Author Archives: Philip Davies

  1. Thursdays at 6.30pm

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    ‘In returning and rest you shall be saved;
    in quietness and in trust shall be your strength’

    Isaiah 30: 15

    In this great and lively city, quietness can be elusive and finding respite from the fullness of daily life is not always easy. The Thursday evening service is an invitation into restful space; a moment at the end of the day to re-turn to God and so to ourselves. Through silence, word, music and sacrament, we trust that God’s Spirit will be at work to calm, revive and strengthen us for all that lies ahead.

    Each week there is a reflection in words and music on a question from scripture.

    Thursday 11th April – Preacher: The Vicar

  2. Spring/Summer Recital Series

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    Join us for a series of recitals curated by James Orford, Organist & Assistant Director of Music

    Thursday 23rd May 2024 at 7.30pm

    Ruairi Bowen (tenor) and James Orford (piano) perform songs by Stanford and Holst

    Click to buy tickets for 23 May recital

    Thursday 27th June 2024 at 7.30pm

    A recital of solo and ensemble pieces by the Choral Scholars of St Paul’s Knightsbridge

    Click to buy tickets for 27 June recital

    Thursday 11th July 2024 at 7.30pm

    James Orford and George Inscoe play a programme of works for organ by Stanford and Vierne

    Click to buy tickets for 11 July recital

  3. Organ Recital

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    Thursday 25th June at 7:30pm

    at St Paul’s Knightsbridge, 32A Wilton Place, SW1X 8SH

    Jeremy Ng, Royal Academy of Music
    Organ Scholar, St Paul’s Knightsbridge

    Fantasia and Toccata in d minor Op. 57 – Charles Villiers Stanford

    St Alban – Judith Weir

    Chorale Fantasia on an Old English Tune “When I survey the wondrous Cross” – Parry

    Première Fantasie
    Deuxième Fantasie – Alain

    Trois Esquisses – Thierry Escaich

  4. St Matthew Passion

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    An opportunity to explore J.S. Bach’s magisterial work with Fr Alan Gyle and our musicians on Saturday 18th March, ahead of a performance at St John’s Smith Square on Wednesday 5th April

    STUDY MORNING: ST MATTHEW PASSION – J.S. BACH
    St Paul’s Knightsbridge
    Saturday 18th March 11:00-12:30

    Ahead of a performance of the St Matthew Passion in St John’s Smith Square on Wednesday of Holy Week (see below) directed by Joseph Fort with soloists from the choir of St Paul’s Knightsbridge, join Fr Alan, Joe Fort, James Orford and members of our choir for a study morning to explore the St Matthew Passion. Click here to reserve your place (£10). Followed by optional lunch at the Wilton Arms, Kinnerton Street. 

    A PERFORMANCE OF ST MATTHEW PASSION
    St John’s Smith Square
    Wednesday 5th April at 19:00

    Director: Dr Joseph Fort
    Soloists from the choir of St Paul’s Knightsbridge with the Chapel Choir of King’s College London, and The Hanover Band.

    (Duration: 3 hours 5 minutes, including a 20 minute interval)
    Tickets £35/325/£15 available for purchase by clicking here. 

  6. Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

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    21st April 1926 – 8th September 2022

    It was with sadness that, earlier today, we learnt of the death of The Queen. The church building will be open for prayer and the lighting of candles until midnight tonight, and daily in the coming days of national mourning. A Book of Condolence has been opened for you to sign.

    There will be an opportunity for us to pray together at the 11:00 Solemn Eucharist on Sunday, and also on the eve of her funeral.

    In the meantime, shall we pray for the repose of the soul of Queen Elizabeth, giving thanks for a long life well lived, and for her unfailing duty in service of our nation and the Commonwealth. Let us also pray for our new King, and all the members of the Royal Family.

    Heavenly Father, into whose hands Jesus Christ commended his spirit at the last hour: into those same hands we now commend your servant Elizabeth our Queen, that death may be for her the gate to life and to eternal fellowship with you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

    May she rest in peace, and rise in glory.

    The Reverend Canon Alan Gyle

    Vicar

  7. Mindfulness for wellbeing and resilience course

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    February and March 2023

    At St Paul’s Knightsbridge we are committed to providing opportunities for parishioners and members of the local community to explore what it means to be ‘fully alive’ and we are delighted to offer a new Mindfulness for Wellbeing & Resilience course, on Tuesday evenings in February and March.


    Perhaps you are looking for a personal development project for the new year? A new practice for the season of Lent? Or maybe you need some new tools to manage the ups and downs of life?

    Whatever your motivation, and wherever you are in your life journey, this is an excellent opportunity with course leaders Mel Hampson (Mindfulness Teacher, and Organisational Psychologist & Coach) and Glyn Thomas (Mindfulness Teacher and Senior Palliative Care Social Worker) to explore:

    • Coping with stress, overwhelm, and the challenges of everyday life.
    • Dealing with difficult events in a calmer, more flexible and creative way.
    • Approaching relationships with composure, kindness, and compassion.
    • Living your life more gracefully and be fully present and alive in the moment.

    The course

    The course is based on the Mindfulness Cognitive Based Therapy programme, which consists of a blend of meditation and body awareness practices, drawing on teaching from a variety of spiritual traditions and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). The goal is to equip you with practical mindfulness skills which you can apply in everyday life on an ongoing basis.

     

    Course format

    Highly participatory, collaborative, and practical, the course is taught through a combination of experiential learning, with a very small amount of theoretical teaching and some discussion. 

     

    Where & When

    The course will take place in the Parish Hall between 6.30pm and 8.30pm on Tuesday evenings from 7th February to 28th March 2023 (inclusive).

      

    Cost

    The cost for the 8 week course is £275. We do not want cost to be a barrier to participation, and bursaries are available – don’t hesitate to be in touch for a confidential conversation.

    The cost includes all materials including a copy of Mark Williams’ and Danny Penman’s book “Mindfulness – a practical guide to finding Peace in a Frantic World,” audio files of guided meditation and bodywork practices, and a workbook covering the material learned each week.


    Registering

    If you are interested in participating in the course or would like further information, please drop an email to pa@spkb.org.

    Places are limited, so do be in touch sooner rather than later to avoid disappointment!

    Mindfulness involves paying attention to the present moment with a spirit of curiosity and openness.’ (Susan Bauer-Wui)

    There have been more than 30 years of research into Mindfulness Based Trainings. While MBCT is not a “cure” for serious medical conditions and should not be used as a substitute for medical treatment, there is an extensive body of research which indicates that mindfulness training can have a significant therapeutic effect for those experiencing stress, anxiety, high blood pressure, depression, chronic pain, migraines, heart conditions, diabetes and other ailments. In addition, participants typically report feeling more alive, more “in-tune” with themselves and others.

    In NICE’s new guidelines on the management and treatment of depression in adults, mindfulness features in a menu of psychological and psychosocial alternatives to antidepressants to be offered to people experiencing a new episode of ‘less severe depression’, with mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) being presented as an exemplar within the mindfulness and meditation class.

  8. Advent & Christmas 2022

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    Services in the Holy Season of Advent and Christmas

    Sunday 27th November 2022
    THE FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT
    at 11am: The Solemn Eucharist

    Preacher: The Reverend Canon Alan Gyle
    Tranchell – The Fitzwilliam Communion Service
    MacMillan – O Radiant Dawn
    Howells – A spotless Rose

    at 6pm- The Advent Carol Service

    A sequence of readings and music for the holy season of Advent.

    Sunday 4th December 2022 at 11 a.m.
    THE SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT
    The Solemn Eucharist

    Preacher: The Reverend Dr Gillian Straine
    Rheinberger – Cantus Missae in E♭
    Bruckner – Virga Jesse floruit
    Praetorius – Es ist ein Ros‘ entsprungen

    Sunday 11th December 2022 at 11 a.m.
    THE THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT
    The Solemn Eucharist

    Preacher: The Very Reverend Victor Stock
    Victoria – Missa Alma redemptoris mater
    J.C.F. Bach – Wachet auf
    Palestrina – Rorate caeli desuper

    Saturday 17th December 2022 at 3 p.m.
    SONGHAVEN
    Dementia-friendly concert and afternoon tea

    Join us for a festive 45-minute concert, designed particularly for friends living with dementia and their carers, followed by tea and cake.

    Sunday 18th December 2022 at 11 a.m.
    THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT
    The Solemn Eucharist

    Preacher: Roland Brunner
    Haydn – Missa Cellensis in honorem BVM
    K. Briggs – Magnificat from the Gloucester Service
    Hildegard von Bingen – O frondens Virga

    Tuesday 20th December 2022 at 7 p.m.
    THE PARISH CAROL SERVICE

    The traditional service of nine lessons
    and carols for Christmas, followed by
    mulled wine and mince pies by The Hari hotel

    Saturday 24th December 2022
    CHRISTMAS EVE
    at 5 p.m.: Crib Service for families
    at 11 p.m.: The Midnight Mass of the Incarnation

    Preacher: The Reverend Canon Alan Gyle
    Haydn – Missa Sancti Nicolai
    Poulenc – Quem vidistis pastores
    Beamish – In the stillness

    Sunday 25th December 2022
    CHRISTMAS DAY
    at 9 a.m.: Low Mass with carols
    at 11 a.m.: The Solemn Eucharist

    Preacher: The Very Reverend Dr Victor Stock
    Mozart – Orgelsolomesse
    Sweelinck – Hodie Christus natus est
    Handl – Ecce concipies

  9. Music Staffing Update – January 2020

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    We are excited to announce some changes to our team of musicians here at St Paul’s.

    It is announced today that Dr Stephen Farr is to be the new Director of Music at All Saints Margaret Street. All Saints is one of the world’s iconic Anglo-Catholic churches with a distinguished musical tradition. Stevie will lead the team there from Easter 2020. Fr Alan Gyle, Vicar of St Paul’s, said: “After eleven years we will miss Stevie, and I personally will miss working with such an exceptional colleague, but our sadness at losing him is tempered by the knowledge that this is a great move for him.” There will be a chance for the congregation and his colleagues to express their gratitude to him in due course.

     

    Following the appointment of Michael Papadopoulos as Emerging Artist Repetiteur at Scottish Opera in Glasgow in September 2019, we are delighted that Timothy Wakerell is to join us from Sunday 9th February 2020 as Assistant Director of Liturgical Music. Tim joins us from New College, Oxford where he has held the post of Assistant Organist since September 2014, accompanying the renowned Chapel Choir there in services, broadcasts, concerts and recordings.

    And from Easter 2020 till September 2020, we are delighted that Dan Ludford-Thomas will reprise his role as Interim Director of Music at St Paul’s Knightsbridge. Dan, who is a longstanding friend of SPK, is the Musical Director of the National Children’s Choir of Great Britain and Head of Vocal Studies at Dulwich College, the Musical Director of Concordia Chamber Choir, The Hackney Singers and Director of Music of Lewisham Choral Society.

    We look forward to embarking on a thorough process to find a successor to Stevie Farr in due course, with a view to appointing in the Autumn of 2020.

  10. Music Team Update

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    It is announced today that James Orford, Organist and Assistant Director of Music at St Paul’s Knightsbridge, has been appointed Organist of St Paul’s Cathedral. We will bid farewell to James at the end of September.

    The Vicar of St Paul’s Knightsbridge, The Reverend Canon Alan Gyle, said “After three years of delighting the congregation of St Paul’s Knightsbridge with most excellent and sensitive liturgical music-making, it is wonderful to see James take up this prestigious role. His dedication to high standards and command of a vast range of repertoire, coupled with his humour and collegiality has made James a pleasure to work with.”

    Director of Music, Dr Joseph Fort, said “Organists like James are rare, and we are exceptionally fortunate to have had him at St Paul’s Knightsbridge over the last three years. James is an inspiring musician, who in his playing combines a deep intellect with verve and energy. But he also wears his talent and his learning lightly, and as a colleague he has been a fun and generous presence about the place. While we will miss him, we also share his joy in his new appointment, and wish him every success as he takes up the role at St Paul’s Cathedral.”

    Recruitment for the role of Organist and Assistant Director of Music will begin in the autumn. In the meantime, we are delighted that Jeremy Cole, formerly Director of Music of Wells Cathedral, and sometime Organist of St Paul’s Knightsbridge and St Martin-in-the-Fields, returns to SPK as Interim Organist from October.

    JAMES ORFORD is a prize-winning organist and pianist based in London.  He is currently the Organist and Assistant Director of Music at St Paul’s Church, Knightsbridge and works extensively as a soloist, accompanist, continuo player, repetiteur, and teacher.  He has previously held posts at Eton College and Westminster Cathedral, before which he held organ scholarships at St Paul’s and Truro Cathedrals, the Royal Hospital Chelsea, and King’s College, London.  Having started his organ studies with James McVinnie and Christian Wilson, he later studied with David Titterington and Bine Bryndorf at the Royal Academy of Music, where he obtained top marks in both his undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.

    James enjoys a busy performing schedule as a soloist and has given recitals and concerts in many of the UK’s most notable venues and at a number of major festivals, including at St Paul’s, Westminster, and Liverpool Cathedrals, Westminster Abbey, the Royal Festival Hall, and the Royal Albert Hall.  He has also given recitals in Denmark, Belgium, Italy, and Sweden.  In 2021, his debut solo album – his own complete organ transcription of Vivaldi’s L’estro Armonico – was released on the Linn Record Label and was featured on Apple Music’s Classical A-list.

    As an accompanist, James has worked with a vast number of choirs, both professional and amateur.  Among these are The Sixteen, the Monteverdi Choir, Tenebrae, the London Choral Sinfonia, Sansara, Thames Philharmonic Choir, and many other cathedral and church choirs.  He has accompanied choral performances in the USA, Canada, Germany, France, Switzerland, Sweden, and Nigeria and has appeared on many recordings and broadcasts as both an organist and pianist.  These include several world premiere recordings of music by Sir Stephen Hough, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Jean Langlais, Lennox Berkeley, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, and Francis Grier.  Mirabilis, a recently released disc of Stephen Hough’s choral music was one of Gramophone Magazine’s “Best Classical Albums of 2023”.