We (my son Josh and I) tagged along the choir tour from Bath to Cambridge and then to Oxford. When we caught up with the choir in their accommodations, the boys all seemed relaxed and in very good spirits. That accommodation in Bath YHA with its surrounding gardens allowed the boys to be able to ‘goof off’ a bit and have a free ‘down time.’
In Bath, the choir sang an evensong on July 19th and then a choral matins and evensong on July 20th. Located in the middle of the city and next to the old Roman baths, Bath Abbey is ornate church with its flying arches reminiscent of a Notre Dame in Paris. The Saturday evensong was officiated by the vicar of Bath who welcomed the Christchurch Cathedral Choir. The choir sang magnificently and the acoustic of the abbey church really worked with the voices of our choir. Compliments and praises were heard from church-goers after the service.
With tourist season in full swing, choral matins on the 20th was very well attended. Again, the choir performed magnificently and was well received by the congregation. After the morning service, the choir managed to have some time to go around Bath city centre and have lunch in time for the evensong later in the day.
We met the choir again on the 21st as they drove into Cambridge from Bath. The choir arrived in this lovely university town at 2pm. In Cambridge, they were hosted by Corpus Christi College which gave them the use of their visitors’ lodge just walking distance from the College itself. The choir has full use of the facilities as they were the only group using the building. The lovely front yard allowed the boys to play soccer,
rugby and cricket waiting for their room assignments.
With the housekeeping in order, the choir walked to King’s College to tour the chapel and the college grounds. Almost all of the colleges in Cambridge charges for admission to tour the grounds. We got in as part of the choir touring group.
King’s College and the Chapel is an impressive sight. Founded originally as a college to admit and educate graduates of Eton College, the college grounds is well-manicured and features in a lot of Cambridge brochures and
postcards. The grounds were so well kept that one gentlemen of the choir commented that the “lawn maintenance programme is outstanding.” Besides the impressive ground, the Chapel is equally impressive if not magnificent. The choir toured the interior of the chapel and soaked in the ambience. The tallest fan vault ceiling can be found here and a beautiful screen given by Henry VIII is here as well. Brian Law told the boys that King’s College chapel is the place where “Once in Royal David’s City” was first sung in public.
After the public tour closed for the day, the choir had an informal performance. They sang “Once in Royal David’s City” which was enjoyed by some tourists that hang around just shortly after closing of the chapel for tours. They then went to the choir stall and sang several more pieces to our enjoyment. The voice of the choir resonated through the whole chapel. Indeed, it gave me goosebumps just recalling the wonderful “alleluias” that reverberated throughout this beautiful chapel. Too bad that other people did not get to see our world-class choir sing.
On the 22nd, the boys had some leisure time around Cambridge and enjoy the sights. They even had time to try their skills punting on the River Cam. According to some of the kids, they are actually quite proficient. I am happy to report that nobody fell into the river. Everybody had a fun time.
Later in the afternoon, they began their 3:00pm practice for the evensong at St John’s College chapel. St John’s College is a five minute walk from King’s College. While the exterior of St John’s Chapel is relatively less imposing than that of King’s College Chapel, the interior décor is definitely more ornate. The choir practiced till fifteen minutes from evensong. The evensong was quite well attended with church-goers filling in stalls next to the choir stalls. Several attendees have been to Christchurch before and wanted to hear our choir sing. One elderly attendee was born and raised in Christchurch and wanted to attend to hear his ‘hometown’ choir sing. As usual, the choir sang magnificently with their voices resonating through the whole chapel. After service, I overheard an American tourist (who apparently is a choir director) heaping praises on the quality of our choir.
On the 23rd, the choir went arrived in Oxford and was housed at the Christchurch Cathedral Choir school. The gentlemen where housed at Christ Church College. Christ Church College dining hall is the location used for the Harry Potter movies. Some of the boys recognised it immediately and began touching the walls (probably hoping they will turn into wizards!). Julian said that the choir was assigned the tables where the Slytherins sat.
After lunch at the college dining hall, the boys went to Coventry to sing at evensong at the Coventry Cathedral. Coventry Cathedral is an interesting site as a modern cathedral was built next to the bombed out remains of the original cathedral. The modern cathedral had some very beautiful stained glass windows that depict Jesus’ life as well as various saints. The choir sang very well during the evensong though there where relatively few church-goers during this weekday evensong. The choir grabbed dinner in a local restaurant before heading back to Oxford.
On the 24th, the choir had a chance to explore the Cotswold on their way to Tewkesbury Abbey church. The boys enjoyed their time at the Cotswold and saw old English country towns preserved as if time stood still. At Tewkesbury Abbey, the boys practiced an hour before evensong which was enjoyed by many tourists visiting this old Benedictine Monastery. The Abbey service was well attended and the choir sang magnificently as they went through their Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis. After the service, the priest thanked the choir for sharing their ministry of music.
On the 25th, the boys had a free day to enjoy Oxford and the surrounding areas. We said goodbye to the boys and drove back to London to catch our plane to return home.
The choir has done very well throughout the week that we were with them. The boys are in very good spirits and are really enjoying themselves. The choir should be proud of themselves. They have really represented the cathedral, our city, and their school very well.
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