“My heart shall never tire

Of chanting with the choir”

After the Oxford Movement (promoting a reorientation toward Roman Catholic liturgy) began in 1833, parish churches turned to choral services, formerly confined to cathedrals and a renewed interest in Gregorian chant sung in the vernacular was promoted by the Plainsong and Mediaeval Music Society (founded 1888). In 1912 the English poet Robert Bridges pointed out that psalm chants must be fitted to the words and not the other way around. To this end the Psalter Newly Pointed was published in 1925.
To facilitate better singing by lesser trained choirs, a method of pointing the psalms first appeared in printed form in 1837 a system of signs that pointed out how a text was to be fitted to a given chant. Male voice surpliced choirs appeared, no longer seated in the west gallery, but in the chancel. They faced each other on opposite sides, where they could chant the psalms antiphonally - a practice which continues today. . A report on London churches(1882) found quasi cathedral type services in many. This was by no means universal as the following examples show:- ‘a goodly array of charity children who surrounded the organ or ‘8 youths stationed in the gallery' or a set of boys who rushed out of St Olave’s just as the text was announced to get a good view of the raree show’
It was, however, found that all the churches had an organ and used Anglican chant, with the metrical Psalter giving way to the hymn book. The smaller churches contrasted greatly with the larger parish churches. The former would have the congregation participating in the whole service, usually (but not always) led by a choir. In the latter the choir usually sang the whole service except for the hymns - a practice which continues in our cathedrals. Congregations increased massively and the Anglican church flourished.
In the present day choirs have generally diminished, and larger ones are a rarity. This is probably reflected in our present hymnbook where the lines quoted above this article are omitted! St. Alban’s has had a strong choral tradition since its foundation, a fact very apparent from the impressive music lists appearing in old parish magazines .We are fortunate to retain some choral services at St. Alban’s (Choral Eucharist and Choral Evensong )which provide just enough opportunity for our choir to survive.