Sunday, 2nd July, 2023
St Paul's looked great in the sunshine!
We attended Mattins at St Paul’s Cathedral at 10:00am. We were not
able to sit in the Quire but, as we had arrived early, we were in
the front row of the Nave. The choir sang the Venite to plainsong.
The Festival Te Deum in E by Benjamin Britten and his Jubilate in C
were also sung. The responses were set by Leighton. Both Britten
pieces are among my favourites and it was a great pleasure to hear
them sung so beautifully. The organ voluntary was “Villanella” from
“Miniature Suite” by John Ireland.
We stayed for the 11:15am Choral Eucharist. The setting was "Missa
Brevis: The Road to Emmaeus" and the anthem was “Ave Verum” by
Poulenc. The choir was in the Nave for this service which was good.
As for the earlier service, the standard of the music was wonderful.
The organ voluntary was “St Bride, Assisted by Angels” by Judith
Bingham.
After the service, Satoshi went to meet a colleague from his school.
I had a roast lunch at a local pub and then sat in the sun in the
garden of Christ Church Greyfriars.
Only the tower and south wall of this Christopher Wren church remain
as the building was gutted by bombs in 1940.
Christ Church Greyfriars, looking west
A Daylily
Another Daylily
I then went back to St Paul’s for 3:00pm Evensong. The responses
were again those by Leighton, the canticles were “The
Gloucester Service” by Herbert Howells, and the anthem was “Justus
it palma florebit” by Colin Mawby. The choral music of Herbert
Howells often includes very long phrases. The sound of his
“Gloucester Service” echoing around the vast expanse of the
cathedral was indescribably beautiful!
This was followed at 4:30pm by an organ recital by Christoph
Bornheimer, an organist from Germany. He played:
Bach: Toccata and Fugue in E
major BWV 566,
Max Reger: Benedictus from
Twelve Pieces for Organ Op.59,
Mendelssohn: The Hebrides
Op.26, transcribed by Bornheimer
There were several hundred people present and the playing was
excellent. As you may remember, Mendelssohn's "The Hebrides" is
better known as "Fingal's Cave". It was great to hear it after
visiting the cave so recently!
The Moveable Console on which the
organist played his recital, making it possible to see him in
action
Two visitors to our accommodation