the first to stage annual performances of Handel's Messiah using period instruments. Midnight Christmas Eve services began with a half-hour organ recital, followed by choir carols and congregational singing. The Christmas Eve service itself was broadcast on television, and the Compline service, sung every Sunday night at 9:30 by the all-male choir since 1954, has been broadcast on KING-FM for more than 30 years to an audience of approximately 25,000. (See Loft Recordings’ LRCD 1021 Feathers of Green Gold - the Compline service as sung at St. Mark's and ten psalms by Peter Hallock). 

Of the enormous amount of music performed at the Cathedral during Hallock’s tenure, very little has been recorded and made available to the public. This recording documents two exceptions: a Christmas recording of the mixed Cathedral Choir made in 1970, and recent promotional recordings of the Compline choir, issued on cassettes for the cathedral shop.  The 1970 album Carol of the Birds featured a haunting solo delivered by Janet White on the title cut.  The carol Torches showed off the Flentrop organ of the cathedral, then less than five years old. Many of the pieces featured the acoustics of the cathedral as much as the singing. There are anthems with choirs in procession, and choirs in dialog from different parts of the room. Carol of the Birds was a beautiful album which sold out almost immediately, and has since become a collector's item.

The Compline Choir recordings here include pieces with instrumental accompaniment, played by some of the many talented members of the choir. The cassettes from which these pieces are excerpted were entitled Sing the Blessed Birth and Joy in the Morning. The Choir also recorded new material for this CD.

Loft Recordings is proud to issue these recordings on Compact Disc. Together, they document a thirty-year span of Christmas at St. Mark's and the extraordinary talent of Peter Hallock, its long-time musical director.

-Roger Sherman

 

 

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