SERVICES AT THE TEMPLE CHURCH Our services at the Temple follow the Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England. The Book of Common Prayer reached its present form in 1662. Most of our services are choral. We invite the congregation to join, of course, in singing the hymns, the Venite (at Mattins) and the Creed (at Communion). For the rest, we hope that you will enjoy the singing of the choir and the playing of the organ. Such a service is an opportunity to bring our own cares quietly to God; and to set those cares within the vast, unfolding purposes of God, our Creator and Redeemer. We hear in these services of God’s unending love for his people and for his whole creation: in the story of the Old Testament and the songs of the psalms; in the story of Jesus himself; in the letters of the apostles; and in the hymns and creeds of the early church. So we learn, as a church and its members, to trust God’s care for ourselves and for those we love; and to entrust ourselves to the life that he calls us to live. In our services on earth we are made part of the unceasing service of heaven; we are at a strange, uncanny mid-way point where earth and heaven meet. At the Temple Church we come together for a beautiful service in a beautiful place. We catch some echo of the worship in heaven; and we seek to offer – in our liturgy, our preaching and our music – a worthy reply. We long to join our voices with the voices of heaven, and so to complete creation’s song of praise: I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all therein, saying, “To him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb, be blessing and honour and glory and might for ever and ever.” And the four living creatures around the throne of God said, “Amen!” Revelation 5. 13-14 Such prayers and praise belong here; and we will be delighted if you and your family find that your prayers and praise belong here too.
Said service according to the Book of Common Prayer
Introit: Abendlied (Rheinberger)
Responses: Smith
Canticles: Howells in B minor
Anthem: Alleluia I heard a voice (Janet Wheeler)
Said service according to the Book of Common Prayer
Said service according to the Book of Common Prayer
Please enter the Temple via Tudor Street
Sung by the Temple Church Choir
Introit: This joyful Eastertide (Dutch carol arr Charles Wood)
Sung by the Temple Church Choir
Setting: Orgelsolomesse K259 (Mozart)
Psalm: 57
Anthem: Ubi caritas (Durufle)
Organ: Herzlich tut mich erfreuen (Brahms)
Sung by the Temple Church Choir
Sung by the Temple Church Choir
Introit: Let god arise in Majesty (Tallis)
Responses: Smith
Canticles: Purcell in G minor
Anthem: O clap your hands (Gibbons)
Gabrieli return to the programme that put them on the musical map when they recorded and released it in 1990: A Venetian Coronation 1595 is a musical recreation evoking the grand pageantry of the Coronation Mass for Venetian Doge Marino Grimani. His love of ceremony and state festivals fuelled an extraordinary musical bounty during his reign and formed the background to the musical riches of the period, especially to the works of Giovanni Gabrieli.
With cornetts, sackbuts and an all-male consort, Paul McCreesh exploits the dazzling polyphony of Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli’s music. The theatrical and ceremonious performance is sure to captivate our audience.
The running time of this concert is approximately 85 minutes, no interval. The performance should end at approximately 9pm.
Raphael Wallfisch, cello
J S Bach: Cello Suites, numbers 1, 2 and 3
Experience an unforgettable evening of music as renowned British cellist Raphael Wallfisch brings to life the timeless genius of Johann Sebastian Bach. Performing the first three of Bach’s iconic Cello Suites entirely from memory, Wallfisch offers a rare and intimate interpretation of these masterpieces ahead of a landmark recording project.
This concert forms part of an ambitious series to record all six suites in architecturally extraordinary venues, many linked to Sir Christopher Wren, a contemporary of Bach. Each location has been carefully chosen for its unique acoustics and natural light, elements that profoundly shape both performance and listening experience. Among these, Temple Church stands out not only for its beauty but for its musical legacy, having hosted Paul Tortelier’s celebrated recording over four decades ago.
Wallfisch’s project will mark the first time he has recorded the complete Bach Cello Suites, making this performance an extraordinary preview of something truly historic. In the luminous and resonant surroundings of Temple Church, music and architecture meet, creating a powerful artistic dialogue where sound, space, and structure inspire one another.
This special event is more than a concert. It is a celebration of artistic excellence and heritage, while also supporting Temple Church’s £6.7m redevelopment project - including the creation of a new Song School, disabled access and enhanced public facilities.
Join us for an evening where music, history, and purpose come together in perfect harmony.
This event is promoted by Temple Church Trust.
We’re delighted to welcome to Temple Church ground-breaking saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist, Courtney Pine CBE for an intimate show with MOBO award-winning pianist, Zoe Rahman.
The widely celebrated, multi award-winning musician has played some of the largest stages in the world with a career spanning four decades and now shares his 16th studio album, SONG (The Ballad Book), created alongside Rahman, with us.
At the cutting edge of the UK jazz scene and constantly pushing boundaries, Pine has worked with Tate Modern and UNESCO, is a professor of Music at Westminster University, and is a widely respected TV and radio broadcaster – together with his CBE and OBE for services to music!
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
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"
Temple Church Choir
The Temple Players
Thomas Allery, conductor
The Temple Church Choir, one of London’s foremost liturgical ensembles, ignites a display of royal splendour in the magnificent historic surroundings of Temple Church. At the heart of the programme are Handel’s glorious Coronation Anthems, including the electrifying Zadok the Priest and the majestic Let thy Hand be strengthened, works written to celebrate the power, pageantry, and ceremony of the British monarchy.
Alongside these, the concert features a rich selection of Baroque music composed for royal occasions, bringing to life the brilliance and grandeur of the age. Set within the soaring acoustics and centuries-old walls of Temple Church, this performance promises an evening of ceremonial brilliance, dramatic contrasts, and resplendent choral sound - where history, architecture, and music converge in spectacular fashion.
Programme
G F Handel (1685-1759): Overture to Solomon
Francesco Durante (1684-1755): Magnificat
G F Handel: Let thy Hand be strengthened
William Boyce (1711-1779): Symphony no. 1
William Boyce: The King shall rejoice
G F Handel: Zadok the Priest