Subscribers to Search Magazine will have just received their October/November edition, along with a ‘Services and Music List’, compiled by our Music Director, Shaun Yong.
Shaun wrote an article about the booklet and the process of planning the music at St Andrew’s. Unfortunately, the latest edition of Search was changed in order to respond to the death of Queen Elizabeth II, and there wasn’t space for Shaun’s article to be included. As a result, we are publishing it here and hope that you enjoy it!
Services and Music List Sep-Dec 2022
This has been many weeks in the planning, and I’m very excited that it has finally been made available! The booklet lists all the services at St Andrew’s and the three daughter communities, and gives the music details for each service. I felt it was important for the congregation to know what was going on in the whole chaplaincy, and also the kind of music that we do from week to week. While I was compiling this list, it struck me how many services we actually do – obviously most of us are at only one of them at any week, but actually a lot goes on in our chaplaincy! Similarly, the music we do is carefully and thoughtfully planned: music is informed by, and serves the word and the liturgy. Our musical expression is shaped by our community’s theological practice – it does not stand alone, and it certainly isn’t the result of any individual’s preference!
One my favourite parts of my job is the planning process. I love working with Jackie to choose choral or organ music that best complements the lectionary readings, and which also enriches the mood of the service – though it isn’t the easiest thing to decide which Christmas carols we’re going to sing while in the heat of the summer. I also want to make sure that our music at St Andrew’s reflects the different traditions we share and represent the diversity of talent in Anglican church music today. In the last year alone, we have done everything from Tudor to Victorian music, Italian Renaissance counterpoint to African-American spirituals, well-loved classics to pieces barely off the press by leading composers of today such as Cecilia McDowall and Judith Bingham.
Director of Music
There is a rich variety of music on offer at St Andrew’s and I hope that this can be perceived from the Services and Music List. Please put it up on your fridge or give it to a neighbour – there are enough copies available to pick up from church. And, as you read this, the musical and liturgical planning from January till Easter has already started – so in no time you’ll receive the next edition.
If you are interested in singing with our choir, Shaun would love to hear from you!
Please do contact him by email at musiczurich@anglican.ch