2009 Archive
Forthcoming services
Sunday 3rd January 2010 11am Solemn Eucharist, sung by the Elgin Chorale: Merbecke Mass, Britten A New Year carol. Wednesday 6th January 8pm Solemn Eucharist of the Epiphany, sung by the boys and men: Ireland in C, Stopford The three kings. Sunday 10th January 11am Solemn Eucharist, sung by the boys and men: Stanford in C and F, Ives Listen, sweet Dove; 6pm Choral Evensong, sung by the girls and men: Dyson in F, Tallis O nata lux.
Thursday 31 December
Choirs' new CD
The choirs' new CD was launched recently amidst great fanfare! A celebration of the twentieth annual concert featuring the church choirs with Alan Stanford, it features a programme of readings and carols that will bring joy to everyone this Christmas season. It will be a lasting souvenir of twenty fabulous years of this unique event, and of course will be a highly enjoyable disc in its own right. The perfect present for anyone with a love of festive music and stories, and with a special connection to Saint Bartholomew's! In addition, all proceeds will help the Choir Fund to provide even better music in the future. For further details and to make an order, please visit http://christmas.stbartholomews.ie/, or speak to the churchwardens.
Tuesday 22 December
Christmas Cards
Christmas cards with beautiful photographs of our church have been produced by Richard Bannister and sets of 10 cards can be bought for €5. We encourage everyone to buy a few sets, and thus contribute to the Parish funds and spread Christmas cheer! They are available on Sundays after the services and from the Parish Office Wednesday to Friday, 01-6688522.
Friday 20 November
Dublin Symphony Orchestra
The Dublin Symphony Orchestra, now in its forty-third year, is one of Dublin’s leading non-professional orchestras whose members hail from a variety of backgrounds and professions. The Orchestra performs at least three public concerts each year and provides its enthusiastic members with the opportunity to study and perform classical orchestral music. The following works will be performed at our upcoming concert: Mozart – Overture to ‘The Magic Flute’ Mozart – Violin Concerto No. 5 in A Major (Soloist/Director – Elaine Clark) Beethoven – Symphony No. 5 in C Minor The Orchestra will perform under the continuing direction of Fergus O’Carroll and take this opportunity of welcoming guest Leader/Director Elaine Clark.
Friday 20 November
Walk of Light
The Walk of Light is an ecumenical event that takes place each year in the city. This year it takes place on the evening of Sunday 22nd November beginning in the Newman University Church of Our Lady Seat of Wisdom at 6pm (St Stephen's Green) and ending in Saint Bartholomew's (the evening is scheduled to end at 8pm). There are a total of three stops along the way, and some light refreshments will be provided after the final stop. Lanterns and candles will be provided and children are welcome. This is an important part of our witness together in the city as many churches come together through the Dublin Council of Churches and I would like to encourage you to join us for this very special event. Even if you feel you are unable to make it to all of the Walk of Light, you might perhaps consider coming along to at least one stop along the way. There will be no service of Choral Evensong on 22nd November as we will be participating in the Walk of Light. Fr Andrew
Thursday 5 November
Concert postponed
The concert originally scheduled for Saturday 14th November has had to be postponed. It is hoped the concert will take place at a future date.
Thursday 5 November
CD Recording - Coming Soon
Corporate pre-ordering information
Information on individual orders will be available from December 1
Wednesday 4 November
Student Reader
John Godfrey will be joining St Bartholomew’s on an eight-week Sunday placement from November 1st, as a first year ordinand on the new Master of Theology course in the Church of Ireland Theological Institute. Originally from Wolverhampton in the West Midlands of England, John is a graduate of English and French from the University of Leeds. Since moving to Dublin to in 1998, John read a Masters in Film and Television Studies in DCU and has spent the last ten years in RTÉ Television, as Business Development Manager and more recently Head of Implementation in Television Sales. He is a congregant member of St Patrick’s Enniskerry, where he has been co-ordinating this year’s ecumenical 150th anniversary celebrations of three churches in the area with Archdeacon Ricky Rountree and Father John Sinnott, which have included the recent RTÉ Television broadcast Songs From The Garden.
Wednesday 28 October
All Saints and All Souls
The festival of All Saints takes place on Sunday 1st November at 11 am in Saint Bartholomew’s and all are welcome. The festival of All Souls takes place on Monday 2nd November in Saint Bartholomew’s at 8pm. This feast is a time when many who have had family association with Saint Bartholomew’s return to the parish for this moving and important festival to remember with thanksgiving, their loved ones in the care of God. We welcome you to join us for these festivals and hope and pray that it may be a special and important time for you and your family.
Wednesday 28 October
St Mary's Home Autumn Fayre
Many thanks to all who supported the Autumn Fayre on Thursday 1st October. The bookstall was, as always, run by St Bartholomew’s Parish and business was brisk. We are grateful for the support of St Conleth’s School. The proceeds of the day will greatly help the good work of the Home.
Friday 2 October
St Mary's Home Autumn Fayre
The annual Autumn Fayre in aid of St Mary’s Home, Pembroke Park will be held in St. Conleth's College, Clyde Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 on Thursday 1st October 2009 between 10am and 2pm when we look forward to meeting our many friends.
Wednesday 24 September
Lecture In St Bartholomew’s On Wednesday 16th September At 8pm Rev Dr Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, OP will present a lecture entitled ‘The Story of the Christian Quarter of Jerusalem’ on September 16th. The proceeds are in aid of the Order of Malta Holy Family Hospital, Bethlehem. The lecture will be followed by a Wine Reception in the Order of Malta’s premises (beside the Church) during which a film showing the work of the hospital will be shown. Born in Cork, Rev Fr Murphy-O'Connor is Professor of New Testament at the École Biblique et Archeologique Française in Jerusalem, and is one of the institution’s most celebrated scholars. Fr Murphy-O'Connor has been one of the shaping influences on Holy Land studies in modern times. He has been published widely throughout the world and in the 1970s, he was invited by the Oxford University Press to write an archaeological guide to the Holy Land, and in 1980, his acclaimed, "The Holy Land, an Archaeological Guide from Earliest Times to 1700," was published. This definitive work appeared in a revised edition in 1986 and has been translated into many languages. As a commentator on the historical dimension to the Middle East conflict, Fr Murphy-O'Connor has been a regular contributor and advisor to the broadcast and print media. Fr Andrew Saturday 12 September
Christian Stewardship Renewal - September 17th Event For various reasons the Christian Stewardship programme in any parish requires renewal from time to time. People move, die, or leave. New members of the parish are not involved. People don't think to amend their giving in line with inflation and/or their income. The social/pastoral needs of the parish change. For all of these reasons it is time for us in St. Bartholomew's to embark on a Renewal programme. In order to kick-start the process we will be holding a Cheese and Wine event on Thursday 17th September (7.00 to 8.30 pm) in the Order of Malta Hall beside the church. Please put that important date in your diary today! Fr Andrew Saturday 12 September
Saint Bartholomew’s Day Our patronal festival will take place in Saint Bartholomew's on 24th August at 7pm. We shall welcome as our guest preacher Fr Nigel Dunne, the Dean of Saint Fin Barre's Cathedral, Cork, who was also a curate of this parish. Wednesday 22 July
Summer Reviews Caius College Choir, Cambridge – Concert on Saturday July 11th. This was an absolutely superb concert. A review in Thursday’s Irish Times of their concert in Dun Laoghaire could be taken for the one in St Bart’s also. The musicians competed very well with the extremely loud and off-putting sounds from a concert in the RDS which was on at the same time. Riverside City College Choir – Concert on Sunday July 5th. It certainly has been a very musical few weeks in St Bart’s! The choir from RCC sang in St Bart’s and Christ Church Cathedral before going over to Wales to compete in the Eisteddfod, where they won first place in the Mixed Choir section. They were a wonderful group of young people who sang beautifully. Niamh Harty Friday 17 July
Music on Mondays Finale A Purcell Celebration, Monday July 13 2009 String Quartet from the Royal Irish Academy of Music with Fraser Wilson, continuo, on the Heckmann Organ with sopranos Rosie Cooke & Cally Youdell and mezzo soprano Tuula Voutilainen. What a lovely way to bring this Music on Mondays series to a conclusion; we could see Fraser's ambition, to establish St Bartholomew's as a leading city venue for beautiful music, being achieved. The early concerts were rather sparsely attended but over the past weeks we were welcoming audiences of up to and over 70. The Clyde Chorale concert, 'Mostly Mendelssohn', attracted an audience of over 300. Now to this wonderful Purcell concert. In the writer's opinion, the programme could only be carried off by very accomplished and near-professional musicians. To hear the strings resounding through the nave was a joy and the players looked as though they too were enjoying the experience. I marvelled at the ease with which the singers performed what to me seemed crazily intricate passages in their solos, duets and trios. Some of the more familiar items featured in the second half, to name just a few:- Rosie's plaintive and moving singing in Dido's Lament and then in O let me weep which had to be sung to the 8.00pm chimes of our bells. Cally lifted our spirits with the lovely I attempt from love's sickness to fly and here we had those pleasing running passages. Earlier, in opening the second half the musicians had carried off, with quite some polish, the opening of Act II of Dido and Aeneas. We heard Tuula's lovely mezzo tones in the earlier half too. Fraser gave us a seamless continuo at the Heckmann chamber organ. When we then retired to the Parish Room for some wine and nibbles all three combined with an a capella farewell encore to the whole series. We have to thank Fraser for his courage in embarking on what turned out to be a highly successful series; roll on his next ventures! Bobby Barden Friday 17 July
Review MUSIC ON MONDAYS – Monday July 6th – Sayjin Park, Organist The Korean organist and Feis Ceoil prizewinner, Sayjin Park, gave a delightful performance of works by Buxtehude, Liszt, Messiaen and Bach last Monday night. Sayjin is a student of Professor David Adams (father of three of our recent choristers) and she is the organist in Adelaide Road. David introduced us to all of the pieces first and then Sayjin played without a break, which suited the music. The small but appreciative audience gave her a well-deserved applause and congratulations. In the audience were Sayjin’s husband and young daughter, who enjoyed the concert very much too. It was great to hear the wonderful organ of St Bartholomew’s featuring in this concert series. The final concert of the series is on Monday July 13th, and I would like to encourage as many parishioners as possible to attend. The series is yet another superb achievement of our Director of Music, Fraser Wilson, whose energy knows no bounds. He has certainly made a great start in his objective to develop St Bartholomew’s as a venue for great music. Niamh Harty Friday 10 July
Summer Services The Elgin Chorale will sing every Sunday morning service until 30 August. New members are always welcome and need just turn up for a rehearsal at 10.20am. Those who wish to collect copies of service music in advance are asked to speak to Fraser Wilson or Peter Parshall. Friday 3 July
Concert Review June 29, Monday Medley: Rosie Cooke, Cally Youdell, Fiona Hickey, Niall Kinsella, Robert Nottingham, and Fraser Wilson. An attendance of close on seventy gave a rapturous reception to the performances of these very talented artists. Hearing the lovely mezzo soprano voice of Fiona Hicky for the first time I was specially moved by her 'Ave Maria' by Caccini (1551-1618) . Later I played Sumo Jo singing the same piece and Fiona's was every bit as good. She began her programme with 'Voi che sapete' by Mozart, followed by a Michael Head song, then Schubert's lied 'Die Junge Nonne' which ends with plaintive Allelulias. Next she charmed us singing the traditional 'She moved through the fair' with exquisite Celtic accenting . The rest of her pieces included Bizet's 'Habanera', Lerner & Leowe's 'I could have danced all night' and Goddard's 'Angels guard thee'. To conclude, in the twilight of the church she gave us two romantic pieces: Molloy's 'Love's old sweet song' with, to me, a wonderful top register for a mezzo, then singing directly to her father (seated near the front) Puccini's 'O mio babbino caro'. Cally and Rosie gave us an exciting' Laudamus te' by Vivaldi and the interaction between the voices was beautiful. Next, Cally soloed in Schubert's 'Seligkeit' showing off her lovely top register. Then a real contrast called 'Five eyes' by Armstrong Gibbs about three street cats and their antics, one presumably having lost an eye - this was sung very amusingly by Fiona. Cally, Rosie and Robert combined with Fraser at the piano for Mozart's 'Soave sia il vento' followed by a very lovely rendition of Ivor Gurney's 'Sleep' sung sympathetically by Cally with a haunting piano accompaniment. This song sounded as if it had been written in the past thirty years, but no - it was composed around 1925. Rosie's final solo was Handel's beautiful 'O sleep, why dost thou leave me?' This was very beautifully sung, using her wonderful range and artistry to great effect. Then Robert Nottingham took us to sea in Stanford's 'The old superb'. Three of the nine verses start with the line- 'So Westward Ho ! for Trinidad and Eastward Ho! for Spain , With a hundred 'Ship Ahoys a Day' Robert, who should have had a tankard of beer in one hand, used his fine baritone voice to get the story over. Indeed the whole evening was about beautiful voices and all six artists combined in a lovely version of 'Steal away' arranged by David Blackwell and later in an exciting arrangement of the spiritual 'Every time I feel the spirit'. This was a concert that everyone there would have been happy to pay at least 15 euro for, instead of the €5 we were charged; but as Fraser told us, events such as these will be on-going, fulfilling the great musical tradition of St Bartholomew's. Bobby Barden Friday 3 July
Easter Vestry The Select Vestry for 2009 is: Richard Bannister Judith Barden (Vicar's Glebewarden) Barbara Bergin (Vicar's Churchwarden) Don Cazzini (People's Churchwarden) Gillian Davidson Traudi Ferguson Niamh Harty David Jones Francis Keenan John King Joseph Malone John O'Keeffe Ferdinand von Prondzynski (People's Glebewarden) Huw Rolfe Charlie Smith Molly Sullivan Monday 27 April