Remembrance Sunday
Saturday evening to St Chad's South Norwood for Mass. Walked down with Mary across the road and saw Mary Crinnegan. The new marble altar is impressive (it's their centenary) but why is there a classical pediment at the base? Alas the Ghanaian parish priest is very hard to understand as he talks too fast. At the start he mentioned Remembrance Sunday but we did not pray for the dead of the wars in the prayers! Tomorrow's 10.30 a.m. Mass is for the people of the parish so what has happened to the requiem for the dead of the wars? It's odd going back to a church where you used to worship - much is familiar but some things have changed.
Today we practised at 9 a.m. so left home early. The 9.30 Eucharist was attended by the Methodists and was said with hymns. We did sing the Darke Agnus Dei. I played the Last Post and Reveille for the 2 minutes silence as the guides paraded. There was a gap before the Royal British Legion service at 10.45 a.m. This started late so the Croft sentences got left out (so much for an early start and careful practice) as the concern was to have the 2 minutes silence at 11 a.m. Vickie did apologise. At least we sang "Thou knowest Lord" and "I vow to thee my country".
I played Solemn melody of Walford Davies, Elegy by George Thalben-Ball, Nimrod, Elgar "In memoriam" and the Bach St Anne fugue. The trumpeter was O.K.
Spoke to Dennis on Skype. Drove past Westminster Abbey but couldn't park to see the field of remembrance. To vespers at the cathedral. Beforehand Matthew improvised on "Nimrod". Amazing magnificat by Vincenzo and Parry's "My soul there is a country" - not the choir's best effort. Prelude from the Durufle suite at the end - very solemn, Oliver Brett played the whole Durufle suite at the recital as the recitalist was ill.
To the Albert Hall and most impressed by the Foulds World Requiem. The soloists apart from the soprano were outstanding and the choirs did really well. Knew quite a lot of people in the audience! Man next to me enjoyed following the score!
We watched the festival of remembrance from the Albert Hall on TV last night. I was cross that Katharine Jenkins sang Jerusalem as a solo against a drum rhythm - surely everyone should sing this together? Good that it's been modernised and made more accessible for young people and we saw the Royal family several times. The Duke of York read a lesson.
Today we practised at 9 a.m. so left home early. The 9.30 Eucharist was attended by the Methodists and was said with hymns. We did sing the Darke Agnus Dei. I played the Last Post and Reveille for the 2 minutes silence as the guides paraded. There was a gap before the Royal British Legion service at 10.45 a.m. This started late so the Croft sentences got left out (so much for an early start and careful practice) as the concern was to have the 2 minutes silence at 11 a.m. Vickie did apologise. At least we sang "Thou knowest Lord" and "I vow to thee my country".
I played Solemn melody of Walford Davies, Elegy by George Thalben-Ball, Nimrod, Elgar "In memoriam" and the Bach St Anne fugue. The trumpeter was O.K.
Spoke to Dennis on Skype. Drove past Westminster Abbey but couldn't park to see the field of remembrance. To vespers at the cathedral. Beforehand Matthew improvised on "Nimrod". Amazing magnificat by Vincenzo and Parry's "My soul there is a country" - not the choir's best effort. Prelude from the Durufle suite at the end - very solemn, Oliver Brett played the whole Durufle suite at the recital as the recitalist was ill.
To the Albert Hall and most impressed by the Foulds World Requiem. The soloists apart from the soprano were outstanding and the choirs did really well. Knew quite a lot of people in the audience! Man next to me enjoyed following the score!
We watched the festival of remembrance from the Albert Hall on TV last night. I was cross that Katharine Jenkins sang Jerusalem as a solo against a drum rhythm - surely everyone should sing this together? Good that it's been modernised and made more accessible for young people and we saw the Royal family several times. The Duke of York read a lesson.
Comments
'George Thalben-Ball' was the organist at St George's Hall, Lime Street, Liverpool. As a schoolboy I'd take the Merseyrail (Underground) train from Birkenhead Central to Liverpool Central and then walk to Lime Street to hear him. I found that I didn't have to pay by slipping into a side door and I hid behind the curtains!
Graeme.