St Matthew's Church, Wimbledon

Every Sunday for the past fifty years there has been a 9.30am Sung Mass at St Matthew’s and the choir has always been an important feature as it leads the congregation in singing the hymns and the sung parts of the Mass.

At present the choir practises in the church hall starting at 8.30am before the Sunday Eucharist; this gives us the opportunity to warm up our vocal chords, clear the throat and rehearse not only what we are singing that day, but also to look ahead and practise motets. These are often sung during communion, and it is here that the choir has the opportunity to sing some of the extraordinarily extensive, varied and beautiful choral inheritance that this country enjoys.

It is interesting how some great music such as Byrd’s classic Ave Verum Corpus inspires, bringing out the vocal best in us. Other composers that we have sung recently range from the sixteenth century - Palestrina, Tallis - to the more recent Fauré, and music from Taizé.

The service on the first Sunday of the month is usually a Mass for All Ages, and the choir comes down from its lofty perch next to the organ to enjoy a more intimate position at the front, singing contemporary classics such as Shine, Jesus Shine, Purify my Heart and In Christ Alone.

We are a non-auditioning choir, always looking for new singers whatever their ability. We exist to serve the congregation and we welcome suggestions from you on any aspect of the choir, and any musical favourites you may wish to hear. If you have any questions or comments then please speak either to the choirmaster Malcolm Barron, Fr Stuart or a member of the choir.