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Welcome to St John's Church
an inclusive Church of England church, with a catholic spirituality
at the heart of Fulham since 1828
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Last December, St John's Choral Scholars won the 2022 Rome CHORUS INSIDE INTERNATIONAL choral competition, competing with 18 choirs and ensembles from all over Europe. Their performance consisted of a mixed programme of Poulenc's La Blanche Neige/ Quem vidistis pastores, Howells' A spotless rose, Bairstow's Let all mortal flesh keep silence and Willcocks' Tomorrow shall be my dancing day!
Rheinberger - Dextera DominiSt John's Schola Cantorum; Domenico Gioffre
00:00 / 02:24
Guest - For the FallenSt John's Schola Cantorum; Domenico Gioffre
00:00 / 01:19
Faure - Cantique de Jean RacineSt John's Schola Cantorum; Domenico Gioffre
00:00 / 04:28
Haydn - Insanae et vanae curaeSt John's Schola Cantorum; Domenico Gioffre
00:00 / 06:33
St John's Choral Scholars regularly study and record the works of the great European masters, interpreting them with a lyrical touch.
Here are some samples of their style, in both studio
and live settings:
"A German Requiem" (Andrew Robinson, piano) to Words of the Holy Scriptures, Op. 45 (German: Ein deutsches Requiem, nach Worten der heiligen Schrift) by Johannes Brahms, is a large-scale work for chorus, orchestra, and soprano and baritone soloists, composed between 1865 and 1868. It comprises seven movements, which together last 65 to 80 minutes, making this work Brahms's longest composition. A German Requiem is sacred but non-liturgical, and unlike a long tradition of the Latin Requiem, A German Requiem, as its title states, is a Requiem in the German language.
"O Holy Night" (Soprano Scholar Shimona Rose soloist; Andrew Robinson, piano) is a sacred song for Christmas performance. Originally based on a French-language poem by poet Placide Cappeau, written in 1843, with the first line "Minuit, Chrétien, c'est l'heure solennelle" (Midnight, Christian, is the solemn hour) that composer Adolphe Adam set to music in 1847. The English version (with small changes to the initial melody) is by John Sullivan Dwight. The carol reflects on the birth of Jesus as humanity's redemption.
"Adam lay ybounden" (Bass Scholar Jonathan Hedley soloist; Domenico Gioffre, piano) relates the events of Genesis. In medieval theology, Adam was supposed to have remained in bonds with the other patriarchs in the limbus patrum from the time of his death until the crucifixion of Christ (the "4000 winters"). The second verse narrates the Fall of Man following Adam's temptation by Eve and the serpent. John Speirs suggests that there is a tone of astonishment, almost incredulity in the phrase "and all was for an apple", noting "an apple, such as a boy might steal from an orchard, seems such a little thing to produce such overwhelming consequences".
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