Weekend of Music

This weekend has been one musical event after another for us. First, we went to a Durham University concert on Friday night. It was a showcase of all of the different university ensembles with some Platinum Jubilee music thrown it at the end with combined choirs and orchestras. It was in Durham Cathedral and quite nice (except 2.5 hrs on hard wooden benches was not so great). It was somewhat incongruous and mind-boggling for us to experience a college concert in an 850-year-old Norman cathedral. It’s hard for Americans to imagine that sort of history, but it’s commonplace here.

Then Saturday we went to the Durham University library to see their collection of books from the 1600s. Very much a “happy place” for book lovers like us.

Then we went back to York for the York Minster celebrations. First we went back and toured the undercroft (missed that when we toured the minster). Then we grabbed some tea and late lunch. Next came the Platinum Jubilee evensong service. The Archbishop of York gave the sermon (whole parade of dignitaries there). The sermon was great and he reminded me of Steve West. He was asking how many songs everyone in the UK would know. Then he started singing some and asked the audience to join in if they knew it. He even threw in Hey Jude to see who knew it. He was leading into the National anthem being one everyone would know. Then he talked about the words and how many people didn’t think about the text (very Steve West-ian sermon). It was pretty great! We talked to the archbishop after the sermon and he was super nice—even took selfies with the teenagers with “the big hat” on). This service had the boy choristers and lay clerks singing. They had several anthems that we knew so that was nice. It was interesting to be a part of British history—we were holding service booklets similar to the one from the Diamond Jubilee we had seen in the undercroft museum.

After quickly grabbing a snack, we got back in line at York Minster for the Platinum Jubilee Gala concert. It was apparently the first time two associate choirs (Chapter House Choir and the Ebor Singers) had performed together. Combined, they were quite powerful and blended well with the great organ. [As a side note, this concert was also highlighting their recently refurbished organ—simply magnificent at everything from quiet, ethereal sounds, to floor-shaking rumbles. To be fair, it takes a massive organ to fill such a massive space.] The concert included obvious favorites like Handel’s “Zadok the Priest” and “Hallelujah” (we found it odd that no one stood up for that), with a historical journey through a variety of British music. We heard Purcell and Gibbons (lively a cappella pieces); Britten (one solitary lady stood for his arrangement of the National Anthem—others eventually joined her) and Vaughan Williams (including “The Old Hundredth” that our church choir has done); pieces by former York Minster music directors Francis Jackson (who died this year at age 104) and Philip Moore (who still sings with the Ebor Singers); and much newer pieces by Judith Weir and Thomas Hewitt Jones (who wrote “In Our Service” especially for the Platinum Jubilee). The very fitting finale was Parry’s “I Was Glad.” It was all glorious, but we had to bolt immediately to catch our train back to Durham. We hope to attend the Matins service tomorrow morning before we head up to Edinburgh.