St. Martin-in-the-Fields choir to sing June 15 at St. John's, Lafayette Square

The choir from St. Martin's-in-the-Fields will sing at St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square, June 15

The public is invited to hear London's renowned choir from St. Martin-in-the-Fields on Sunday evening at St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square, beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Reserved seating is available with advance purchase ($25) or tickets may be bought with cash or check at the door, if available.  The choir will also sing at the 10:30 a.m. Sunday service for which there is no charge to attend.

The choir sings every Sunday at St. Martin-in-the-Fields and frequently performs on the BBC.  St. Martin's, the parish church of the Royal Family, stands at Trafalgar Square and is one of England's oldest, most famous churches, dating to 1222.  Its name derives from its location "in the fields" where Henry VIII (1491-1547) rebuilt the church in 1542 so plague victims would stop walking through the grounds of his palace, says Wikipedia.

Leading the choir is St. Martin's director of music, Andrew Earis, and joining St. John's in the presentation of the program is the Conference of the Association of Anglican Musicians. 

On the evening program are:   

Herbert Howells (1892-1983)
Haec dies

William Byrd (1540-1623)
Laetentur coeli
Justorum animae

Henry Purcell (c.1659-1695)
I was glad

Hubert Parry (1848-1918) from Songs of Farewell
My soul, there is a country
Never weather-beaten sail

Gabriel Jackson (b. 1962)
A Prayer of King Henry VI

James MacMillan (b.1959)
Mitte manum tuam from Strathclyde Motets
A New Song

Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
The Turtle Dove

Michael Tippett (1905-1998)
Lillibulero from Four Songs from the British Isles

Nils Lindberg (b. 1933)
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day

Vaughan Williams
Over hill, over dale from Three Shakespeare Songs

George Shearing (1919 - 2011)
Songs and Sonnets of Shakespeare

Trad. arr Michael Tippett (1905-1998)
Go down, Moses from Five Spirituals

Trad. arr Moses Hogan (1957-2003)
The Battle of Jericho

At the morning service, the St. Martin's choir will sing compositions by William Lloyd Webber, John Stainer, and Charles Villiers Stanford, and a new assistant rector, the Rev. D. Andrew Olivo, will be welcomed at St. John's.

St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Well known as the yellow church at Lafayette Square, the “Church of the Presidents” was founded in 1815. When he began attending services at St. John's, President James Madison, who served as president from 1809 to 1817, set a precedent for future presidents who have all either attended and/or joined St. John's.  A plaque at the rear of the church designates the Lincoln Pew where President Abraham Lincoln often sat when he stopped by the church during the Civil War.

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Who:  The Choir of St. Martin-in-the-Fields

When: 7:30 p.m. and 10:30 a.m., June 15, 2014, Trinity Sunday

Where: St. John’s, Lafayette Square, 1525 H Street, NW, at the corner of 16^th and H, Washington, D.C. 20005

Tickets: $25 at 7: 30 p.m.  Or attend the church services at 10:30 a.m. when there is no fee!

St. John's is wheelchair accessible

Metro stations: McPherson Square, Farragut North, or Farragut West

For more information:  Michael Lodico, associate organist and choir director at St. John's, ph. 202-270-6265, Michael.Lodico@stjohns-dc.org

patricialesli@gmail.com