Music

The Temple Church was built by the Knights Templar. The Round Church was consecrated in 1185 and the Chancel dates from the 1230s. In 1308, the Temple Church contained ‘two pairs of organs’ and, in the vestry, ‘twenty-eight choir copes and four little copes for the choristers.’

Seven hundred years later, the Temple Church still resounds to music being made to the glory of God. The Temple Church Choir, the Temple Singers and the fine Harrison & Harrison organ can also be heard in concert.

The Temple Church Choir

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What’s On In Summary

ThuJun11	Church open for sightseeing 10:00 am– 4:00 pm Talk: The story of the Temple Church from the Knights Templar to the present day Free as part of the entrance fee. Talk 11:15 am– 12:15 pm Holy Communion Service 1:15 pm– 1:45 pm Talk: The story of the Temple Church from the Knights Templar to the present day Free as part of the entrance fee. Talk 2:15 pm– 3:15 pm
FriJun12	Church open for sightseeing 10:00 am– 4:00 pm Talk: The story of the Temple Church from the Knights Templar to the present day Free as part of the entrance fee. Talk 11:15 am– 12:15 pm
SatJun13	Church Closed for sightseeing all –day
SunJun14	Church Closed for sightseeing all –day Holy Communion Service 8:30 am– 9:00 am Choral Communion Sung by the Temple Singers Organ prelude: Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele (Brahms) Introit: O hearken thou (Roxanna Panufnik) Setting: Missa entre vous filles (Lassus) Psalm 120 (Garrett) Motet:) O sacrum convivium (Hassler) Service 11:15 am– 12:15 pm
MonJun15	Church open for sightseeing 10:00 am– 4:00 pm Talk: The story of the Temple Church from the Knights Templar to the present day Free as part of the entrance fee. Talk 12:30 pm– 1:30 pm
TueJun16	Church open for sightseeing 10:00 am– 4:00 pm
WedJun17	Church open for sightseeing 10:00 am– 4:00 pm Organ recital: George Inscoe (St Paul's Cathedral) Concert 1:15 pm– 1:45 pm Choral Evensong sung by the Bar Choral Society Canticles: (Walmisley in D minor) Anthem: Greater love (Ireland) This service will be live-streamed on the Church's YouTube Channel. Service 6:00 pm– 7:00 pm
ThuJun18	Church open for sightseeing 10:00 am– 4:00 pm Talk: The story of the Temple Church from the Knights Templar to the present day Copy Free as part of the entrance fee. Talk 11:15 am– 12:15 pm Holy Communion Service 1:15 pm– 1:45 pm
FriJun19	Church open for sightseeing 10:00 am– 4:00 pm Talk: The story of the Temple Church from the Knights Templar to the present day Free as part of the entrance fee. Talk 11:15 am– 12:15 pm
SatJun20	Church Closed for sightseeing all –day
SunJun21	Church Closed for sightseeing all –day Holy Communion Service 8:30 am– 9:00 am Choral Mattins Sung by the Temple Church Choir Organ prelude: Cantabile (Widor, Symphonie no 6) Introit: Lord, I trust thee (Handel) Responses: Clucas Psalm 49 vv 1-8 (Walmisley) Te Deum: J C Bach Jubilate: plainsong Anthem: Let all the world (Vaughan Williams) Organ voluntary: Final (Widor, Symphonie no 6) Service 11:15 am– 12:15 pm
MonJun22	Church open for sightseeing 10:00 am– 4:00 pm Talk: The story of the Temple Church from the Knights Templar to the present day Free as part of the entrance fee. Talk 12:30 pm– 1:30 pm
TueJun23	Church open for sightseeing 10:00 am– 4:00 pm Bar Choral Society: A Celebration of Benjamin Britten The Bar Choral Society Greg Morris music director Francois Cloete organist The Bar Choral Society is based in the Temple with singers drawn from across the legal system. For their summer concert, the cherished amateur choir offers the following programme: Britten: Te Deum in C Britten: Rejoice in the Lamb Britten: Hymn to the Virgin Finzi: Lo! The full final sacrifice Ireland: Greater Love More information and booking Concert 7:30 pm– 8:30 pm
WedJun24	Church open for sightseeing 10:00 am– 4:00 pm Organ recital: Martin Ford (The Guards' Chapel, Westminster) Service 1:15 pm– 1:45 pm Choral Evensong Sung by the Temple Singers Organ prelude: Praeludium in E (Buxtehude) Introit: O come in one to praise the Lord (Tallis) Responses: Byrd Psalm 136 1-8 (Ashfield) Magnificat: Deutsches Magnificat (Schütz) Nunc dimittis: Byrd (Gradualia, 1605) Anthem: Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes (Schütz) Service 6:00 pm– 7:00 pm
ThuJun25	Church open for sightseeing (Please note earlier closing at 2pm) 10:00 am– 2:00 pm Holy Communion Service 1:15 pm– 1:45 pm
FriJun26	Church open for sightseeing 10:00 am– 3:00 pm Talk: The story of the Temple Church from the Knights Templar to the present day Free as part of the entrance fee. Talk 11:15 am– 12:15 pm Wedding Rehearsal 3:00 pm– 4:00 pm
SatJun27	Church Closed for sightseeing all –day Wedding Service 2:00 pm– 3:00 pm
SunJun28	Church Closed for sightseeing all –day Holy Communion Service 8:30 am– 9:00 am Choral Communion Sung by the Temple Church Choir Introit: Be thou my vision (Chilcott) Setting: Little organ mass (Haydn) Psalm: Psalm 100 (Stanford) Motet: The Lord bless you and keep you (Rutter) Service 11:15 am– 12:15 pm
MonJun29	Church open for sightseeing 10:00 am– 4:00 pm
TueJun30	Church open for sightseeing 10:00 am– 4:00 pm
WedJul01	Church open for sightseeing 10:00 am– 4:00 pm Organ recital: Pingping Chen (Royal College of Music) Concert 1:15 pm– 1:45 pm Choral Evensong Sung by the Temple Church Choir Introit: Lord for our nation (Gibbons/ Rutter) Responses: Clucas Psalm 149 (Alcock) Canticles: Noble in B minor Anthem: A new song (Macmillan) Service 6:00 pm– 7:00 pm
ThuJul02	Church open for sightseeing (Please note ealier closing time of 2pm) 10:00 am– 2:00 pm Talk: The story of the Temple Church from the Knights Templar to the present day Free as part of the entrance fee. Talk 11:15 am– 12:15 pm Spem in Alium - the 40 voice spectacular The Temple Singers Thomas Allery, conductor Thomas Tallis’s monumental motet Spem in alium nunquam habui praeter in te, Deus Israel (I have never placed my hope in any other but in You, O God of Israel) stands as one of the most extraordinary achievements in choral music. Rarely performed, it is a breathtaking feat of contrapuntal imagination, conceived for an astonishing forty independent vocal lines arranged into eight choirs of five voices each. Composed around 1572–73, Spem in alium is believed to have been first performed at Nonsuch Palace, the Earl of Arundel’s summer residence, whose octagonal hall and surrounding balconies likely inspired Tallis’s bold spatial design. The music unfolds as sound travels through space - surging from choir to choir, surrounding the listener in waves of resonance. Towering passages for all forty voices alternate with intimate exchanges among smaller groups, while musical ideas leap across the ensemble. The result is a profoundly immersive, almost architectural experience: a living sculpture of sound that envelops both ear and imagination. This concert is supported by a consortium of donors, and is given to mark the retirement of The Revd Robin Griffith-Jones, Master of Temple Church. Full Programme Josquin des Prez (c.1450-1521): Qui Habitat (24 voices) 6'00" Gabriel Jackson (1962-): Cecila Virgo (24 voices) 8'00" John Tavener (1944-2013): Hymn to the Mother of God (12 voices) 2'30" Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924): Latin Magnificat in B flat, Op 164 (8 voices) 11'00" David Bednall (1979-): Lux Orta est Iusto (40 voices) 8'00" Eric Whitacre (1970-): Lux Aurumque (8 voices) 4'00" Andrea Gabrieli (1533-1585): Maria stabat ad monumentum (6 voices) 5'00" John Taverner (1490-1545): Dum transisset Sabbatum (6 voices) 8'00" Thomas Tallis (c.1505-1585): Spem in Alium (40 voices) 9'00" More information and booking Concert 6:30 pm– 7:40 pm
FriJul03	Church open for sightseeing 10:00 am– 4:00 pm
SatJul04	Church Closed for sightseeing all –day
SunJul05	Church Closed for sightseeing all –day Holy Communion Service 8:30 am– 9:00 am Choral Mattins Sung by the Temple Singers Organ prelude: Fantasia in G minor BWV572 (Bach) Introit: The path of the just (Varley Roberts) Psalm 55 1-7 (Barnby) Te Deum: Te Deum in C Hob. XXIIIc: 2 (Haydn) Jubilate: Plainsong Anthem: Sing joyfully (Byrd) Organ voluntary: Fugue in G minor BWV572 (Bach) Service 11:15 am– 12:15 pm
MonJul06	Church open for sightseeing 10:00 am– 4:00 pm Talk: The story of the Temple Church from the Knights Templar to the present day Free as part of the entrance fee. Talk 12:30 pm– 1:30 pm
TueJul07	Church open for sightseeing 10:00 am– 4:00 pm
WedJul08	Church open for sightseeing 10:00 am– 4:00 pm Organ recital: Gavin Phelps (Oundle Recital Award) Concert 1:15 pm– 1:45 pm Choral Evensong (Please note earlier start time of 5.30pm) Service 5:30 pm– 6:30 pm
ThuJul09	Church open for sightseeing 10:00 am– 4:00 pm Talk: The story of the Temple Church from the Knights Templar to the present day Free as part of the entrance fee. Talk 11:15 am– 12:15 pm Holy Communion Service 1:15 pm– 1:45 pm
FriJul10	Church open for sightseeing 10:00 am– 4:00 pm Talk: The story of the Temple Church from the Knights Templar to the present day Free as part of the entrance fee. Talk 2:30 pm– 3:30 pm
SatJul11	Church Closed for sightseeing all –day
SunJul12	Church Closed for sightseeing all –day

What’s On In Summary

The Bar Choral Society

Greg Morris music director

Francois Cloete organist