DR. SYDNEY NICHOLSON

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume 24, Issue 12, 1 December 1934, Page 3

DR. SYDNEY NICHOLSON

Dr. Nicholson's visit to Napier on November sth, was an event of no small importance. There was a good attendance of choir members and others at his lecture. The clergy and organists from various places m Hawke's Bay were there and even those from Wjairoa and Gisborne. A good report was published m the Hawke's Bay Herald of November 6th. The lecture was preceded by a service of nine lessons interspersed with hymns of the nine church seasons. The combined choirs rendered the hymns, under Dr. Nicholson's baton, very creditably. Dr. Nicholson m his lecture traced briefly the history of Church music m England for the past 1400 years and emphasised the great improvements brought about as the result of the Oxford Movement. One of these was the institution of parish choirs where previously (there had been Jonly a barrel organ, or a village orchestra and the parish clerk. But the music of parish churches had not always been kept on right lines, and some had been allowed to creep m utterly unworthy of its sacred purpose. A

commission was set up by the Archbishop of Canterbury and York to suggest reforms and the School of English Church Music was endeavouring to carry out the reforms suggested by this commission. A college had been established, "the College of St. Nicholas," about ten miles from London, as a training centre: the choristers at St. Nicholas gave d.emonstrattions some of which have been recorded by the "Columbia" company and some by H.M.V. These records can be obtained m New Zealand. Dr. Nicholson demonstrated some of the records on a gramophone — chiefly showing the right way of singing the Versicles and responses and the method of chanting m natural free rhythm. The audience was most enthusiastic and it is confidently hoped that all the chief choirs m the diocese will shortly abandon the unsatisfactory methods of the past and adopt the reformed ones as set out m Dr. Nicholson's parish psalter. There are over one thousand choirs affiliated with the School of English Church Music, a large number more have joined recently as the result of Dr. Nicholson's tour m Australia, and several m the Waiapu diocese intend to join up. After the lecture Dr. Nicholson was shown copies of the three choir festival books that were used m 1923, 1924 and 1925, and congratulated the compilers on the work they had done, the character of which he very highly appreciated.