On Sunday 18th November at 3.30pm, Choral Evensong will include Thanksgiving for the life of Robert Joyce who was Organist and Master of the Choristers from 1958 to 1974. We look forward to welcoming many of Robert’s former colleagues and choristers to celebrate his undoubted contribution to music at Llandaff and in Wales in general.

During the service the Cathedral Choir will sing music by Clucas and Murrill, and an anthem commissioned by St Matthew’s Church, Northampton in 2014, O How Glorious is the Kingdom by Philip Stopford. Robert Joyce was Director of Music at St Matthew’s from 1950 to 1958 and prior to his move to Llandaff. Coincidentally the present Director of Music here in Llandaff, Stephen Moore, also came from St Matthew’s! During the service a tribute will be offered by Huw Tregelles Williams and the choir will sing Robert’s arrangement of the Welsh hymn tune Lledrod, set to the words Christ has a Garden.

Following Evensong the present choristers of Llandaff Cathedral will present a short recital of choral and instrumental works. The boys will perform on all sorts of instruments as well as singing as a group, giving them a chance to show of their musical talents! The recital will be in aid of the work of Llandaff Cathedral Choir Association who are currently fundraising for the choir’s forthcoming tour to Sweden in 2019, amongst other projects.

Admission to the recital is free and a retiring collection will be taken.

All are welcome to attend both of these events.

The Season of Advent begins on Sunday 2nd December when the Cathedral will hold its annual Advent Procession at 4.30pm.

The Advent Procession involves bringing light to the darkness, but the service also captures an idea that is central to our keeping of Advent: the recognition that the beautiful world in which we live is marred by our human wilfulness, greed and violence.

The light that shines in the darkness of the Church represents the light of Jesus Christ shining in our dark world. That light dispels the darkness, but not without showing up the dark places of our world, and of our lives. The light of Christ sees us as we are; it judges all, but it is also the illumination and the warmth, the guiding light, which leads us from darkness into light.

The Advent Procession is punctuated by sung phrases, drawn from scripture, known as the Advent Antiphons. With one exception, all refer specifically to Jesus, who is regarded – by Christians at least – as the fulfilment of Jewish expectation and Old Testament prophecy. These ‘O’ Antiphons are addressed to God, calling him to come as teacher and deliverer.

During the Service the Cathedral Choir will sing the following music:

after Palestrina – Matin Responsory
Macmillan – O Radiant Dawn
Beamish – In the Stillness
Goldschmidt – A tender shoot
McKie – We wait for thy loving kindness
Praetorius/Vulpius – Es ist ein Ros entsprungen
Joubert – There is no rose
Lauridsen – O nata lux
after Palestrina – Vesper Responsory

The following hymns will be sung by all:

Come, thou Redeemer of the earth
On Jordan’s bank
Hark the glad sound
Come, thou long-expected Jesus
O come, O come, Emmanuel
Lo! He comes with clouds descending

All are welcome to attend this wonderfully atmospheric service.

Welsh Hearts are delighted to bring you We 3 Tenors, our Christmas Concert, with an amazing concert featuring 3 of the finest tenors from Wales.  A feast of sumptuous popular operatic delights for this special gala Christmas concert.   

We 3 Tenors will take to the stage and raise the roof at Llandaff Cathedral in aid of Welsh Hearts, Wales’ leading heart charity on Wednesday 12th December at 7.30pm.  Our 3 Tenors are Sam Furness, Rhodri Prys Jones, and Huw Ynyr Evans. The tenors will perform heart-warming renditions of your favourite arias and duets, including a helping of Christmas classics to get you in the mood for the festive season. 

“Since the charity was set up in 2013, we have dedicated our time to improving the health of communities in Wales. To date, we have supplied over 1500 public access defibrillators in Wales, trained over 46,000 people in defibrillator and CPR training and screened over 2,000 young hearts to detect heart abnormalities”. 

Our events are pivotal to help fund the lifesaving work that we do. We ask that you will, once again, give your time and a little of your heart to help us continue our lifesaving work. We hope to see you on Wednesday 12th December for an evening of beautiful heart-warming music. 

Join Welsh Hearts for this concert to remember whilst enjoying the stunning ambiance and haunting acoustics of Llandaff Cathedral.  All proceeds from this event will go towards Welsh Hearts’ ‘Keep Wales Ticking appeal’. The primary aim of this appeal is to provide even more defibrillators into schools & communities across Wales. 

Tickets for this event can be purchased through the Welsh Hearts website at £20 (standard) or £15 (concessions).  www.welshhearts.org/events.  Alternatively, please contact the fundraising office on 02922 402670.

On Saturday 17th November Cardiff Polyphonic Choir will perform Claudio Monteverdi’s thrilling Vespers of 1610.  The most ambitious work of sacred music before J S Bach’s great oratorios, this remarkable and monumental work combines flamboyance, grandeur, and breath-taking beauty. It features virtuosic vocal and instrumental writing in a unique sequence of music. Published in Venice in 1610, it is one of the greatest masterpieces of the late Renaissance.

The choir, under their conductor David Young, are joined by period instrument ensemble Réjouissance (leader: Simon Jones), virtuoso brass group His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts, and seven vocal soloists. The performance will take place in the beautiful setting of Llandaff Cathedral.

Saturday 17 November 2018, 7.30pm, Llandaff Cathedral, Cardiff
Cardiff Polyphonic Choir
Réjouissance

His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts
Soprano: Jessica Cale
Soprano: Charlotte Bowden
Tenor: Ruairi Bowen
Tenor: Thomas Kelly
Tenor: James Robinson
Baritone: Dan D’Souza
Baritone: William Stevens
Conductor: David Young