Chapel Choir
Emmanuel is one of the larger Cambridge colleges, with around 450 undergraduates, a fine campus in the centre of town, and a chapel designed by Christopher Wren. It has an extremely active musical life, in which the chapel music plays a central role.
The choir’s raison d’etre is to sing the weekly Choral Eucharist and Evensong in the college chapel during term. Eucharist takes place on Thursday evenings and Evensong on Sundays—making membership a relatively low time commitment. Rehearsals take place before these services and on Tuesday evenings. College occasions are marked with special sung services throughout the year.
Besides these regular commitments, the choir makes occasional visits to other British churches and cathedrals, and goes on regular foreign tours (recent destinations including Thailand, Italy, Hawaii, Mexico and Sweden). Over the last couple of years, the choir has broadcast for Mexican TV, premiered a new work by Nimrod Borenstein, sung in residence at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, and performed jointly with the choirs of Southwark Cathedral and the Memorial Church at Harvard University. Plans are afoot for a tour to Rome at Easter 2012.
Chapel Choir Reunion 2012
There was a reunion of the Chapel Choir on Sunday 29 April, when around 100 former members of the Choir joined the current Chapel Choir for Evensong. They sang 'This Joyful Eastertide' (Wood) as an Introit, the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in A by Stanford, 'I was glad' by Parry as the Anthem and Final responses by Naylor. The Dean, The Reverend Jeremy Caddick, preached on 'Why do they sing in heaven?' Evensong was followed by dinner in Hall, where everyone sang Wood's setting of 'Oculi omnium' for grace. Please click on the thumbnails for larger pictures or the link below for a recording made on the night.
'I was glad', by Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry
Chapel Choir Recordings
Listen to the Chapel Choir online