Calendar
Sunday 3 May is the first Sunday of the month, which means the Choir of St. John’s, Shaughnessy will offer the traditional Anglican service of Choral Evensong at four o’clock in the afternoon. Prayers will be included for those interred in the memorial garden and a time of remembrance will be had following the service.
This month’s music list:
- Introit: Edward C Bairstow, Jesu, the very thought of thee
- Responses: William Byrd
- Psalm 84: C Hubert H Parry
- Canticles: Herbert Murrill, Evening Service in E
- Anthem: H Balfour Gardiner, Evening Hymn
- Voluntary: Edward Elgar, ‘Nimrod’ from Enigma Variations, Op.36
Gardiner‘s Evening Hymn and Murrill‘s Evening Service in E are perhaps their best-known works—all the more surprising as both were much more prolific in the secular orchestral sphere. Perhaps that influence is what makes these staples of the choral repertoire, displaying moments of symphonic grandeur mixed with driving intensity. The service opens with Bairstow’s intimate setting of a tender 12th-century text, helping the listener to find rest in God’s presence, and joy in his love.
Celebrate the joy of Eastertide with transcendent choral music amidst prayers for our loved ones; light refreshments to follow.
St John’s, Shaughnessy
1490 Nanton Ave (@ Granville St)
Vancouver, BC
with organists Abraham Ross and Michael Dirk on the Wurlitzer
(601 Smithe St, Vancouver)
Mutt & Jeff: “Slick Sleuths” (1926)
Mickey Mouse: “Mickey’s Polo Team” (1936)
“Organ Building Workshop”
RCCO OrgelKidsCAN
with RCCO Vancouver Centre Education Officer Michael Dirk
3pm – 4pm, Workshop Room 412
VSO School of Music
(843 Seymour St. Vancouver)
Alfred Hitchcock’s 1927 film The Lodger was his first critical and commercial success. This haunting silent thriller tells the tale of a mysterious young man who takes up residence at a London boardinghouse just as a killer known as the Avenger descends upon the city. Accompanied live by organist Koos van Nieuwkoop on the historic Wurlitzer organ.
Sunday 7 June is the first Sunday of the month, which means the Choir of St. John’s, Shaughnessy will offer the traditional Anglican service of Choral Evensong at four o’clock in the afternoon.
This month’s music list:
- Voluntary: Herbert Howells, Psalm Prelude, Op.32, No.2
- Introit: Thomas Tallis, Verily, verily I say unto you
- Responses: Richard Ayleward
- Psalm 110: James Turle
- Canticles: Herbert Howells, Collegium Regale
- Anthem: John Ireland, Greater love hath no man
- Voluntary: Dieterich Buxtehude, Praeludium in D, BuxWV 139
Come listen to the lofty lines of Herbert Howells‘ setting of the Magnificat, inspired by the vaulted ceiling of King’s College Chapel; encounter the sacrificial love of God in John Ireland‘s ubiquitous anthem; enter into the mystery of the eucharist through the father of English church music, Thomas Tallis. A 500-year-old tradition, Choral Evensong provides peace and prayer amidst our work and worry, inviting us to hear God’s beauty and hold to hope.
St John’s, Shaughnessy
1490 Nanton Ave (@ Granville St)
Vancouver, BC
Hymns: SNC 56, O Blest Creator, SNC 122
Responses: William Byrd (c. 1540-1623)
Psalm: 34
Canticles: C.V. Stanford (1852-1924) Evening Service in G
Anthem: William H. Harris (1883-1973) Bring us O Lord
While we know and love Bach for his cantatas, oratorios, concertos, and chamber music, he never seems more himself than on the organ. His writings for the ‘king of all instruments’ (W.A. Mozart) open the gates to an entire universe of harmony and polyphony, achieving a degree of freedom impossible for any other instrument, and allowing for a unique window into Bach’s mind.
The pieces chosen for this recital on the renowned Pasi organ at the West Vancouver United Church touch on the four pillars of Bach’s organ work: Toccata and Fugue, Concerto, Sonata and Chorale Prelude.
Generously sponsored by The Graham & Gayle Cooke Foundation.
PROGRAMME
J.S. Bach (1685 – 1750)
5th Trio Sonata BWV 529
‘An Wasserflüssen’ BWV 653
Passacaglia & Fugue BWV 582
Concerto BWV 593
Toccata & Fugue BWV 538
‘Vor deinen Thron’ BWV 668
The internationally renowned keyboard artist Alexander Weimann has spent his life enveloped by the therapeutic power and beauty of making music. Alex grew up in Munich. At age three he became fascinated by the intense magic of the church organ. He started piano at six, formal organ lessons at 12 and harpsichord at university (along with theatre theory, medieval Latin and jazz piano.) He is in huge demand as a director, soloist and chamber player, traveling the world with leading North American and European ensembles. He is Artistic Director of the Pacific Baroque Orchestra in Vancouver and teaches at the University of British Columbia where he directs the Baroque Orchestra Mentorship Programme.
Alex has appeared on more than 100 recordings, including the Juno-award-winning album “Prima Donna” with Karina Gauvin and Arion Baroque orchestra. His latest album series “The Art of Improvisation” (Volume 1: A Prayer for Peace; Volume 2: Ad libitum; and Volume 3: Canavian Variations, released on Redshift, 2024) unites his passions for both baroque music and improvisation on organ, harpsichord, and piano.
More details to come later in 2026 and in early 2027.
Will include concerts by renowned performers, workshops, masterclasses, and the RCCO National Organ Competition.