St. Albans. Day 2

I took the car into town this morning. A bit of bad luck, for at the crucial crossroads where I had to turn off to get to the intended car park, there was a fire and both roads were blocked off by police and fire engines, and the traffic diverted. Which meant that I drove round and round in circles, ended up in dead ends and finally decided to drive all the way back and take the bus. I was early, so there was enough time to do that. But then I found a spot at the bottom of the hill, where parking cost only a pound more than the bus fare. A beautiful walk through the park, along the lakes and up the hill led me to the cathedral. I decided that I needed to secure myself of an escort in the evening when it would be pretty dark! Fortunately the choir has some gallant men among its singers!

I enjoyed the singing today enormously. The first day we always have to get used to each other, and find a balance and a blend so that we sing as a choir and not as a collection of individual singers. Today I think we sang a lot better. The music was well-known, except for the Radcliffe Preces and Responses, and the playful harmonisation of the hymn by Patrick Hopper.

This is what we sang today:

P&R                 Philip Radcliffe

Psalm:             50 (Cutler)

Canticles:         Walmisley in D minor

Anthem:           God is love – Andrew Carter

Hymn:              CP 487 (Quem Pastores)

I made sandwiches for lunch at my B&B, which I ate on a bench in the attractive cathedral grounds on top of the hill. And the sun was out! It gave me enough time to do some necessary shopping, got to the Tourist Information Centre to get a map to be able to find an alternative route should mine get blocked again, get the necessary funds from the hole in the wall, and the usual stuff at Boots. There was even time to spare to have a cup of coffee with friends. So I could fortify myself for the afternoon practice, which was quite a challenge with the anthem for double choir, the Schütz and the anthem and Canticles by Orlando Gibbons. We still have some time to practice! Double choir means that there are only two voices for every part! It feels at times like singing a solo, which I find rather nerve wrecking.

The drinks with the group after Evensong, followed by a delicious Thai meal in very good company, and an escort to my car in the dark and the drizzle, was a relaxing an extremely enjoyable way to end the day. The drive back to the B&B took just over 5 minutes, so it was a lot better than having a long wait for a bumpy bus drive next to a rather peculiar man as happened to me the evening before.