New Vespers Location at St Andrew's Cathedral, Dundee

The Schola is excited to announce a new regular location for Vespers at St Andrew's Cathedral, the mother church of the Diocese of Dunkeld, in Dundee.

Vespers will now take place in Dundee approximately every other month, alternating with our existing commitment in Edinburgh.

We are particularly grateful to Vincent, Bishop of Dunkeld, for his support and to Fr Martin Pletts, the administrator of the Cathedral.

Please see the calendar of events for details of individual events.

2011 Calendar of Events

This post will be regularly updated - check back for updates!

Saturday 19 February

Septuagesima Sunday

Solemn First Vespers and Benediction

Saturday 19 March

Feast of St Joseph

Solemn Second Vespers and Benediction

Thursday 21st, Friday 22nd & Saturday 23rd April

Tenebrae for the Sacred Triduum

Solemn Sung Matins and Lauds

8am, St Mary's Cathedral

Thursday 23rd June

Solemnity of Corpus Christi

Solemn Second Vespers

5pm, St Mary's Cathedral

Saturday 2nd July

Solemn Vespers

5pm, St Andrew's Cathedral, Dundee

Thursday 21 July

St Lawrence of Brindisi

5pm, Solemn Vespers and Benediction

Friday 26 August

Couperin: Messe Pour les Paroisses

7.30pm, St Mary's Cathedral

François Couperin's masterly Messe pour les Paroisses (Mass for the Parishes), plainchant settings of Mass movements for the organ, will receive a rare liturgical performance here on the cathedral organ, alternating with chants sung as part of the Mass by the Schola.

Saturdays, 6, 13 and 20 August

Latin Choral Vespers

Sundays, 7, 14, 21 and 28 August

9pm, Compline by Candlelight

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All liturgies begin at 4:00pm at St Mary’s Cathedral, Broughton St, unless otherwise stated. Once new events are finalised, they will be added here. Bookmark this page!

Assumption Solemn Vespers

The following was issued as a press release on Thursday 8th July:

SATURDAY 15th AUGUST 2009
FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION
SOLEMN SUNG VESPERS
IN THE EXTRAORDINARY FORM
METROPOLITAN CATHEDRAL OF THE ASSUMPTION
BROUGHTON STREET, EDINBURGH

The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption will be celebrating its patronal feast day with a celebration of Vêpres de la Vierge (Op.18) by Marcel Dupré. This is an exciting work for organ and Gregorian chant which will be performed by the internationally acclaimed cathedral organist, Simon Nieminski, and the Schola Sanctae Margaritae, a group which performs and promotes Gregorian chant within the Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh. The event will not only be significant as the patronal feast of St Mary’s Cathedral but also as a significant 90th anniversary performance in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe on the new Matthew Copley organ.

The officiant at Vespers will be the cathedral administrator, Mgr Michael Regan, who will be assisted by six coped clerics according to the ceremonies of the usus antiquior. Unfortunately His Eminence, Cardinal Keith Patrick O’Brien, will be out of the country in mid-August but he has kindly given his blessing to the celebration.

The work is a significant one from both a musical and liturgical perspective. It came into being when Claude Johnson, one of the original directors of Rolls Royce, chanced to be in Paris in August 1919. On the Feast of the Assumption he went to the Cathedral of Notre-Dame for Vespers. On that day the Organiste Titulaire, Louis Vierne, was replaced by Marcel Dupré, the former ceding the console to the latter for the purpose of testing his skill at improvisation. Dupré’s performance, by all accounts, did not disappoint his mentor.

So impressed was Johnson by what he had heard, that, upon his return to England, he contacted Dupré to ask how he might obtain a copy of the music. When the composer replied that the entire thing had been improvised, Johnson immediately offered a commission for their committal to paper.

Whereas during most of their history after publication they tended to be heard as a series of pieces for organ, their original place was in liturgical context. It was in 1994 that the late Dr Mary Berry CBE, Director of the Schola Gregoriana of Cambridge, embarked upon a project to reintroduce the Versets into their proper liturgical context, recording them later that year in Notre-Dame de Paris, with Philippe Lefèbvre, Titulaire of the Cathedral at the Grandes Orgues, and David Hill on the chamber organ. (Herald: HAVPCD170). The organ is treated as a liturgical voice, taking up the reprise of the antiphon after each of the five psalms, and basing its improvisation on the melody of the original chant of the antiphon: canon, chorale etc,. The Schola and organ alternate throughout the hymn, Ave Maris Stella, the organ offering the most varied of treatments of the melody. This alternation continues throughout the Magnificat, with the organ, rather than improvising on the chant, engaging in interpreting parts of the text.

Rounded off by the concluding Preces and the Salve Regina, the whole Office comes together to provide an uplifting – even at times breathtaking – celebration of one of the major feasts in the Church’s calendar. Nothing is left out, nothing is left to chance, and every element – every voice – integrates perfectly. It will be fitting to hear a work of such quality and which musically expresses the renaissance within the Church of organic development in Edinburgh for her cathedral’s patronal feast and during the world’s largest cultural festival.

Vespers will begin at 4pm and will be followed by a free organ and guitar recital at 5pm.

Forthcoming Events

Thursday 6th August
Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord
Solemn Sung Latin Vespers
and Benediction

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Saturday 15th August at 4pm
Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady
Solemn Sung Latin Vespers

The Schola will be collaborating with Simon Nieminski, the Cathedral Organist, for the second of his Saturday Vespers on the last four Saturdays in August. Together we will perform Marcel Dupré's Vespres de la Sainte Vierge for Chant and Organ. The event will be of particular significance not only because it will be the ninetieth anniversary of the work's premiere at Notre Dame de Paris but also because it will be the patronal feast of the Cathedral and thus an important day for the whole Archdiocese. We hope that as many people as possible will be able to join us from the various deaneries. Vespers will be followed by a recital on the new organ.

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Thursday 3rd September
Feast of Pope St Pius X
Solemn Sung Latin Vespers
and Benediction

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Thursday 15th October
Feast of St Teresa of Ávila
Solemn Sung Latin Vespers
and Benediction

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All liturgies begin at 6:45 pm at St Mary’s Cathedral unless otherwise stated.

Sacred Heart Vespers

The Sacred Ministers, Schola (seated) and Servers after Vespers

On 18th June the Schola sang Vespers and Benediction for the Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Mgr Michael Regan, the Chaplain of the Schola (centre of photo), officiated and was assisted by Fr Paul Francis Spencer CP, Fr John Emerson FSSP, Fr Neil Ferguson OP and Fr Gerard Byrne (pictured in copes from left to right respectively). We are most grateful to them all for their contributions.

The more solemn form of Vespers was a most fitting celebration of this much loved feast. We are looking forward to celebrating the Feast of the Assumption with even greater solemnity on 15th August for the patronal feast of the Cathedral. We are also looking forward to our next event, which will be Solemn Vespers for the Transfiguration of Our Lord on 6th August at 6:45pm.

Photo: Claire Hamid

Recent Vespers

We are happy to report that our recent Vespers for the Feasts of St Joseph and the Ascension have been most successful.

Our thanks must go to our officiants Fr Neil Ferguson OP (St Joseph and Ascension) and Fr John Emerson FSSP (St Joseph the Worker) and to everyone who has served and assisted at Vespers.

We are most grateful to Eoghain Murphy for sending us photographs of Vespers and Benediction for the Feast of St Joseph the Worker.

The Schola singing the psalms

The incense is placed in the thurible

Fr Emerson approaches the altar to give Benediction.

The Schola is looking forward to its next liturgy which will be First Vespers for the Feast of the Sacred Heart on 18th June at 6:45pm. We plan to have a full compliment of six coped assistants to compliment the chant, as is fitting for such a great feast.