Choristers of All Saints' Church Margaret Street directed by Michael Fleming
Laudate Dominum : Mozart
Private reel-to-reel tape recording : 1966
The Collection isn't just about acquiring and cataloging Commercial recordings - some of the greatest gems are
the In-House Private Issues and the Private Recordings, together with archive Radio and TV broadcasts of Services,
Recitals, Concerts and Documentaries.
Another constantly expanding part of the Collection is the Library
and Photographic Archives, together with ongoing historical research into choirs, choir schools and recordings.
IN-HOUSE
PRIVATE ISSUES Click here for more in-depth information Commissioned by smaller and less well known choirs, using
the services of small independent recording companies, these 78's, LP's and CD's were for sale in the local area,
making them more difficult to track down, yet representing a hugely important part of the collection.
The earliest example of an in-house private issue goes back to 1939 with a 78rpm
record from Rose Hill School Chapel Choir made for sale to doting parents!
PRIVATE RECORDINGS Click here for more in-depth information Some of the real gems of the collection are private recordings
which were not made for commercial use. Usually recorded by an enthusiastic amateur, often with very good quality equipment,
these are the recordings most likely to be lost or discarded. I am pleased to say the Collection has many 100's
of Private Recordings, for without them, there would be very few recordings of some choirs and absolutely no recordings of
others.
RADIO BROADCASTS The
Collection contains a huge archive of Radio broadcasts, consisting of Documentaries, Services, Recitals and Concerts,
with the earliest one going way back to 1938.
TV BROADCASTS The domestic video recorder arrived in the early 1970's and the first
recording of a TV broadcast in the Collection is from 1974. Over the years there have been many outstanding Documentaries,
Services and Concerts and it is of the greatest importance that these broadcasts are preserved.
BBC CHORAL EVENSONG BROADCASTS The BBC have very few broadcasts in their archives from
before 1980; in the various purges of the past when tapes were re-used or wiped wholesale to free storage space, this unique
part of our musical heritage was destroyed. I have built up a collection of over 900 broadcasts with the earliest one
dating from 1948 and so often they represent the only recorded example of a choir or a choir under a particular Director
of Music.
DOCUMENTARIES Another important feature of the collection are Television and Radio
Documentaries of Choirs, Choristers, Choir Schools, Directors and church music in general.
LIBRARY ARCHIVE These contain written articles from
all sources, books, booklets, magazines, newspapers and everything to do with the written word. One of the many
interesting parts of the Library Archives are articles written by Choristers, often extremely humorous; together
with written and voice interviews from Choristers and Directors of Music, past and present.
PHOTOGRAPHIC
ARCHIVE The collection contains over 2000 contemporary and archive photographs, some of which
are extremely rare, of choirs and individual choristers. Many of these photographs have been given by the choirs
themselves to the collection.
RECORDING NOTES An integral part of the collection are the notes on various
recordings in the collection. These
are a combination of historical information, anecdotes, points of interest and any correspondence about a particular
recording. This information has been gathered from many sources and makes for a fascinating read, illustrated with photographs.
Listening Post
Choristers of Ushaw College Chapel Durham alternating
verses with students of the senior seminary
directed by Fr. Lawrence Hollis
Daily, Daily, sing to Mary : Hymn
Private
reel-to-reel tape recording : 1959
You are most welcome to contact me about my Collection, Discography and Website or on any topics regarding
recordings and church music in general. Please use the Contact form. or if you see me on-line why not say 'hello' with the newly installed chat facility
