Recently some photos from the Cardiff Oratory in Formation's church of St Alban on the Moors came to my attention which showcased two contemporary sets of vestments made by Gammarelli's in Rome. Dr. David Woolf has kindly provided these photos to LAJ with the permission of the moderator, Fr. Sebastian James, Cong.Orat..
The two sets in question are both solemn Mass sets -- one in green and the other in white -- and take their influences from the 19th and 18th centuries respectively. Both sets fall within the Italian style and incorporate vibrant but delicate silk brocades with the stemma of the oratory on the chasubles and dalmatics (and no doubt the copes as well).
As a personal aside, LAJ has featured many bespoke makers of vestments and it is a subject I have written on for many years prior to LAJ. When I began writing on this topic in the earlier 2000's, there was very little of this sort of vestment making going on. In fact, it was a challenge for many to just find a new chasuble made in a "Roman" (i.e baroque) form. Since those early days of liturgical revival, not only have the number of makers multiplied exponentially, so too have the designs. Not so many years ago, what was mainly available were imitations of 20th century catalogue works with basic Latin crosses and IHS monograms; nowadays we see the revival of more antique forms, shapes and tastes; forms that take their inspiration from earlier centuries. We are very fortunate to see this ongoing revival in our time.
Here are some closer details from this set which show the spectacular green and silver-white brocade combined with Solomnic column shaped galloons:
Next we have the oratory's white set which incorporates highlights of red, green and especially purple.
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Photos used with the permission of Fr. Sebastian Jones, Cong Orat..
Copyright (C) Dr. David A. Woolf
