Music at St Paul's

The Chaplain’s View

The sole purpose of music in Church is the worship of God and therefore it is a form of prayer. At St Paul’s our Director of Music composes specific arrangements and settings to help us to express this during our services.

Excellence matters and so while we enjoy the wonderful contribution of the Ristretto singers, everyone is invited to engage with music during the service, offering their best to God.

What does that mean? In this context it means you don’t have to be a great singer to be part of a musical triumph that takes us to a higher plane and elevates us all toward the divine.

The Musical Director’s View

I was honoured to asked to take up the position of St Paul’s Director of Music in 2020 as I believe music in church worship is an offering to God, deserving the best resources that are available. Music is also an act of sharing – which includes listening together as well as singing together.

In Monaco we are lucky to have access to a wide range of talented professional performers through the ballet, opera and symphony orchestra, so our offering can range from hymns and simple congregational Mass settings to sacred works by composers from the Renaissance to the present day.

Click here for Errol's professional biography.

The Ristretto Singers

Formed by Errol Girdlestone in 2012 this group of professional and gifted amateur singers from across the region joins us regularly to lead music during worship.

The vocal ensemble is joined by instrumentalists on special occasions in the church’s calendar as well for performances of Masses by Haydn, Schubert and the renowned annual concert presentation of Handel’s Messiah.

Look out for a programme of music that profiles the church’s musical literature including Baroque composers and the resumption of the series of Bach’s cantatas and motets inaugurated prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Music for May

Sunday 11th 10.30am Holy Communion

Setting

Byrd – Mass for Three Voices / Gloria from Missa in Tempore Alligatum

Hymn

799, 744, 794, 581

Motet

Parce Domine (Obrecht)

Sunday 18th 10.30am Holy Communion

Setting

Merbecke

Hymns

609, 507, 537, 200

Music Matters

Church Acoustics - by Errol Girdlestone

People may wonder why in church we sometimes place the choir in front of the Lady Chapel, rather than remaining up in the organ gallery. No, it’s not a show-off act, but rather a question of acoustics and practicalities. Quite apart from the fact that fitting in eight singers upstairs, plus a group of bow-wielding string players armed with instruments and music stands is physically impossible, there is the issue of acoustics. 

A quartet is the maximum number of trained voices our gallery will support acoustically without inflicting a hard resonance on the ears of the congregation below, largely owing to the proximity of the ceiling. Ideally, a choir situated in a gallery at the back of a church requires at least as much space above as below, principally for acoustical reasons.

Look at Bach’s church of St. Thomas, Leipzig :–

There you can see the gallery sits roughly halfway up to where the arched ceiling begins its taper, leaving ample space for the sound to resonate and acquire a warm halo before reaching ground level. And, looking at the second picture, you will see just how much space there is up there – four rows of choir, a whole orchestra, and room for the conductor to wave his arms around comfortably. Dimensions are as significant as proportions. 

As far as having singers facing the congregation, as opposed to being invisible, there are arguments to be had on both sides. Visual contact between the two parties can greatly enhance communication and immediacy. On the other hand, music coming down from the clouds above adds to the sense of mystery. Personally, I can see advantages from both aspects, though if pushed would probably plump for visual communication. 

Just to conclude, those of you who attend our annual Messiah will know we usually have about 30 singers, plus a similar number of musicians, making just under 60 performers in all. The choir is placed in the chancel, the soloists on the chancel steps, and the orchestra in the nave, directly in front of them. The balance and acoustic in these conditions can scarcely be bettered.  

Interesting. All goes to prove that splendour is not the be-all and end-all of ecclesiastical architecture, as is amply demonstrated by the acoustics of Renaissance churches, chapels, and cathedrals, which tend to resonate perfectly for liturgical music. 

Stay up to date with our news and events by signing up below.

22 Avenue Grande Bretagne, Monaco

+377 93 30 71 06 – chaplain@stpaulsmonaco.com

Show on Google Maps

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Errol Girdlestone BIOGRAPHY

Church music has been important to Errol all his life – you might even say it was in his genes! Errol’s family has strong theological, academic, musical and even medical connections that coalesce through music, so he was a boy chorister and trained initially as an organist.

Church music has provided the foundation for Errol’s rich and varied international career that has spanned many countries and an exciting range of genres, all featuring performances at the highest professional level. Here is a brief summary of the highlights:

Religious music – Royal College of Church Music, London Trinity College, Vicar Choral at St Paul’s Cathedral, London, Founder member of The Hilliard Ensemble.

Opera – English National Opera (Wagner’s Ring Cycle and EMI recordings with the legendary Reginald Goodall), conductor at the Nice Opera, Syrinx Concerts Orchestra in Vence and Monaco, Musique Cordiales in the Var, Festival Georges Auric in Montpellier. Plus, permanent posts in South Africa and Norway.

Freelance conductor and chorus master – Aix-en-Provence, Baden Baden, Cologne, Chicago, Montevideo, and the Wexford festival in Ireland.

Symphony and oratorio conductor – Leipzig, Vienna, the Bregenz Festival, Canterbury Festival, and at the Yehudi Menuhin Festival in Gstaad, alongside artists such as Giuliano Carmignola and Alison Balsom.

Commercial recordings – English National Opera, Pink Floyd.

Compositions – Concerto for two flutes and orchestra Pièce de Concert was premiered at the Louvre in Paris, while his Rivers of Time (scored for solo cello, symphony orchestra, and large chorus) was given at the Cathedral on the Rock in Monaco.

Join our mailing list and stay up to date

Please enter your email below