#55) Rejoice in the Lord alway (The Bell Anthem)

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I've never been an enormous fan of Purcell's music; maybe it'll come in time, but I've always made an exception for this anthem, a piece I first heard in a church in London when reviewing a concert for my MA. I've since conducted it countless times, both with my church choirs and more recently with Porstmouth Festival Choir. It is sometimes nicknamed "The Bell Anthem", on account of the falling bassline that we hear in the opening refrain, which sounds not unlike a peal of bells (perhaps not so much on my piano, mind you). It was quite a logistical challenge to actually do the video edit for this one, but I think I've managed reasonably well. Apologies in advance for the soprano falsetto in the chorus lines by the way. Top Fs are a real stretch...
Rejoice in the Lord alway (The Bell Anthem)
Z.49
Text from Philippians 4: 4-7
Music by H. Purcell (1659-1695)

[@timhansen6267]

A very nice cameo from your cat, Ben.

[@thechorister]

Lovely 🎀, this is nice

[@charlesgaskell5899]

Love the slightly worried glance glance about 2:56 to the top left of the screen - anyone would think you were changing tempo...
And the glorious chord at 4:05 (if rather unPurcellian)
But great fun!

[@benjaminlathbury4619]

Good spot at 2:56! When recording, I have the piano audio graph on the left side of the monitor and the score on the right. So although I'm listening to the backing, if there's a tempo change or pause, it's best to keep an eye on it. Almost like a digital conductor :P
I feat the moment at 4:05 may have been a bum note rather than a lovely re-arrangement of Purcell. I must confess, I wasn't familiar with the notes of the arrangement I was playing; very different from the one in the church music library. I suppose you could call it a spontaneous arrangement :P

[@johnhopper1736]

enjoyable but not my cup of tea