It is something of a challenge to compile a
"Christmas" recording of carols and anthems which presents not
just traditional Christmas hymns, well-known and ought-to-be-better-known
carols, but which captures more than a fragment of the spirit of a place
and its musicians. In attempting to rise to this challenge, we present a
progression through the seasons of Advent, Christmas and Epiphany up to
Candlemas of music representative of that which is heard in the Chapel
Royal of St Peter ad Vincula at services and concerts during this period.
Each of the three seasons begins with a well-known hymn and is followed by
carols and anthems for that season. There are arrangements of folk songs
and traditional tunes: The truth from above is an arrangement of an
English folk song from Vaughan Willams's Fantasia on Christmas Carols;
Sussex carol and Wassail song are arrangements of traditional English
carols; Noël Nouvelet is a French tune arranged by Stephen Jackson
specially for the choir at The Tower. The solo songs Cradle Song and Out
of the Orient crystal skies, a consort song originally scored for viol
accompaniment, share the same composer, William Byrd, perhaps the most
famous of the composers for the Chapel Royal. Carols by 20th century
composers include the macaronic Make we joy now in this fest by William
Walton and the carol-anthem Long, long ago by Herbert Howells. We have
also chosen the first three movements from Mendelssohn's unfinished
oratorio Christus, as well as carols by Praetorius and Poulenc.
The Choir of the Chapel's Royal, HM Tower of London
The word 'chapel' is derived from the term for the
cloaks, cappella, which were worn by the chaplains (cappellani) of the
French court on their frequent journeys. Just as the mediĉval kings of
France took their chaplains with them, so did the kings of England. In its
original sense, therefore, the term 'Chapel Royal' applied to everything
needed by a devout sovereign for divine worship: clergy, choir, books,
relics, vestments and plate. Efforts to consolidate political power in the
Middle Ages meant that the whole court travelled widely and services were
celebrated for the sovereign both in private and with great ceremony in
public. A notable appearance of the Chapel Royal was with Henry VIII's
court at the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520.
The number of choir & clergy at the Chapel Royal has
fluctuated throughout history, according to political necessity and the
personal inclinations of the sovereign. Their duties have changed too, but
it is clear from the names of the musicians who worked there that
performance and composition of the highest standard have been a single
constant.
By the 18th century this itinerant royal band had found
a final home and one building, the chapel at St. James's Palace, came to
be served by the establishment of the Chapel Royal. Other chapels in the
royal palaces of Hampton Court and the Tower of London continued to hold
services but without the use of the choir and clergy of this Chapel Royal.
They nevertheless shared, and continue to share, their special status in
the ecclesiastical establishment. The Chapels Royal fall under the
jurisdiction of the Dean of the Chapels Royal (currently the Bishop of
London), the Lord Chamberlain and, ultimately, the Sovereign. From the
early days of the Chapel Royal, musical excellence was a high priority.
The musical history of the Chapel Royal is impressive indeed, proving the
crown of England to be an exceptional patron of music, rivalled only by
the Vatican. The Choir of the Chapels Royal, HM Tower of London is part of
this heritage. However, it is likely that for a long time music in the
chapels within the Tower of London was only as good as many other parish
churches in London. For a short time from 1871-1885, music for services
was led by Mary Rose Milman, the wife of the resident major, with the
children of the parish singing while she played the organ.
In 1966 provision was made for the establishment of a
professional choir to provide music of the highest standard for the two
Chapels Royal in the Tower and in the choir's short recent history it has
established an enviable reputation for excellence. Some of the UK's most
eminent musicians, including Felicity Palmer CBE and Sir Andrew Davis
began their careers here and the composers Herbert Howells, Stephen
Jackson and James MacMillan have written music specifically for it.
Today the choir maintains this recent tradition and
comprises professional singers who perform with some of the most
distinguished consorts and opera companies in the UK and abroad. This
choir of 10 maintains a long-established tradition of consort singing
achieving an exemplary standard of music-making across a wide repertory,
with a special emphasis on music written for the Chapel Royal itself. The
choir has made a number of recordings, has broadcast for Radio 3 &
Classic FM and is occasionally augmented when larger forces are required.
The organ in the Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula
A great fire destroyed all of Whitehall Palace in 1698
except Inigo Jones' Banqueting House. The court moved to St. James's
Palace and Sir Christopher Wren turned the Banqueting House into a Chapel
Royal, installing a new organ made by the famous 'Father Smith' (Bernhard
Schmidt), who had been 'Organ-Maker in Ordinary' to King Charles II. When
the Banqueting House was turned into a military museum in 1890, and on
Queen Victoria's instructions, the organ was installed in St. Peter's
Chapel in the Tower. Most of the original instrument had already been
removed and the organ was enlarged to accommodate a pedal division. The
case of this instrument is a very fine example of its type, dating from
1699, with carving attributed to the master-craftsman of his age, Grinling
Gibbons. 300 years later the case was refurbished and restored to capture
its original elegance and now houses a new instrument built by the
Canadian firm Orgues Létourneau.
Stephen Tilton
