The Church Of Ireland
Press Release

23 November 2000

Down Cathedral Choir in Downpatrick has joined voices with vocal ensemble, Cadenza, to produce their first CD entitled "A Prayer of St Patrick", directed by Michael McCracken, Director of Music at the Cathedral.

The CD, on the Priory Records label, features mainstream choral music as well as organ pieces played by Michael McCracken on the Cathedral's historic organ.

The CD will be launched at a special reception in Down Cathedral on Saturday, 2 December 2000.

The CD was recorded in the Cathedral over a weekend in September with some thirty voices offering a bright and joyful sound in a wide variety of styles to suit all tastes.

Michael McCracken said: "The CD exceeds our greatest expectations and we are confident it will be in demand, especially over the Christmas season. It should also prove popular with the many tourists who visit the Cathedral throughout the year. This is our first CD and we are delighted at how well it has been received across the country."

The new CD runs for about eighty minutes and offers a wide selection of choral and organ pieces.

One of the favourites from which the CD takes its title is John Rutter's "A Prayer of St Patrick" with words from St Patrick's Breastplate. Also included is Herbert Howells' "Like as the Hart", written in the space of a single day and Vaughan Williams' "Let all the World", which he composed for the Three Choirs Festival in 1911.

There are three motets by Charles Villiers Stanford: "Justorum animae", "Coelos ascendit hodie" and "Beati quorum via". Stanford was born in Dublin in 1852 and is credited with revolutionary standards in liturgical composition towards the end of the nineteenth century.

The CD also includes hymns for example, "Be Thou My Vision", taken from the Irish Hymnal and sung to the tune "Slane". Also "I Bind Unto Myself Today", the words of which are attributed to St Patrick and versified by the celebrated hymn- writer, Mrs Cecil Alexander. The tune is an amalgam of Irish traditional melodies arranged and harmonised in this version by Sir Charles Villiers Stanford.

Richard Campbell, Director of Music at Bangor Abbey, accompanies the choir on the organ.

The organ pieces played by Michael McCracken include "Fanfare" by Jacques Lemmens which gives the disc a really rousing start with the Cathedral organ in full voice. The concluding item is the magnificent organ piece, "Orb and Sceptre" by Sir William Walton, the celebrated British composer.

Down Cathedral organ is one of the finest in Ireland. Its case dates from the early nineteenth century. William Telford, perhaps the foremost Irish organ builder of the century, built the present organ. It was first played in 1855 and Telford's invoice for the work survives showing the cost at £500.

Another name deeply associated with the organ is Albert Coulter, who was appointed organist in 1898, a post he held for almost 60 years until his death in 1957. In Coulter's day the organ was overhauled and re-opened on Ascension Day, 21 May 1914.

In the sixties the organ was rebuilt to a specification drawn up by the late Lord Dunleath who enlisted the help of Sir John Betjeman. The Poet laureate described Down Cathedral as "the prettiest small Cathedral in these islands."

Shortly before his death in 1996, Lord Dunleath wrote: "This organ produces one of the most beautiful sounds known to me, but it is the acoustic, the building and the organ position therein which makes it so successful both visually and aurally."

The CD, "A Prayer of St Patrick", is available in the Down Cathedral shop (Tel: 4461 4922) and at various other outlets price £9.99. Proceeds from the sales will be used to complete restoration work on the organ.

Michael McCracken is a former chorister in St Mark's Parish Choir, Dundela. He studied piano, singing and flute at the Royal Scottish Academy in Glasgow and became a teacher. He was appointed Director of Music at Down Cathedral in 1985 and is now a freelance musical director. He is accompanist of the Belfast Philharmonic Society and broadcasts regularly on radio and television in Northern Ireland and Scotland.