Music & Organ
Welcome to the Music and Organ pages for All Saints Parish Church.
The Organ
The Organ page has a full history and specification of the organ at All Saints.
The Choir
All Saints’ church re-established a four-part robed choir in September 2001. Prior to that, an ad hoc group of singers had been formed for special occasions to sing communion motets and carol services.
We are very pleased now to have a permanent choir to lead our worship, especially at the 10.15 Sung Eucharist.
Although we have fourteen singers, we would welcome new members, so if you would like to join the choir, please contact the Organist and Choirmaster, David Yeandle.
The choir is affiliated to the Royal School of Church Music and the Organist and Choirmaster is a member of the Ely RSCM Committee.
Our choristers take part in the music festivals at Ely Cathedral and King's College Cambridge.
Choral Music
The Choir has concentrated on building up a repertoire of mainly simple, but effective, choral music, including traditional anthems, but also some more modern chant, alongside plainsong and Anglican chant.
Our repertoire includes: Thou visitest the earth (Greene), Cantate Domino (Pitoni), Locus iste (Bruckner), Surrexit Christus (Taizé), Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of all hearts (Purcell), Gabriel's Message (Basque Carol), O little one sweet, O little one mild (harm. J.S. Bach), The Three Kings (Peter Cornelius), The Infant King (Basque Noël), responsorial Nunc Dimittis, Sweet was the song the Virgin sang, the Common Worship Litany and Litany of the Saints (traditional chant), gradual psalms from the new Common Worship Psalter (Anglican chant), the St. John Passion (plainchant), In the heart where love is abiding (Ubi Caritas - plainchant, arr. John Barnard), This joyful Eastertide, O Sons and Daughters, Come, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire (Attwood), Peruvian Gloria (with instruments), Veni lumen cordium (Taizé), Sanctus from Schubert's Deutsche Messe, Lead me, Lord (S.S. Wesley), God be in my head (Walford Davies), The Earth is the Lord's (arr. Sykes), Laudate Dominum (Pitoni), Matin Responsory (Palestrina), The Truth from Above (arr. R Vaughan Williams), A Lovely Rose is sprung (Margaret Lyell), Nativity Carol (John Rutter), Up good Christen Folk and listen, Ave Maria/O Lord my God to thee (Arcadelt), Ave Verum Corpus (Mozart and Elgar).
Anthems
We aim to sing many more of the hundred anthems in the New Church Anthem Book as time goes on and to explore new music, singing an anthem a month, at least, and introducing some more modern liturgical music, such as Taizé and Iona style chants, and responsorial psalms for Common Worship. A wonderful source of free choral music is provided in the Choral Public Domain Library, from which we also draw our music.
The Liturgy
The main setting of the Eucharist used at all Sung Masses is the New People’s Mass by Dom Gregory Murray. This is complemented by Acclamations from St Mary's Mass and other Common Worship material written by the Organist.
You can download in PDF format the first two pages of Acclamations (link opens in new window). Send an email to the composer (David.Yeandle@ntlworld.com) if you would like to use the whole set in your worship. This will be sent free of charge.
On festivals we sing the Sanctus, Benedictus and Acclamations from the Gathering Mass by Paul Inwood and during Lent we use the setting Mass of the Bread of Life by Margaret Rizza.
Hymn Books
After using the English Hymnal (1933) as the main hymn book for fifty or more years, the church purchased Hymns Old and New Complete Anglican Edition as its principal hymn book in 2001.
We are currently exploring some of the newer and less well known hymns in this rich treasury of 978 hymns and songs as well as maintaining the traditional Anglican repertoire both from the new book and by using the English Hymnal on some Sundays, especially for hymns, the words of which have been spoiled out of political correctness in the new book.
We aim to be all-embracing in our musical tastes, singing everything from Gregorian chant to Graham Kendrick and beyond. Our Anglo-Catholic ethos does not preclude us from enjoying Wesleyan and non-conformist hymns alongside the riches of Anglican and Roman Catholic hymnody.