Main content

Lucy Winkett

The Reverend Lucy Winkett talks to Michael Berkeley about choosing between a career as a singer and a priest, the music that inspires her, and how she prepares for Easter.

Michael Berkeley talks to the Reverend Lucy Winkett, the Rector of St James’s Church, Piccadilly, and formerly Canon Precentor of St Paul’s Cathedral, about her lifelong passion for music.

A classically trained soprano, she won a choral scholarship to Cambridge and subsequently studied at the Royal College of Music but gave up a career as a singer for the priesthood. The first woman to sing the Eucharist at St Paul’s Cathedral, she tells Michael about the opposition she faced from traditionalist members of the church, how she faced up to it, and the joy of being in charge of music at the Cathedral.

Lucy chooses music she’s sung, music that inspires her, and some - rather surprising - music that helps her prepare for Easter Day. Her choices include Gibbons, Messiaen, Rachmaninov, Bach, and a wonderful piece of early jazz from ‘Sister’ Winona Carr.

Producer: Jane Greenwood

A Loftus Production for Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 3

59 minutes

Last on

Sun 21 Apr 2019 12:00

Music Played

  • Richard Strauss

    Marie Theres!.... Hab mirs gelobt (Der Rosenkavalier)

    Orchestra: Staatskapelle Dresden. Singer: Anne Sofie von Otter.
  • Orlando Gibbons

    O Clap Your Hands

    Choir: The Cambridge Singers. Conductor: John Rutter.
  • Olivier Messiaen

    Vocalise, pour l'ange qui annonce la fin du temps (Quatuor pour le fin du temps)

    Performer: Yvonne Loriod. Conductor: Christoph Poppen.
  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Sanctus (Mass in B minor)

    Choir: Monteverdi Choir. Conductor: Sir John Eliot Gardiner.
  • Trad.

    Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

    Singer: Jessye Norman. Choir: Ambrosian Singers.
  • Sergey Rachmaninov

    Piano Concerto No.2 in C minor (1st mvt: Moderato)

    Performer: Vladimir Ashkenazy. Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: André Previn.
  • Wynona Carr

    I Want to go to Heaven and Rest

    Singer: Wynona Carr.

Broadcasts

  • Sun 5 Apr 2015 12:00
  • Sun 21 Apr 2019 12:00

What makes Boogie-woogie piano legend Jools Holland tick?

What makes Boogie-woogie piano legend Jools Holland tick?

For Private Passions, Jools Holland revealed his piano history to Michael Berkeley.

11 things we learned from Harry Enfield’s Private Passions

11 things we learned from Harry Enfield’s Private Passions

Harry doesn't usually give interviews – but he couldn't say no to Michael Berkeley.

Archive Unlocked: Two Decades of Private Passions

Michael Berkeley introduces memorable interviews from Private Passions' archives.

Podcast