Timeless themes and youthful enthusiasm

Categories: uncategorized

Date: 28 January 2008 11:38:18

The Christian Faith almost came to a juddering end at Choir practice this week, when the choir master announced while we were singing 'Ave Verum Corpus, natum ex Maria Virgine' that we would have sung it a month ago but had to abort.
Fortunately, he was talking figuratively, so we still turned up on Sunday morning to sing 'Day by Day' (How) and a return to the well-loved Mass of St. Thomas (Thorne).

The evening service was very exciting, particularly for the children taking part, as it was the 'Schools' Songs of Praise'. Normally all the prep schools sing classical anthems and the primaries sing about wriggly worms and concrete cows, but this year the offerings were more mixed. Songs included, 'When I needed a neighbour were you there?', 'I the Lord of sea and sky', 'Shine Jesus Shine' and a very low (for the girls at least) 'Whatcha lookin' for?' by the senior school gospel choir. It was the parish choir who sang an anthem (we normally only choose a hymn) which provided quite a contrast to all the modern music sung by the other groups: 'O thou the central Orb' (Wood). It was rather strange to be applauded at the end, although we didn't get whoops, whistles and foot-stamps like some of the other groups (who had all brought their parents and grannies to cheer them along). Our performance couldn't have been too bad though, as we had gained another alto recruit by the end of the evening. Perhaps a few more sopranos would now like to come forward?