Thirty-six pieces for the price of one (Buy 1, Get 35 Free!)

A podcast about Sunday by Sunday Collection II can be found here.

The Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) has just published a new volume of thirty-six works for church choirs to sing during communion services.  Sunday by Sunday Collection II is a photocopiable resource costing the equivalent of a set of sheet copies of a single anthem.

The volume includes introits, anthems and pieces for all stages of the communion service.  Compiled with parish church choirs in mind, Sunday by Sunday Collection II also includes a mass setting for the Church of England’s Common Worship by Peter Nardone, the Organist of Chelmsford Cathedral. Other composers include Peter Aston, Richard Shephard, David Ogden, Colin Mawby, Simon Lole and Geoff Weaver.  Each piece may be photocopied for local use so, with only one copy of the collection required for each church, this is a massive saving and provides the choir with a valuable collection.

“Choirs want to sing,” writes David Ogden who compiled the collection. In the preface he continues, “with more congregational involvement in the sung parts of the Eucharist, the opportunity for choirs to sing alone is often restricted to the distribution of communion.” With this in mind, the collection does not restrict itself to pieces sung during the distribution of bread and wine.  There are introits, gospel acclamations, blessings, prayer responses and anthems in a variety of moods. “This collection contains short pieces to enrich and support the liturgy rather than be a concert piece inserted just for the choir to show off” writes David Ogden.

David Ogden, a choral conductor and composer based in Bristol, says the collection can be used to make worship interesting and alive; in the preface he makes suggestions about the placing of pieces in the communion service. “Boredom sets in with singers when everything is the same every week,” he writes.  David, who also runs clergy training workshops in liturgy, advises users to make sure clergy and other ministers are aware in advance, if you insert a short choral piece in the service. “Successful liturgy is achieved when all the participants are confident they know what is happening.”

A podcast about Sunday by Sunday Collection II, including an interview with David Ogden and excerpts from the accompanying CD, is now available here. 

Notes for Editors

The Sunday by Sunday Collection II (Choral Music for the Sunday Eucharist) is published by the RSCM, price £55: (£41.25p for churches and individuals affiliated to the RSCM).  Orders can be placed as follows:

RSCM Music Direct, St Mary’s Works, St Mary’s Plain, Norwich, NR3 3HB.
By phone: +44 (0)845 021 7726    By fax: +44 (0)845 021 8826
Email: musicdirect@rscm.com     Online shop: www.rscm.com

Sunday by Sunday Collection I, first published in 2004, is an anthology of thirty anthems for the church year.  The RSCM also publishes Sunday by Sunday, a quarterly list of suggested hymns, anthems and voluntaries, available only to churches and organisations affiliated to the RSCM. 

The Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) is an educational charity and promotes the best use of music in worship, church life, and the wider community. It offers training programmes and courses, a variety of publications, courses, short workshops and activities. With over 8,500 affiliates, members and friends in over 40 countries it is an international network, supported by over 750 volunteers and small team of staff based throughout the UK. For further information about the RSCM, go to the website www.rscm.com  

David Ogden(Biographical note)

David Ogden is a choral conductor and composer, and is in demand as a director of church music workshops, courses and festivals.  He was Director of Music at Clifton Cathedral, Bristol between 1991 and 2002, and a former RSCM Regional Director. Nowadays, David conducts City of Bristol Choir, the RSCM Millennium Youth Choir, the RSCM Midlands and South West Cathedral Singers, and Exultate Singers. He is Director of Music at Westbury-on-Trym parish church in Bristol. David is also a Special Advisor for the Royal School of Church Music, and an Associate Lecturer in Music and Liturgy at the University of Bristol.

A photograph of David Ogden is available for download: http://www.rscm.com/about_us/pictureGallery.php

David Ogden is available for interview. If you are a local radio religious programmes producer, he is willing to appear as a guest, to talk not just about this collection and its application, but also about effective use of music in church worship.

13 November 2006

PDFs of RSCM news releases are generally available here (go to "News Releases").

Photographs for media use are available from the Media & Picture Gallery (go to "RSCM picture gallery").

For further enquiries contact:
Stuart Robinson:
RSCM Media Relations Organiser
srobinson@rscm.com
T: 01492 556378 / 07831 827701

or

Heather Bamber
RSCM Marketing & Communications Administrator
E: hbamber@rscm.com
T: 01722 424847 or 07786 331364