Music at Warwick Street
The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption and St Gregory in Warwick Street, London W1 has a long tradition of musical excellence.
As St John Henry Newman recalled in the first chapter of his Apologia Pro Vita Sua:
“I had once been into Warwick Street Chapel, with my father, who, I believe, wanted to hear some piece of music.”
Throughout the nineteenth century great opera singers from nearby Covent Garden would perform at the church during Mass.
Since 2013, when the church came under the care of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, this tradition has been maintained. Each Sunday there is a four-voice choir, augmented to eight on major feasts. The repertoire of church music is drawn from both Catholic and Anglican traditions.
Organ
The organ at the church was originally installed in 1790 by G.P. England with the last major rebuild having been completed by Mander & Co in 1960.
Appeal
This tradition of musical excellent is now at risk, which is why Warwick Street have decided to launch an appeal to support music at the Central Church of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham.
