We are a musical church where sung and instrumental music plays an important part in our worship. Whether joining together to sing our old favourites or learning new songs together, gathering for singing groups or hosting community choirs, we know the joy of singing and agree with St Augustine that ‘the person who sings prays twice.’
Our pipe organ and its predecessors have a rather remarkable history! St Matthew’s former Director of Music, Dr Chris Maxim, compiled and updated a history of the organs, a copy of which you’re welcome to download. This most recent update was completed in April 2020 when new information was discovered about one of our organs of days past.
Dr Christopher Maxim’s History of the Organ.
We do not have a regular choir; but for over a decade our ‘Christmas Choir’ has been a central feature of our annual Carols by Candlelight Service. For each of these, our former Director of Music composed a new piece. They may be heard on YouTube:
- 2008 All and some (published by Paraclete Press)
- 2009 With merry heart (published on Score Exchange)
- 2010 A little child there is yborn (published on Paraclete Press)
- 2011 Magnificat (published on Score Exchange)
- 2012 Benedictus (published on Score Exchange)
- 2013 Ad cantus leticie (published on Paraclete Press)
- 2014 I sing of a maiden (published on Paraclete Press)
- 2015 The Song of Anna (published on Score Exchange)
- 2016 The Darkest Midnight in December (published on Score Exchange)
- 2017 Hark! Hark! glad tidings charm our ears (published by Paraclete Press)
- 2018 The Word’s Desire (published by Paraclete Press)
- 2019 Love cam down at Christmas (published by Paraclete Press)
The choir at these services has been drawn from the congregation, with a little help from a few members of The Giltspur Singers, the East London Evensong Choir and other guests. A varied selection of pieces sung at our Carol Services can be heard on this YouTube playlist.
Our former Director of Music also composed a number of hymn tunes that we use from time to time at St Matthew’s, including:
- Cathays (O glorious maid, exalted far)
- Cloth Fair (There’s a wideness in God’s mercy)
- Corpus Christi (Draw nigh, and take the body of the Lord)
- Newton West Kirby (Stars of the morning, so gloriously bright)
- Sancta Maria Magdalena (Mary weep not, weep no longer)
- Scully (Jesus Christ is risen: the feast, good Christians, therefore keep)
- St Luke (Saviour, who didst healing give)
For the service to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the reconsecration of the church in July 2011, the PCC commissioned Chris to compose an anthem. The result of this commission, ‘O How Amiable Are Thy Dwellings’, was performed by the Giltspur Singers, with Adey Grummet (soprano).
On Good Friday, a quartet of singers (all regular worshippers at St Matthew’s) sometimes performs the John Passion to plainsong, with the Turba (Crowd) parts sung in the polyphonic settings by Tomás Luis de Victoria (c.1548-1611).