How shall I keep from singing?

I spent the morning in a lovely little church in Cardiff, with a small, but confident choir who believe in having a go at everything.  Their enthusiasm is quite infectious.  It was the first time I’d heard ‘The Lord is Exalted’ by West – rather clunky and Victorian sounding, but very pleasant for all that.

It was lovely to be back in my own church for Festival Evensong, though – there’s nothing quite like your own place and your own choir.  The Sweeney responses and Brewer in D are becoming second nature now, and I still get a tremendous thrill from singing ‘O thou the central orb’ (Wood).

This weekend, the Golden Wedding Anniversary of two of our choir members (one alto, one tenor) was celebrated.  As a special request, we sang ‘O perfect love’ – Dykes, SATB unaccompanied – as the anthem.  Following the service, we were all invited to their house for a party.  Unfortunately, I was ill and unable to go.  It is very rare for me to miss a party.

An early start for Remembrance Sunday, with the address by our new curate, himself a former member of the Forces.  The atmosphere was tremendous as the organist (during the administration) struck up with ‘Be still my soul’, followed by us singing the words and then a medley of quiet reassurance, ending with ‘Be still for the presence of the Lord, the Holy One is here’.

The usual Remembrance Parade and Service by the war memorial followed – always a special town occasion.  ‘O valiant hearts’ – played by the town band – was very moving and solemn, but the mood immediately changed at their striking up of ‘It’s a long way to Tipperaray’.

Our third service of the day was Choral Evensong, with ‘My eyes for beauty pine’ (Howells), after which we were glad to return home and rest.

The one thing I noticed about churches in Scotland, whilst on holiday there, is that church attendance is much higher.  There seem to be many churches in each town (especially Church of Scotland and Episcopal) and they all seem to have strong attendance.

We arrived home just in time for All Souls (Monday), singing Psalm 23 (as a responsorial Psalm) and the Thorne Mass of St. Thomas.  It was quiet, reflective, and just the thing after a long journey back.