Falmouth Parish Church

The Church of King Charles the Martyr

Music

We are fortunate at King Charles the Martyr to have inherited a fine musical tradition. While some parish churches have difficulty in attracting and retaining singers, we maintain a choir of some 30 voices which leads the worship at two sung services every Sunday. This we owe to the high standard of music set in the period 1927 - 1972 by the late Gordon Hall FRCO and maintained in the 1970s and 80s by Edward Goldsmith. One of Edward’s former choirboys, Peter Young, then took over as Organist and Choirmaster until 2001. From 2001 to June 2007 we were fortunate to have the services of John Winter, Organist Emeritus of Truro Cathedral. John was well known to KCM before he took up the post of Organist and Choirmaster having previously accompanied the Choir for major works requiring both Organist and Conductor.

Are you interested in joining our choir? We are always delighted to welcome new members. In particular we currently have vacancies for sopranos and tenors. We sing two services every Sunday with an anthem and sung canticles where appropriate. For more details please email us. We would love to hear from you.

The Choir's contribution is supported by a fine organ, the largest parish church organ in the county. The present instrument, built by Hele & Co of Plymouth in 1881, was originally situated in what is now the Warrior Chapel. In 1914 the organ chamber was built and the organ moved to its present position to the side of the Warrior Chapel.

During the 1970s the organ had deteriorated to such an extent that it was becoming unplayable. In 1978 it was decided to purchase an instrument from a redundant Church in Bristol. Many of the existing Hele ranks of pipes were incorporated in this instrument when it was rebuilt at Falmouth. This work also included the provision of a detached console which was placed in the corner of the Warrior Chapel. In the following fifteen years restoration work was been carried out in the Church and during this time the organ became extremely dirty so it was decided to clean and overhaul it.

The 1978 work was carried out on a limited budget so the opportunity was taken during the 1993 overhaul to make several alterations, both tonal and mechanical, which vastly improved the range and versatility of the instrument.

Both the 1978 work and the 1993 overhaul were carried out by Lance Foy of Truro.

Carols by Candlelight

Another highlight of the musical year at KCM is the annual Nine Lessons and Carols Service by Candlelight. Edward Goldsmith came up with the idea of a wholly candlelit service when he was organist and choirmaster. To see the church lit by the hundreds of small candles held by the congregation is quite magical. Traditional carols are sung by all interspersed with readings of the biblical account of Christ’s nativity and special choir items. The service is held shortly before Christmas and, weather permitting, the choir gather on the front forecourt of the church to sing more carols afterwards. Pictured are the choir under the direction of the then organist and choirmaster John Winter on the rather damp evening of 20^th December 2002.

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