The fourth Sunday in Lent is sometimes referred to as Refreshment Sunday – a day when the strictures of Lent are relaxed a bit. (It is also Mothering Sunday for those who keep that festival).
At St Mary’s tomorrow, our refreshment is coming in the form of some of the most lovely choral must that we sing here. Fr Vice Provost will be preaching on the Prodigal Child. And we’re adding one or two guest choristers into the mix.
Expect something special.
Mmmmm now you’re giving me ideas!
Oooh, I have that on CD and haven’t listened to it for ages. Love that chopping sound!
I was told that some kind of scaffold had been rigged up offstage complete with block and tackle to provide the definitive thud as nun by nun, they fell to the floor.
The stage was littered with dead nuns by the end.
It is a real shocker at the end. Liked Poulenc’s music, and the singing was good (Monday performance).
Attended the performance on Thursday. Particularly liked the voices of Mere Marie(Elysia Leech) and the Father Confessor(L’Aumonier), James Geer.
Tim Dean led the performance admirably and there was hardly any poor casting although obviously with a student performance some were better suited to their roles than others.
James Geer is to be singing the Male Chorus in Britten’s “The Rape of Lucretia” at Aldeburgh-a favourite opera of mine with the Pagan story offset and contrasted with the choruses commenting from a Christian perpective.
It was good to see(at a distance) Donald Maxwell and Linda Ormiston in the foyer before the performance, both professional singers of some distinction. I remember them both from Good Shepherd Chorus performances at St Mary’s years ago.(Donald Maxwell sang the baritone part in a performance of Elgar’s “The Light of Life” and Linda Ormiston, who studied maths at Glasgow Uni and singing with the late Winifred Busfield who taught me, sang the alto part in Brahms’ Alto Rhapsody under Christopher Seaman.
The staging of Dialogue des Carmelites was very effective and succeeded in conveying most of the pathos of the final scene without gross exhibitionism, which would have made it unbearable to watch.
It’s a great work – saw it at ENO.
Still reeling a bit from Holy Week and Easter, which were fantastic. Holy Week makes muscles hurt which never hurt in the same way at any other time of the year. There is nothing finer in the world than singing the Easter Exsultet and the gospel alleluias within a congregation that has journied to the…
People to see. Hymns to be sung. Feet to wash.
It has been extraordinary watching the story about the Scottish Episcopal Church roll around the world today. One story in the Herald on Tuesday which in itself was not saying that much and suddenly it gets picked up and hurled around the globe, even though the bishops’ statement was in the public domain days ago.…
No sermon this morning as it is Palm Sunday. We read one of the Passion Narratives instead of a sermon. This year, it was the Passion according to Matthew. And for the first time, I asked the congregation, as the Body of Christ to read the words of Jesus whilst I read the rest. Worth…
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