Lessons and Carols 2.

So many services of Lessons and Carols. Last Saturday we sang in the Lutheran Church in Arnhem, an inner city church where quite a lot is done for the homeless, for refugees and for drug addicts. It is a big church and it was freezing cold inside, at least in the room where we had to robe, and in the corridors. The church wasn’t too bad, and they tried to warm us with hot coffee, nice rolls and fruit. The church is unusual with choir stalls in a semicircle against the back of the church. However, because there was a rather ugly stable in the process of construction, waiting for the ox and ass, Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus, the stalls were obscured and couldn’t be used, so we sat rather exposed on chairs in front of the congregation. There is a new organ, placed in the nave in front of the old organ which is still up on the gallery, lurking in the dark shadows. It looked a bit odd to me. Is it too expensive to remove the old organ? 

Arnhem, The new organ. You can just get a glimpse of the old one up on the gallery

Rheden last night was totally different. We sang in the old village church, warm and friendly. Our choir was only small, but we and the congregation really enjoyed the singing and the service. When I drove to Rheden, the moon rose above the horizon, a big, full moon, orange, as if there was a light shining inside, or a fire burning. At first I thought it was a hot air balloon as it was so large! It looked rather magical, especially over the river IJssel. After the service, later in the evening, the moon was higher in the sky and therefore smaller and no longer coloured orange, but exactly over the attractive church tower which was bathing in warm flood light. 

Above: the village church of Rheden, exterior and interior, and the nice organ front.

CAROL SERVICE, RHEDEN, 18^TH DECEMBER 2013, 8 P.M.

*          Once in Royal David's City             

            verse 1 solo, verse 2, 3, 4, 6 (descant)                                                

Bidding Prayer 

*          Adam lay ybounden – Howard Skempton (choir, CfCV 2)

*          Ding dong merrily        GCB 28 

First Lesson

*          Remember, O thou man – Thomas Ravenscroft (choir, AfC 170)

*          God rest you merry, gentlemen            GCB 29 + descant

            1 all, 2 choir, 3 men, 4 ladies, 5 all 

Second Lesson

*          Creator of the Stars of Night – Malcolm Archer (choir, AfC56) 

Third Lesson

*          O little town of Bethlehem       GCB 92 + descant Hopper 10 

Fourth lesson

*          There is no rose – Howard Skempton (choir, CfCV 192) 

Fifth Lesson

*          NEH 10 – Long ago, prophets knew             

*          Small wonder the star – Paul Edwards (choir) 

Sixth Lesson

*          See amid the winter’s snow     CfCV 150

            3 choir, 4 men, 5 ladies

*          My Lord has come – Will Todd (choir, CfCV 105) 

Seventh Lesson

*          The First Nowell          GCB 126 + descant, vs 1, 2, 3, 5, 6

*          In the bleak mid-winter – Harold Darke (choir) 

Eighth Lesson

*          We three kings                  

*          New Year Carol – John Rutter (CfCV 108) 

Ninth Lesson

*          O come all ye faithful              GCB 88 + descant Hopper 11

            vs 1, 2, 6 + descant, 7 + descant 

Prayers

Blessing 

*          Hark the Herald Angels sing    GCB 39 + Ledger descant

Butterfly

Lessons and Carols. A church overflowing with people, flowers and burning candles. A dark light. The choir robed and singing. All of a sudden there is this butterfly, dancing, pirouetting, distracting the clergy. It swings through the choir, the warmest and brightest part of the church, restless. All of a sudden it lands on my music which I am singing from. Snow in Winter.. covering the words. It spreads its beautiful wings. A peacock, I now see. Perfectly still it sits there through part of our anthem completely covering my music. Fortunately I know it quite well. But I can hardly sing. It seems such a miracle. Is it a sign from above or has it just been disturbed in its hibernation by the temperature in the church and the music? After some minutes it takes off, continuing its circular dance. It doesn’t land anywhere else, and I am sad to see it go. 

Assen and the Dead Sea Scrolls

In between all the singing, concerts and Advent services I took the train to Assen in Drenthe to see an exhibition of and about the Dead Sea Scrolls. It was a cold morning, with a freezing fog, which gradually dissolved into a slight haze, the sun trying hard to break through. At first the fields and rooftops of the houses we passed, were covered with a fine layer of hoar frost, which gave everything a wintery but also festive appearance. At this time of year the sun throws long and elongated shadows across the land, like caricatures. This morning the shadows of poplars and willows lining the many ditches and separate fields were not black or dark as usual, but white silhouettes painted on the green fields which had already been warmed by the sun.  It looked very peaceful and Christmassy.

Nowadays there is a direct train connection to Assen, which took me there in just under 2.5 hours. The train traverses the Flevopolder which is littered with rows and rows of modern windmills, today standing motionless, their three wings waiting in vain for a slight breeze. There was no wind whatsoever all day long, so the only thing those mills achieved was ruining the view and spoiling the landscape. With their extended arms they looked like a corps de ballet, frozen in the same position waiting for the music to begin.

In another part of the Flevopolder, a large piece of land reclaimed from the former Zuiderzee, it was clear that the man-made nature reserve, the Oostvaardersplassen,  is vastly overpopulated. Trying to warm themselves in the early morning sun were large herds of horses and deer, and not just one or two herds, but quite a lot in a very bare landscape. It could have been Russia or the prairies we were passing through, except for the temperature. Why we ever introduced them there, I don’t understand. It was meant to be a bird sanctuary. And now those animals are protected and there are just far too many. The land can’t feed them all, and they have killed off the trees looking for food. It looked as if a battle had taken place, like the woods near our house when I was a child. During the war all the trees had been used for fuel, and the former woods were a total wilderness. But fortunately they were replanted and they aren’t vandalised by herds of animals which surely never lived at this former bottom of the sea.

The former chapel of the nuns which is now part of the Museum 

In Assen it was cold, just above zero, but the bright sunshine made the centre look very attractive. The Museum is housed in a former nunnery, which since long has had various functions. The interior is worth a visit. This was the first time that I used the entrance of the newly built and very modern extension, partly hidden underground with an amazing garden on top forming steep hills. The main expositions are now in this modern extension. This time a few pages or scraps of the Dead Sea Scrolls were on view. I admire the way the (art) historians and other experts had managed to make this a very interesting exhibition. There was a lot of information about the history of the Middle East and of Palestine and Qumran where the scrolls were found in the 20^th century, everything so intricately linked to the history of the Jewish people. Nowadays exhibitions can be extremely interesting with the use of modern techniques: video’s on the main walls, re-enactments of battles, a clear timeline and information about all the peoples and rulers who had lived in and/or conquered that corner of the world. It was too much to take in in one visit, so for once I made an exception to my own imposed rule and bought the catalogue. The texts on the scraps of parchment, papyrus and leather were translated into Dutch and English. It is amazing to me that scholars have been able to decipher those remnants of scrolls, and pieced them together.

The three religions which all recognise Abraham as their forefather, were also represented: the Jewish faith, the Islam and Christianity. Texts which are similar in the Holy books of those three religions were quoted and juxtaposed. And there were interviews – on video – with modern believers of each of those three religions, all of them women representing three different stages in life. They explained what their faith meant to them in their daily lives.

There was another room where the techniques of writing were explained, of making vellum and parchment and papyrus, and even of making a copper scroll! Amazing that some of the texts on the pieces of scroll were still so clear that it seemed they were written only yesterday. Other letters had almost completely faded, apparently depending mainly on the type of ink used.

 The beautifully decorated entrance hall of the old part of the museum

 

A hall in the museum which was once used by the governors of Drenthe

Assen’s town centre was buzzing as people were shopping for December 5^th, St. Nicolas, the traditional day in Holland for giving presents. But after the sun set colouring the sky a deep red, it quickly grew dark and cold, so time to take the train back home.

Talking about meetings. Here too, and not only when travelling abroad, I had an interesting meeting. Two women whom I thought were about my age were sitting in the same compartment. During their conversation it became clear that they had both been students at Leiden University, the woman opposite having read the same subject as I had! She was also a member of one of the choirs of my organist friend and former organ teacher, wrote children’s stories which she said might be too naive for this day and age and modern children, and she hated golf! There was a rapport, although she thought I was at least 10 years younger than she was. Which wasn’t the case. Sometimes it is nice to be flattered. Time passes quickly when meeting interesting people. And so we were back at our destination before realising it. A day well-spent, topped up by “The Painted Veil”, for once a very interesting film on the TV. 

The first Sunday of Advent

The first Sunday of Advent, always a Sunday full of joy and expectation. I lit the first candle on my Advent wreath, bought at the Christmas Fair yesterday in our church. A Fair full of interesting things, crafts of a very high standard, homemade cakes and everything with cranberry: cranberry chutneys, cranberry jelly, cranberry granola etc. All beautifully packed in cute glass jars, very festive indeed. I couldn’t stay long for I had the privilege to be invited to sing at a very special service in The Hague of the Order of St. Lazarus. Which was a joy and a unique experience indeed. An investiture service, which was most interesting.

The Advent Procession with Lessons and Carols was inspiring and meaningful, as every year. I am a guest singer in that particular choir, so always a bit nervous as I do not attend the rehearsals on a regular basis.  But it is great to be included in this worship, even although I do not like processing into a dark church with a lit candle. There is the possibility of setting someone’s hair on fire or a choir robe, mundane thoughts during an Advent Carol Service. Once that part it over, I can give all of my attention to the music and the meaning of it all, the promise of the Christ child, a mystery.

Year after year we sing the same Introit, the Matin Responsory by Palestrina. And every time it moves me again. Standing at the back of the darkened church, hearing the cantor sing

 I look from afar and lo, I see the power of God coming, and a cloud covering the whole earth. Go ye out to meet Him and say

and the choir answering:

Tell us, art Thou he that should come to reign over Thy people Israel, ...

sends shivers down my spine. It has a beauty which is in such contrast with what we see around us at this time of year, materialism. As if Christmas is just a time for luxury, for presents, expensive and exotic food and party clothes. No, Christmas, the birth of this child, is a mystery, and it inspires us with hope. It gives meaning to our existence, and radiance.  That is particularly comforting at this dark time of year, when the nights are a lot longer than the hours of daylight. And so we light candles, to lighten not only our houses, but also to warm our hearts.

The Vesper Responsory almost at the end of the service never fails to move me either, both with its beautiful chant and its words:

Cantor:        Judah and Jerusalem, fear not, nor be dismayed

Choir:          Tomorrow go ye forth, and the Lord, He will be with you

Cantor:        Stand still and ye will see the salvation of the Lord

Here is our contribution to the service:

-Matin Responsory , followed by Come Thou Redeemer...

- Advent wreath prayer  

- O come, o come Emmanuel

- Advent Prose

- Remember, O Thou Man

Hymn NEH 15

- How lovely are the messengers  (Mendelssohn)

Hymn NEH 12

- There is no rose (Near)

Hymn NEH 7

- The Angel Gabriel

- Ave Maria - Archer

Hymn NEH 10

- Lo! He comes

- Creator of the stars of Night  

- Vesper Responsory

Hymn NEH 30 – O Come all ye faithful