LFCCM 2019’s nine-day programme included concerts and recitals in London, outreach events in Oxford, five new commissions for choral evensong, and premiere performances in services across London of new music submitted to our Call for Scores project by composers around the world.
There were more than seventy events in 2019’s Festival, including:
This year’s Festival opens in spectacular fashion with a celebration of contemporary music for trumpets and voices, inspired by Judith Weir’s 2015 anthem Praise Him With Trumpets which was commissioned to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the founding of Hampton Court Palace.
This year’s gala concert celebrates Jonathan Dove’s 60th birthday with a programme of recent choral works, many of which are yet to be recorded. The programme takes its title from Dove’s motet Vast Ocean of Light, a rich and resplendent work that features his signature glistening organ writing.
Professor Matthew Cheung-Salisbury (Professor of Music, Worcester College), Thomas Allery (Director of Music, Worcester College), and Dr Christopher Batchelor (Artistic Director, LFCCM) get to grips with writing contemporary hymns.
On Monday, texts, tunes, and harmonisations will all be workshopped and public submissions are welcome and encouraged! Selected submissions will be included at Choral Evensong at Worcester College later in the day.
On Tuesday, contemporary music is performed in recitals and services across Oxford.
The Festival’s commissions for choral evensong are broadcast live from St Pancras Parish Church, with new works by Bernard Hughes, Sarah Cattley, Joshua Ballance, Deborah Pritchard, and Alex Woolf.
Before the broadcast, synaesthetic composer Deborah Pritchard discusses her new composition and explains her approach to composing and visualising music.
The East London Evensong Choir presents a set of new anthems by composer Jonathan Pease. These glittering settings of poetry, psalmody and scripture span the entire church year, from Advent to All Saints.
The Lacock Scholars perform Night Prayer, a complete musical setting of the liturgy of compline. Ben Rowarth’s music is entirely through-composed, carefully allowing the elements of the compline service to flow together into one seamless forty-five minute presentation.
A beautiful programme of sacred works by James MacMillan to celebrate his 60th birthday in 2019, including his rarely heard Missa Brevis, a work from his teenage years that was first performed and published only in 2007.
Jonathan Wikeley and the Choir of All Saints Church review new hymns from Call for Scores and explore new approaches to ancient and modern hymnody. Selected hymns reviewed in the workshop receive their performances at Choral Evensong later in the day.
There’s also more than fifty choral services and organ recitals throughout the Festival, featuring premiere performances of new music from Call for Scores.
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About the Festival
The London Festival of Contemporary Church Music was founded in 2002 with the aim of showcasing contemporary liturgical music in both service and concert. Based at St Pancras Parish Church, London, the LFCCM has grown to include more than 70 events in venues across London and beyond, dozens of composers, hundreds of performers and thousands of audience members, both live and online.
The London Festival of Contemporary Church Music is grateful for the support and sponsorship of
Event Calendar
Saturday 11 May
5:00pm, Saturday 11 MayChoral EvensongWestminster AbbeyMusic by Matthew Martin 7:00pm, Saturday 11 MayPre-Concert TalkHampstead Parish ChurchPre-Concert Talk by Judith Weir and Ewan Campbell Sunday 12 May
10:00am, Sunday 12 MayChoral EucharistSt Pancras Parish ChurchMusic by Jocelyn Coates, Robert Hanson, Łukasz Urbaniak, Thomas Bell, and Tim Ambler 10:00am, Sunday 12 MayAll-Age EucharistSt Mary-at-Finchley Parish ChurchMusic by Daniel Griffith, Paul Ayres, Caroline Lesemann-Elliott, Margaret Poston, and Grayston Ives 10:00am, Sunday 12 MayParish EucharistSt Barnabas, DulwichMusic by Tigran Grigoryan, Ian Hubbard, Elena Langer, and William Mathias 10:30am, Sunday 12 MayEucharistSt George’s BloomsburyMusic by Maxim Meshkvichev and David Ho-Yi Chan 10:30am, Sunday 12 MayMorning PrayerEton College Lower ChapelMusic by Matthew Martin and Francis Grier 10:30am, Sunday 12 MayHoly CommunionEton College ChapelMusic by Matthew O’Donovan and Frederick Viner 10:30am, Sunday 12 MayChoral EucharistHampstead Parish ChurchMusic by Ian Gilbert Coleman, Renāts Cvečkovskis, and Birgitta Kenyon 11:00am, Sunday 12 MayChoral MatinsThe Chapels Royal, HM Tower of LondonMusic by Benjamin Britten, James MacMillan, and Jehan Alain 11:00am, Sunday 12 MayParish MassSt Patrick’s, Soho SquareMusic by James MacMillan 11:00am, Sunday 12 MayChoral EucharistSt Bride’s ChurchMusic by Roxanna Panufnik 11:00am, Sunday 12 MayHigh MassAll Saints, Margaret StreetMusic by Gabriel Jackson, Harry Bramma, and David Bednall 11:00am, Sunday 12 MaySung EucharistGrosvenor Chapel MayfairMusic by Francis Jackson and Francisco Guerrero 11:30am, Sunday 12 MaySolemn MassSt George’s Cathedral SouthwarkMusic by William Lloyd Webber, Kerry Andrew, and Frederick Stocken 11:45am, Sunday 12 MayOrgan RecitalSt Pancras Parish ChurchLéon Charles performs a new O Antiphon Sequence by Cecilia McDowall and excerpts from The Everlasting Crown by Judith Bingham. 12:30pm, Sunday 12 MaySolemn MassSt Mary of the Angels, BayswaterMusic by Michael Wolniakowski, David Barton, and Samuel Donovan 3:00pm, Sunday 12 MayChoral EvensongSt Luke’s Church, ChelseaMusic by Judith Weir, Elizabeth Coxhead, Sasha Johnson Manning, Eleanor Jestico, Sarah Rimkus, Eleanor Daley, and Judith Bingham 3:30pm, Sunday 12 MayChoral EvensongThe Chapels Royal, HM Hampton Court PalaceMusic by Rupert Jeffcoat and Matthew Martin 6:00pm, Sunday 12 MayChoral EvensongSt Pancras Parish ChurchMusic by Norman Harper, Luke Mather, Nathan James, Kerry Andrew, Philip Moore, Melissa Dunphy, and Phillip Cooke 6:00pm, Sunday 12 MayChoral EvensongHampstead Parish ChurchMusic by Peter Foggitt, Thomas Edney, Patrick Gardner, and Noah Max Monday 13 May
10:30am, Monday 13 MayLFCCM in OxfordWorcester College, Oxford(Repertoire pending confirmation) 10:30am, Monday 13 MayWelcomeWorcester College, Oxford(Repertoire pending confirmation) 11:00am, Monday 13 MayWriting Texts: A Brief ContextualisationWorcester College, OxfordProfessor Matthew Cheung-Salisbury looks at some well-known traditional texts to see if there is any common ground or shared themes that run through the corpus. 11:30am, Monday 13 MayWriting Tunes: Established Tunes and HarmonyWorcester College, OxfordThomas Allery and Christopher Batchelor look at established tunes and harmony to understand why so many continue to be the backbone of hymnody today. 12:15pm, Monday 13 MayWriting Texts: Contemporary TextsWorcester College, OxfordProfessor Matthew Cheung-Salisbury looks closely at contemporary texts, and identifies a number which might repay careful setting to music today. 2:15pm, Monday 13 MayWorkshop: Hymn Setting and DevelopmentWorcester College, OxfordThomas Allery and Christopher Batchelor move forward into settings of contemporary texts, looking to identify several that could be included in Choral Evensong later in the day. 4:15pm, Monday 13 MayWorkshop: Selection and RefinementWorcester College, OxfordThe team works with participants to confirm two hymn tunes which can be refined for Choral Evensong later in the day. 6:00pm, Monday 13 MayChoral EvensongSt Michael, CornhillMusic by James Cryer, Arnold Bax, Alan Gray, and Ralph Vaughan Williams 6:15pm, Monday 13 MayChoral EvensongWorcester College, OxfordIncluding selections from workshops at LFCCM in Oxford 8:00pm, Monday 13 MayChoral Recital by East London Evensong ChoirSt Pancras Parish ChurchThe East London Evensong Choir presents a set of new anthems by composer Jonathan Pease. These glittering settings of poetry, psalmody and scripture span the entire church year, from Advent to All Saints. Tuesday 14 May
1:05pm, Tuesday 14 MayOrgan RecitalSt Mary-le-Bow ChurchThomas Allery plays a recital of contemporary British organ music, including works by Robert Saxton, John Joubert, Philip Moore, and Roxanna Panufnik. 1:15pm, Tuesday 14 MayLunchtime RecitalThe Queen’s College, OxfordThe Chapel Choir of The Queen’s College, Oxford performs a programme of contemporary British choral music, including works by James MacMillan, Cecilia McDowall, John Joubert, Jonathan Dove and Herbert Howells. 5:30pm, Tuesday 14 MayChoral EvensongKing’s College LondonMusic by Kerensa Briggs and Robert Keeley 6:00pm, Tuesday 14 MayChoral EvensongMagdalen College, OxfordThe Choristers sing a Boys’ Voices Festal Evensong for St Matthias. 6:15pm, Tuesday 14 MayChoral EvensongMerton College, OxfordMusic by Matthew Martin, Giles Swayne, and Ned Rorem Wednesday 15 May
1:10pm, Wednesday 15 MayChoral EucharistKing’s College LondonMusic by George Benjamin and Philip Moore 1:15pm, Wednesday 15 MayOrgan RecitalThe Temple ChurchTom Winpenny presents a programme of organ music by British composers, including the world premiere of a new work by Judith Bingham that contemplates the destruction of London churches in the Great Fire of 1666. 2:45pm, Wednesday 15 MayPre-Service TalkUNISON CentreComposer Deborah Pritchard discusses her commission for this year’s live broadcast of Choral Evensong and explains her approach to composing and visualising music. 3:30pm, Wednesday 15 MayChoral EvensongSt Pancras Parish ChurchMusic by Bernard Hughes, Sarah Cattley, Joshua Ballance, Roxanna Panufnik, Deborah Pritchard, and Alex Woolf Thursday 16 May
1:15pm, Thursday 16 MayChoral EucharistSt Pancras Parish ChurchMusic by Sarah Rimkus, John Flannery, Gil Donohue, Luke Mather, Thomas Metcalf, Noah Max, John Sturt, and Nicholas O’Neill 5:30pm, Thursday 16 MayChoral EvensongSt Marylebone Parish ChurchThe St Marylebone School Chapel Choir performs works by John Rutter, Bob Chilcott, and Cecilia McDowall 6:30pm, Thursday 16 MayChoral Evening PrayerHampstead Parish ChurchMusic by Daniel Knaggs and Hugo Distler 8:30pm, Thursday 16 MayNight Prayer: Compline RenewedSt Pancras Parish ChurchThe Lacock Scholars directed by Greg Skidmore perform Night Prayer, a complete musical setting of the liturgy of compline composed by Ben Rowarth. Friday 17 May
5:00pm, Friday 17 MayPre-Concert TalkSt Pancras Parish ChurchPre-Concert Talk by Charles Peebles Saturday 18 May
2:30pm, Saturday 18 MayHymnody WorkshopAll Saints Church, FulhamJonathan Wikeley and the Choir of All Saints Church review new hymns from Call for Scores and explore new approaches to ancient and modern hymnody in conversation with Dr Christopher Batchelor and Dr Christian Goursaud. 5:00pm, Saturday 18 MayChoral EvensongAll Saints Church, FulhamSelected hymns reviewed in the workshop receive their performances at Choral Evensong, alongside matching contemporary music. 7:00pm, Saturday 18 MayPre-Concert TalkSt Pancras Parish ChurchPre-Concert Talk by Jonathan Dove 7:30pm, Saturday 18 May“Vast Ocean of Light”: Jonathan Dove at 60: The Epiphoni ConsortSt Pancras Parish ChurchThis year’s gala concert celebrates Jonathan Dove’s 60th birthday with a programme of recent choral works, many of which are yet to be recorded. The programme takes its title from Dove’s motet Vast Ocean of Light, a rich and resplendent work that features his signature glistening organ writing. Sunday 19 May
10:00am, Sunday 19 MayChoral EucharistSt Pancras Parish ChurchMusic by Simon Brown, Daniel Knaggs, Richard Pantcheff, Kathryn Rose, Bruno Vlahek, and Gail Randall 10:00am, Sunday 19 MayParish EucharistSt Giles’ Cripplegate ChurchMusic by Peter Hurford, Thomas Bell, David Fawcett, and David Bedford 10:15am, Sunday 19 MaySung EucharistSt John the Baptist, WimbledonMusic by Peter Davis and Simon Hancock 10:30am, Sunday 19 MayChoral EucharistHampstead Parish ChurchMusic by Gil Donohue and Thomas Tallis 10:30am, Sunday 19 MaySolemn MassWestminster CathedralMusic by Martin Baker 11:00am, Sunday 19 MaySung EucharistHoly Trinity, Sloane SquareMusic by Stephen Dodgson and Thomas Hewitt Jones 11:00am, Sunday 19 MaySolemn High MassSt Paul’s Church, KnightsbridgeMusic by Cecilia McDowall, James MacMillan, and Igor Stravinsky 11:00am, Sunday 19 MayEucharistOld Royal Naval College ChapelMusic by John Sturt and Dominic Veall 11:00am, Sunday 19 MayChoral EucharistSt Marylebone Parish ChurchMusic by Cecilia McDowall, Paul Mealor, Jamie Rogers, and Callum Anderson 11:00am, Sunday 19 MaySung EucharistSt George’s, Hanover SquareMusic by Gabriel Jackson, Grayston Ives, and Judith Bingham 11:00am, Sunday 19 MayHigh MassSt Mary’s Bourne StreetMusic by Gregorio Allegri, Patrick Hadley, and James Sherwood 11:00am, Sunday 19 MayEucharistChrist Church, ChelseaMusic by Gareth Wilson, Nicholas Walker, and Christopher Mitchell 11:00am, Sunday 19 MayMorning ServiceUnion ChapelMusic by David Liddle, Ben Comeau, Elsa Hackett, and Henry Tozer 11:00am, Sunday 19 MaySung EucharistGrosvenor Chapel MayfairMusic by Richard Hobson, Rhiannon Randle, and John Cook 11:00am, Sunday 19 MayChoral MatinsThe Wren Chapel, Royal Hospital, ChelseaMusic by Eloise Irving, William Petter, Roxanna Panufnik, and Judith Bingham 11:00am, Sunday 19 MaySung MassOur Most Holy Redeemer and St Thomas MoreMusic by Ian Gilbert Coleman and Jonathan Millican 11:00am, Sunday 19 MayChoral MatinsThe Chapels Royal, HM Tower of LondonMusic by Herbert Sumsion, Bruno Vlahek, and Julius Reubke 11:30am, Sunday 19 MaySolemn MassSt George’s Cathedral SouthwarkMusic by Grayston Ives, Peter Foggitt, and Frederick Stocken 11:30am, Sunday 19 MaySung EucharistSt James Church, West HampsteadMusic by Philip Godfrey, Andrew Carter, and Sheila Carter 12:30pm, Sunday 19 MaySolemn MassSt Mary of the Angels, BayswaterMusic by Marek Raczyński and Nathan James 6:00pm, Sunday 19 MayChoral EvensongSt Pancras Parish ChurchMusic by Nicholas O’Neill, Anthony Esland, Alison Willis, Alastair Borthwick, Justine Koontz, and Simon Hancock 6:00pm, Sunday 19 MayChoral EvensongHampstead Parish ChurchMusic by Tomás Luis da Vittoria, William Petter, Jean Titelouze, Peter Foggitt, Kathryn Rose, and Manuel Valls 6:00pm, Sunday 19 MayEvensong and BenedictionAll Saints, Margaret StreetMusic by Matthew Martin, Christopher Gilbert, James Sherwood, and Simon Johnson 7:00pm, Sunday 19 MayChoral EvensongEton College ChapelMusic by Phillip Cooke Sunday 24 November
6:00pm, Sunday 24 NovemberChoral EvensongSt Pancras Parish ChurchMusic by Bernard Hughes, Sarah Cattley, Joshua Ballance, Antony Pitts, and William Cole Tuesday 3 December
6:00pm, Tuesday 3 DecemberChoral EvensongSt Pancras Parish ChurchMusic by Robin Walker, Cecilia McDowall, Philip Moore, Roxanna Panufnik, and Anthony Powers 
