On any ordinary CL trip this would already be our last day. And with tomorrow’s dumb day and some singers sadly departing, fitting that I choose something grandiose for today’s anthem.
Monteverdi’s 9-minute, 7-part Beatus Vir, complete with organ and strings. Grandiose enough for a Wednesday night? I think so!
Ever since I met Rich, and later Martha, both colleagues at Futurelab and accomplished violinists, I’d been dying to take part in some musical performance with them. This seemed the perfect, if ostentatious, opportunity. I was thrilled that they were up for it, and between us we put in considerable preparation for the day.
The choir too; we’d looked at it bit by bit since the start of the week and, together with many people knowing it already (many more than I expected; I thought it moderately obscure) we were fully prepared for performance by the time Rich, Martha and Kit P-W (organ) arrived.
Kit, one should note, was not long since a father - 9 days to be precise - and probably hadn’t had anything resembling a good night’s sleep for a week. And still played like a total ninja.
The choir was the same as yesterday but with the loss of Andrew and the addition of Emma, Andy with_the_hair Davidson, and Ben Brown.
In rehearsing the Monteverdi so thoroughly I possibly neglected the Gibbons (Second Service) which, for the second time of conducting, I find makes greater demands of the singers than it appears on the page, especially the soprano duettists.
Today’s were the best psalms so far, and will be hard to top. I really love the Ware chant I found for the first psalm (142) and the Garrett one (more commonly used for 142) for 143 is a classic.
The Monteverdi was an absolute scream. It’s a silly little piece anyway so I wanted people to have fun, dance it up and smile at all the silly jokes (’fra-a-a-a-me it!’) and Latin innuendos (stuff about rectums) — generally have a good time.
Which they did. I think Rich and Martha were very nervous but it didn’t show in the music; they played consummately.
We processed out to Kit’s Bach voluntary - coincidentally the first opportunity he had to lay a finger on the main organ (what a show off) - and after the closing prayers, the Canon remarked, “What an extraordinary anthem!” — and walked off! So we have no idea whether it was meant favourably or not, and indeed whether the remark was deliberately ambiguous. You could indeed accuse him of tergiversation… Like the time the Dean at Bristol remarked after Friday evensong — “it’s going to be a memorable weekend!”. Classic.
Back to Wednesday in Wells then. I was flattered that we had five supporters from the ‘Lab at evensong — Payton, Kieron, Cassie, Lyndsay and Emma — and it was great that they could join us at the pub (tonight the Crown!) to raise a glass to the triumphant performance. And I was true to my word, that if Payton text me to say five or more Labbers would be in the congregation, I’d wear my leaving gift under my cassock.
The only shame about tonight, particularly given the quality of the playing and singing was that the recording failed: mp3 player too full and wasn’t able to save the recording (which only ran for the first 30 mins anwyay) properly. I have a plan to reunite today’s performers at a later date and have another go at recording it for posterity.
Pub was followed by curry and that was followed by sleep. Here’s hoping tomorrow’s day off will afford me a full night’s sleep, and not another 5am anxiety-induced wake-up call!
