A living church with a sense of the past and a vision for the future

Music and the choir at St Alfege

For musicians and music lovers, the church of St Alfege has long been revered as the burial place of Thomas Tallis, the ‘Father’ of English Church Music. At the Chapel Royal, he served under no less than four monarchs - from Henry VIII to Elizabeth I - composing, teaching, and ‘bringing up to music’ younger generations. To this day, Greenwich's parish church, St Alfege, has maintained a fine reputation for cathedral standard music-making in the great tradition of the Church of England founded by Henry himself.

The present church choir at St Alfege numbers about 30 - children, men and women - who are currently brought up to music by Stephen Dagg, Director of Music (also Director of the Centre for Young Musicians, a division of the Guildhall School, and the London Schools Symphony Orchestra).

The sound clips below are taken from ‘Live in Concert’, recorded by the choir of St Alfege at L'Abbatiale St Volusien on 25 August 2002. Copies of the CD can be bought from St Alfege, price £10.00 plus postage and packing.

Sanctus, from Josef Rheinberger Mass in Eb
Psalm 23, from Herbert Howells’ Requiem
Haec Dies, by Herbert Howells

The organ at St Alfege

The recital organ now installed at St Alfege was built first (by Lewis & Co in 1891) for Eton College Lower Chapel.

Hunter rebuilt the organ in the original case after WWI, and this survived until a further rebuild by Harrison & Harrison Limited in 1970 when a new Positive organ was added to the enclosed Choir organ.

In 2000, it was moved to St Alfege and dedicated on Sunday 8 October 2000.