Irish Times Notes
Church of Ireland Notes from 'The Irish Times'
Saturday 18 July 2009
Hymn Society Meets in Armagh
Next Tuesday in the City Hotel, Armagh, the Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland will begin its annual conference which will continue until Thursday. The Archbishop of Armagh, the Most Reverend Alan Harper, will officially welcome the delegates at the opening session, and the Conference Eucharist will be in St. Mark’s Parish Church on Wednesday.
The Society was founded in 1936 and currently has approximately 500 members from many different parts of the world. It is an interdenominational body consisting of hymnwriters, composers and those who are interested in hymnody. Its annual conference is held in different locations in Great Britain and Ireland each year and this year, for only the second time it is visiting Ireland – the 2000 conference was held in Dublin.
Among the lecturers this year will be the Reverend Dr. Andrew Pratt, who will speak on Frederick Faber: Vision or Heresy – Hymns shaping doctrine. Former Northern Ireland RSCM Representative, John Crothers, will introduce the members to the hymns of a champion of the Christian Endeavour movement in Northern Ireland in a presentation entitled John Pollock – the Endeavour of a life-time. The Reverend Dr. Bert Tosh will speak of his experience as Senior Producer for religion and ethics with BBC Northern Ireland in a talk entitled Producing 5,842 Hymns! The final lecture of the Conference will be given by Dr. Gillian Warson to honour the 80th birthday of the famous hymnwriter Fred Kaan: the man and his hymns. Dr. Warson published Healing the Nations, the biography of Fred Kaan in 2007.
One of the highlights of the Conference each year is the Festival of Hymns which is normally held on the Wednesday evening. This year’s Festival is to be held in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh, at 8.p.m. on Wednesday. Local church choirs have been invited to join in the singing of this Songs of Praise type of service. The hymns, with a particular emphasis on Irish hymnody, will be introduced by the Hymn Society’s current Executive President, Bishop Edward Darling (the first Irishman to hold this position) and the Conductor will be Nigel McClintock, Director of Music at St. Peter’s Cathedral, Belfast. The Organist will be Liam Crangle and the singing will be led both by the St. Peter’s Schola Cantorum and Priory II (formerly the Priory Singers). Members of the public will be most welcome to be present at this year’s Festival of Hymns which will be recorded by the BBC for radio transmission on Sunday Half-Hour at a later date.
Today (Saturday) there will be an ‘old style’ Garden Fete at St Patrick’s Church, Donabate, Co. Dublin, beginning at 2pm, with music from the St George’s Brass Band.
Tomorrow (Sunday) morning at 10.45 RTE 1 Radio will broadcast a service of Choral Mattins from St Mary’s Chuch, Ballymascanlan, Co. Louth. The service will be led by the rector, the Revd Sandra Pragnel, who will also preach, and the music will be provided by organist David McGukin and the Lowry Singers, directed by Earl Moffitt.
In the afternoon, at 4pm, the Clonmacnoise Annual Outdoor Service will be held. The preacher will be the Dean of St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, Dr Robert MacCarthy, and the music, under the direction of Derek Verso, will be led by the choir of St Brigid’s Cathedral, Kildare.
On Thursday the lunchtime organ rectal in St Columb’s Cathedral, Derry, will be given by Peter Barley, Organist and Master of the Choristers in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin.