Categories: uncategorized
Date: 06 November 2011 21:11:01
A very special service to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible was held at Exeter Cathedral on Saturday, at which all the R.S.C.M. Choirs in the area sang. Our anthems ('Vox Christi', Wilby; 'And the Glory of the Lord', Handel; 'O Praise the Lord', Batten; 'Teach me O Lord', Attwood; 'Teach us good Lord', Ogden; 'How Lovely are the Messengers', Mendelssohn) were based on learning from the scriptures. We heard the bible read in Greek, 16th century English and also from a modern version. There was a very real sense of being part of worship through the ages.
Sadly, on Sunday morning, we were informed that the husband of our curate had died, and one of our choir members injured, in a car crash the day before. Sometimes it really seems as if all the trials come at once, and this is one of those times. It was hard to sing with enthusiasm after such news. To make matters worse, we had to sing the anthem ('O taste and see', Vaughan Williams) against the backdrop of another member of the congregation being tended to by paramedics and taken to hospital. We had to be professional and concentrate on our singing extra carefully – I hope people understood if there were a few wobbles. The mood lightened considerably when the pure tones of a three-year-old in the children's corner could be heard to declare: 'I need a screwdriver!' He might be just the person we need to fix all the church's troubles.
Fortunately, the evening Civic Service passed off without incident. There was much unison singing tonight in the hymns chosen and also in the verse parts of the anthem ('Look at the world', Rutter) although we could break into harmony for the chorus parts. The theme of the service was 'Hope' which, under current global and local circumstances, was very appropriate. We also dared to hope that the post-service bunfight in the Town Hall would be more than just crisps, orange juice and peanuts – and we were not disappointed. Nobody needed to return home to cook supper tonight, as we were well-fed from a generous buffet.