In 2015 Armagh Robinson Library was presented with the historic music collection of St Patrick’s Church of Ireland Cathedral, Armagh. The collection has some 4,000 pieces, comprising a variety of vocal and instrumental, printed and manuscript, as well as sacred and secular music.
This film features Dr Stephen Timpany, Organist and Master of the Choristers in St Patrick’s Church of Ireland Cathedral, Armagh, who introduces and plays short extracts from some of the music in the collection:
– ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ by Handel
– ‘March from Occasional Oratorio’ by Handel
– ‘The Heavens are Telling’ from ‘Creation’ by Haydn
– ‘William Tell Overture’ by Rossini
– ‘Come Holy Ghost’ by Attwood
– ‘Once in Royal David’s City’ and ‘There is a Green Hill Far Away’, two hymns written by Cecil Frances Alexander whose widower, William, became Archbishop of Armagh in 1826, a year after the hymnwriter’s death
– ‘Oculi Omnium’ and ‘O Thou, the Central Orb’ by the Armagh-born composer, Charles Wood, who was a chorister in the choir of St Patrick’s Cathedral before going on to become Professor of Music at Cambridge University.
This film was produced to engage audiences during the Library’s closure due the COVID-19 regulations in 2020. It was funded by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.
