Ash Wednesday St. John's College Choir, Cambridge & Andrew Nethsingha

• 1 The Preces 01:37
• 2 Miserere Mei, Deus 13:08
• 3 The First Lesson 02:02
• 4 The Short Service: Magnificat 03:00
• 5 The Second Lesson 03:20
• 6 The Short Service: Nunc Dimittis 01:37
• 7 The Apostles' Creed 01:04
• 8 The Responses 06:25
• 9 Ne irascaris, Domine 10:53
• 10 The Prayers 02:28
• 11 Prelude in E Minor, BWV 548i 07:39
• Total Runtime 53:13

Info for Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday marks the start of Lent, the forty-day period of fasting and penitence which precedes Easter. Ashes are placed on worshippers’ foreheads in the shape of a cross, as a sign of repentance. Evensong on this day has been an especially important service in the liturgical year at St John’s; the BBC started transmitting it live in 1972. For several decades the service was broadcast annually; more recently it has been biennial. 2019 was a live broadcast year, however the recording on this release uses our own microphones, permanently installed in St John’s College Chapel for webcasting, rather than those of the BBC.

This recording will be released around the same time that the Dean of St John’s, Mark Oakley, releases a book on George Herbert’s poems, called My Sour Sweet Days. The book and the recording go well in tandem, as in the Deans first sermon at St. John’s, he said “I believe that when we walk here (The Chapel), we walk into a poem. The liturgy is poetry in motion, and we sometimes fail to understand its density of suggestion, the eavesdropping on the soul, the sensitive state of consciousness that its poetry can prompt.”

“In this recording we are not seeking to be compared against studio and concert performances by mixed-voice professional choirs. Rather we are wanting to present a snapshot of an honest, reverential service - a real act of liturgy using the beautiful Book of Common Prayer, as we do each day.” (Andrew Nethsingha)

The Choir of St. John’s College, Cambridge Andrew Nethsingha, direction

The Choir of St John’s College Cambridge
is one of the finest collegiate choirs in the world – known and loved by millions from its broadcasts, concert tours and 100 recordings. Founded in the 1670s, the Choir is known for its rich, warm and distinctive sound, its expressive interpretations and its ability to sing in a variety of styles. Alongside this discipline, the Choir is particularly proud of its happy, relaxed and mutually supportive atmosphere.

The Choir is directed by Andrew Nethsingha, following in a long line of eminent Directors of Music, recently Dr George Guest, Dr Christopher Robinson and Dr David Hill. The choir's first release on its imprint with Signum Classics, Deo, won the Choral Award at the BBC Music Magazine Awards 2017.

Andrew Nethsingha
Performing in North America, South Africa, the Far East, and throughout Europe, Andrew Nethsingha has been Director of Music at St John’s College, Cambridge since 2007. He has helped to set up a new recording label, ‘St John’s Cambridge,’ in conjunction with Signum. His first disc on the new label, DEO (music by Jonathan Harvey), was a 2017 BBC Music Magazine Award winner. Andrew Nethsingha was a chorister at Exeter Cathedral, under his father’s direction. He later studied at the Royal College of Music, where he won seven prizes, and at St John’s College, Cambridge. He held Organ Scholarships under Christopher Robinson at St George’s Windsor, and George Guest at St John’s, before becoming Assistant Organist at Wells Cathedral. He was subsequently Director of Music at Truro and Gloucester Cathedrals, and Artistic Director of the Gloucester Three Choirs Festival.

This album contains no booklet.