Come and Sing Hear My Prayer

Take part in a special evensong featuring Mendelssohn's Hear My Prayer in London's famous Temple Church.
Rehearsals from 1pm.
Evensong at 5pm.

Thomas Allery (conductor)
Charles Andrew (organ)
Members of Temple Singers and Church Choir

To mark the centenary of a defining moment in the musical history of Temple Church, we invite audiences to take part in a special choral evensong featuring a commemorative rendition of Mendelssohn’s Hear My Prayer, alongside canticles by Stanford and works by George Thalben-Ball.

In 1927, capitalising on the growing acclaim of the Temple Church Choir under the direction of Sir George Thalben-Ball, HMV released a recording of Mendelssohn’s Hear My Prayer, featuring the much-loved aria O for the Wings of a Dove sung by the choir’s young treble soloist, Ernest Lough. Such was the extraordinary demand for the recording that the original master wore out within six months, necessitating a new recording the following year - the version that remains familiar today.
Its immense popularity earned a gold disc for sales exceeding one million copies, one of the first gramophone recordings to do so, and established both Ernest Lough and the Temple Church Choir as household names.

As part of our 100th anniversary celebrations of this landmark recording, the public is warmly invited to join this unique evensong under the direction of the Temple’s dynamic Director of Music, Thomas Allery. Accompanying the choir will be the church’s organist, Charles Andrews, on the very same Harrison & Harrison organ whose installation was overseen by Sir George Thalben-Ball himself.

Tea and coffee will be served for participants, post-evensong drinks reception for all.

Music to include
Mendelssohn: Hear my Prayer WoO 15
Works by Stanford & George Thalben-Ball

 

Participants are invited to follow the link to register by voice type.  They will be sent detailed information on the arrangements for the day, which will start at 1.00pm and involve a 3-hour rehearsal with breaks for tea and coffee served by Temple Music.