Voices Across Centuries

A Historic Sanctuary in Jarratt Street

St Charles Borromeo Church in Jarratt Street, Hull, became a place not only of prayer but of rich and varied music on Sunday evening, 27 September, when the St Charles Choir presented a concert directed by Edyta Prajsnar, with Allan Edwards at the organ.

As Hull’s oldest post-Reformation Catholic church and a magnificent Grade I listed architectural jewel, St Charles Borromeo provided a breathtaking setting of rich baroque-revival ornamentation, intricate gilding, and sublime acoustic warmth. Under the pastoral leadership of Parish Priest Fr Phil Cunnah, the church remains a vibrant living sanctuary for worship and the arts.

The evening was introduced by Fr Phil, who warmly welcomed parishioners and newcomers to St Charles and praised the choir and all those who had worked to bring the concert together. The programme ranged across centuries of Christian music, drawing together hymns familiar to generations of worshippers, classical sacred works, spirituals and more recent compositions. It was an evening which reflected something of the breadth of the Church’s musical inheritance: words of praise, trust, sorrow, consolation and hope, all given voice through music.

Part One: From Ancient Tradition to Classical Praise

The first half traversed seventeenth-century German chorales, beloved English Victorian hymnody, Gregorian roots, and Baroque counterpoint.

Come, Praise the Lord & Breathe on Me

The concert opened with Come, Praise the Lord, the Almighty, drawing on the seventeenth-century Stralsund tradition, before moving into the gentle prayer of Breathe on Me, Breath of God.

Parry & David Evans

Parry’s much-loved Dear Lord and Father of Mankind, from his oratorio Judith, brought one of the evening’s most familiar melodies, followed by David Evans’s deeply reflective Be Still, for the Presence of the Lord.

Gregorian Roots, Marian Song & Handel

The first half also included How Can I Keep from Singing? and Ubi Caritas, rooted in the ancient Gregorian tradition. My Soul Rejoices, Owen Alstott’s setting of the Magnificat, brought the words of Mary’s great song of praise into the programme, followed by Ave Maris Stella, the ancient Marian hymn “Hail, Star of the Sea”. Handel’s O Lovely Peace, a duet from Judas Maccabeus, added another colour to the first half. Allan Edwards then took centre stage at the organ for N. Choveaux’s March, bringing the first half to a lively close before the interval.

The Interval & Return

After the interval, the choir returned with Panis Angelicus, the Eucharistic hymn of St Thomas Aquinas, followed by Elgar’s Ecce Sacerdos Magnus, traditionally associated with the Church’s celebration of episcopal ministry.

Part Two: Spirituals & Deep Faith

Songs born of trials, suffering, and unbreakable Christian hope.

African-American Spirituals

The mood then moved into the great tradition of African-American spirituals, with There Is a Balm in Gilead and Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen. Both sprang from lives marked by suffering, yet both carry within them an unmistakable thread of Christian hope.

Holding Onto Faith

That same trust continued in Precious Lord, Take My Hand and It Is Well with My Soul. These are songs which do not pretend that sorrow is easy; instead, they speak of faith held onto when life itself seems fragile.

Confident Praise & Blessing

The programme then returned to confident praise with Holy God, We Praise Thy Name, followed by Sarah Quartel’s Fill Your Hearts with Joy and Gladness and Bob Chilcott’s beautiful setting of the Irish Blessing.

African-American Spirituals

The mood then moved into the great tradition of African-American spirituals, with There Is a Balm in Gilead and Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen. Both sprang from lives marked by suffering, yet both carry within them an unmistakable thread of Christian hope.

Holding Onto Faith

That same trust continued in Precious Lord, Take My Hand and It Is Well with My Soul. These are songs which do not pretend that sorrow is easy; instead, they speak of faith held onto when life itself seems fragile.

Confident Praise & Blessing

The programme then returned to confident praise with Holy God, We Praise Thy Name, followed by Sarah Quartel’s Fill Your Hearts with Joy and Gladness and Bob Chilcott’s beautiful setting of the Irish Blessing.

Shared Prayer & Jubilant Encore

For the final item, choir and congregation joined together in Marco Frisina’s Jesus Christ, You Are My Life. Sung in different languages, it reflected the varied national and cultural backgrounds of those who now make up the St Charles community, united in a shared faith. It allowed the evening to end not simply as a performance, but as shared prayer.

“And there was still one final burst of joy with the encore, ‘Oh Happy Day!’”
The Finale

A Triumphant Evening of Artistry

Throughout the concert, the quality of the performance was exceptionally high. Under Edyta Prajsnar’s direction, the choir brought sensitivity to the quieter pieces and real strength and confidence to the great hymns and spirituals.

Edyta also accompanied the choir at the piano, while Allan Edwards played the church organ, the two instruments adding greatly to the range and atmosphere of the evening.

The audience responded warmly throughout, with the performance recognised through generous applause. There was a real sense that those present were not simply listening to a sequence of musical items, but sharing something that belonged naturally within the life of St Charles.

Lifting Up the Heart

In a church where generations have prayed, sung, married, mourned and celebrated, the voices of the choir added another evening to that long story.

Parishioners and newcomers alike shared an occasion in which music crossed centuries, cultures and backgrounds, yet continually pointed towards the same mystery at the heart of Christian worship — inviting everyone present, quite simply, to lift up the heart.

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