Holy Week for the choir
Easter Morning. All of the choristers have been at St Mary Redcliffe for nearly 5 days straight. We have just said the Lord’s Prayer and we are all quite tired, but still have the Agnus Dei and the ‘small’ task of singing The Hallelujah Chorus to go. I notice a chorister next to me scribbling something onto their music. As I peer over, I read the inscription they have placed at the start of the Angus Dei:
“Juicy bit of lamb!”
A few thoughts cross my mind, all while trying not to laugh: firstly, that we must be doing something right as the chorister correctly knows that the Angus Dei translates to Lamb of God; also, that they have good music taste as Haydn’s Little Organ Mass is rather…well…juicy; although, maybe this is just a reference to their Easter lunch.
Although this bit of ‘graffiti’ may seem funny, it tells me rather a lot about the attitude of the choir to the music they have been singing over Holy Week.
Palm Sunday we had our first “Come and Sing” event at St Mary Redcliffe during my tenure as Director of Music, as we had over 80 singers perform Stainer’s famous oratorio The Crucifixion. We paired this with a world premiere of a new arrangement of God So Loved the World by Bristol based composer Esther Bersweden. This performance brought together all corners of our parish, with the choir consisting of clergy, choristers with their parents and grandparents, vergers, servers, one of our basses bringing his partner and 3-month-old child and people I had never seen before at SMR. This shows the investment that is happening across the church into the music making at SMR.
We had rehearsals both on Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week to prepare for the upcoming Triduum. The choristers turned up ready to learn and work hard, again showing their dedication to the tricky music they were yet to sing as part of the worship being offered.
Thursday night we had all choristers participate in the Eucharist of Maundy Thursday, and after a late finish returning on Friday for the “3 hour service” with Canon Sammy Wainaina. This is a large feat for a cathedral choir, let alone a parish church choir. Holy Saturday the adults returned for the “Out of Darkness” service, and again a choral scholar brought along his mum and dad who joined us in the choir. This sense of belonging and community is something I am so proud of, and further demonstrates the engagement, dedication, and pride to be part of the SMR choir.
Easter Morning. All of the choristers have been at St Mary Redcliffe for nearly 5 days straight and by this point we had sung 29 pieces of music (not including hymns or psalms) since the beginning of Palm Sunday. Yet still, a chorister is so invested and excited to sing a piece of music that they write on their copy that this is a “juicy bit of lamb”. Although this small scribble on a copy may have been intended as a joke, it proves that their active participation and passion for the music was still shining through towards the end of a very busy week.
We’ve now passed probably the biggest week in the churches calendar, and it has been a pleasure working with everyone in the choir. Here’s to singing many more ‘juicy bits of lamb’ in the summer term.
Joe Cryan
12 April 2024
