Magnificat and Nunc DImitis Thomas Morley
Music in Church
St Mary Our Lady, Sidlesham
Welcome to the Saint Mary choir blog.
The church has both an adult and junior choir. We are affiliated to the Royal School of Church Music(RSCM). The junior choir are provided with tuition to enable them to gain their RSCM medals.
The senior choir is a SATB choir with its main responsibility to sing at the 10am Sunday service, including an anthem. See below for more details.
Our choirs do not require any fees to belong to them. New members to both the senior and junior choir are always welcome, whatever their standard. If you are interested in joining us please contact our Director of Music (Joanna) via the Contact Us page.
Tuesday, 8 July 2025
Sunday 6th July 2025 Evensong
Sunday 6th July 2025 Third Sunday after Trinity
The Irish Blessing. Bob Chilcott Words traditional
This is a traditional Irish blessing put to music by Bob Chilcott
May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be ever at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields
and until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of His hand.
As a composer, conductor, and singer, Bob Chilcott has enjoyed a lifelong association with choral music, first as a chorister and choral scholar in the choir of King's College, Cambridge, and for 12 years as a member of the King's Singers. He became a full-time composer in 1997, embracing his career with energy and commitment, and producing a large catalogue of music for all types of choirs which is published by Oxford University Press.
Music for Christmas forms a considerable part of his most popular repertoire, and works for the season include Wenceslas, My Perfect Stranger, and On Christmas Night. In his carols he sets both new and traditional texts, and writes for mixed-voice and upper-voice choirs.
He has written substantial sacred works including the St John Passion for Wells Cathedral Choir and the Salisbury Vespers. A Little Jazz Mass and the Requiem are amongst a number of works which continue to be performed worldwide. Other works include The Angry Planet, composed for the 2012 BBC Proms, and The Voyage for Age UK Oxfordshire, which in 2017 was nominated for a Royal Philharmonic Society Award. He has written many pieces for children, including his much-loved song, Can you hear me?, and a significant amount of music for the church. In 2013 he wrote The King shall rejoice for the service in Westminster Abbey to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the coronation of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.
Bob has conducted choirs in more than 30 countries worldwide and has worked with many thousands of amateur singers across the UK in a continuing series of Singing Days. For seven years he was conductor of the Chorus of The Royal College of Music in London and since 2002 he has been Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Singers.
His music has been widely recorded by leading British choirs and groups including King's College, Cambridge, Wells Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, The King's Singers, The Sixteen, Tenebrae, The BBC Singers, The Bach Choir, Commotio, and Ora. In 2016 Bob enjoyed a collaboration with the celebrated singer Katie Melua and the Gori Women's Choir on the album In Winter, which reached the top 10 in the album charts in the UK and Germany. His first Christmas disc, The Rose in the Middle of Winter, was recorded by Commotio. In 2017 two new discs were released by Commotio and Choralis – All Good Things on Naxos, and In Winter's Arms on Signum, his first recording collaboration with an American choir. Newer recording projects are with Gloucester Cathedral Choir, Houston Chamber Choir, and Wroclaw Philharmonic Choir.
In 2017 Bob was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of The Royal School of Church Music.
Taken from bobchilcott.com
![]() |
Bob Chilcott from Wikipedia |
Monday, 30 June 2025
Sunday 29th June 2025 Sts Peter and Paul
Give Us The Wings Of Faith Words Issac Watts Music Ernest Bullock
Sir Ernest Bullock (1890-1979) was not primarily a composer, but an educationalist and organist. He was born in Wigan, where he became organist at his parish church. He was then assistant organist at Leeds Parish Church in 1907. In 1908, he received his Bachelor of Music from the University of Durham, gaining his Doctor of Music in 1914. In 1912, he was assistant organist at Manchester Cathedral. After WW1 he was organist at St Michael's College, Tenbury, almost immediately moving to Exeter as cathedral organist in 1919. In 1928 he succeeded Sir Sidney Nicholson as Master of Choristers in Westminster Abbey. He provided music for the coronation of King George VI, writing most of the fanfares for that and also the coronation of Elizabeth II in 1953.
In 1941, Bullock went to Glasgow as the Gardiner Professor in Music at the university. In 1952 he became director of the Royal College of Music. He was knighted in 1951 and he retired in 1960.
Isaac Watts (1674-1748) was born in Southampton, the son of a committed religious nonconformist. His father, also Isaac was twice incarcerated for his beliefs. He received a classical education at the King Edward VI school, but was barred from attending Oxford or Cambridge universities as they were restricted to Anglicans. He went to the Dissenting Academy at Stoke Newington in 1690. He was pastor of a large independent chapel in London where he helped train preachers. However, his religious opinions were more ecumenical than was usual for a nonconformist. He promoted education and scholarship rather than preaching for a particular sect. He is famous for the writing of the words of hymns. He promoted hymn singing and his prolific hymn-writing helped to usher in a new era of English worship.
![]() |
Isaac Watts, by unknown artist {Wikimedia commons] |
Sunday, 8 June 2025
Sunday 8th June 2025 Pentecost
Sunday, 1 June 2025
Sunday 1st June 2025 Ascensiontide Family Service and Evensong
God Is Gone Up William Croft 1678 - 1727 Organ part Vincent Novello
Sunday, 11 May 2025
Sunday 11th May 2025 Fourth Sunday of Easter
Brother James's Air (Marosa) arr. Gordon Jacob Music inscribed to William Hendry
James Leith Macbeth Bain (1860-1925) was a minister, hymn writer and poet known to his peers as Brother James. He was born in Pitlochry where he was a pupil teacher before going to Edinburgh Free Church College and the Edinburgh Established Church College. His ministry took him to Liverpool and then to London as a spiritualist minister. He is best known for Brother James's Air which is usually set to The Lord's My Shepherd. This air is perhaps the most beautiful of the many that came to him spontaneously.
Gordon Jacob (1895-1984) is best known as a composer for wind band and instructional texts. He was a prisoner of war in 1917 and was one of only 60 survivors of the 800 in his battalion. On his release he initially studied journalism, but changed to composition, theory and conducting at the Royal College of Music. Because of a cleft palate and a childhood hand injury he was very limited as a performing musician, but found his forte as a composer especially for wind instruments. He was considered to be conservative in style, but famously said "the day that melody is discarded altogether, you may as well pack up music...".
![]() |
gordonjacob.net |