Author Archives: David Wayne Dempsey

We spent Tuesday at Cambridge and Wednesday at Oxford. Since they have a rivalry similar to Alabama and Auburn (or probably closer to Harvard and Yale since it’s more of an academic rivalry than a sports one), I decided to do a compare/contrast post similar to what a prospective student might do (we learned that students can only apply to one of the two so they have to pick a favorite).

First contrast, the train going to Cambridge is named for a type of beans (David didn’t find this as funny as I did) and the train to Oxford is named the Great Western Railway. Points to Cambridge for train name. The internet worked better on the Cambridge train, but the driver on the train back to London was trying to make up time and about slung us off the tracks a few times (I don’t think you should feel like you are catching air on a train). So, negative points for Cambridge. The GWR had better service on the train (cleaned the tables, picked up trash, had a drink/food cart), the seats were better, and the ride was much smoother. Also, the city center in Cambridge is a 1.3 mile walk and only 0.5 miles in Oxford. Thus, overall, Oxford wins in the train category.

Next category, famous mathematicians and scientists. Cambridge wins there with Isaac Newton, Alan Turing, G. H. Hardy, Srinivasa Ramanujan, Ernest Rutherford, Francis Crick, and Steven Hawking. I’m sure Oxford has a lot but our tour guide in Oxford wasn’t as excited about scientists as our Cambridge tour guide was. Oxford did have a hand in developing the AstraZeneca COVID vaccine.

Next category is Evensong experience. Cambridge wins this as well with the Kings College Choir. When we went to Kings College for evensong we were the 5th people or so in line and so we got to sit right next to the boys singing. It was one of the most amazing choral experiences of my life. It’s a huge chapel (nearly the size of some cathedrals) and the resonance and acoustics were amazing. They boys’ voices were so clear and the choir conductor would always wait for the reverberations to fade before going on. There wasn’t much organ music because the focus was almost entirely on the choir so everything was done pretty much a cappella. It was very high church (even more than Westminster abbey which was more eclectic in style had more audience participation—Creed, hymn, Lord’s Prayer). We only participated in the Creed. Now that I’ve said the Creed here 3 times, I’ve about gotten that they add the “descended into hell” part but I mess up “Holy Ghost” with our “Holy Spirit” every time.

In contrast, we went to evensong at Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford. They were following the same liturgy but were a little more informal in their service. They just let us in and let us sit anywhere, whereas at King’s College they processed in by rank—members of the college, members of the university, general public—and were seated by a person. (And they didn’t really stop anyone from taking photos.). It was a much smaller church (smallest cathedral in England).

Next category—creepy clocks. Cambridge wins. They got the building donated with the caveat that the inventor could put a clock in the old entrance. It’s a time eater who is showing us how time is passing and we are only mortal (apparently chains rattle against a metal coffin behind the clock on the hour).

Next category would be walkability. Oxford wins there. There is much less traffic in Oxford with more pedestrian-only roads. Tons of bikes both places but I still think there are more in Oxford. I enjoyed walking around Oxford a lot more for that reason.

Interesting museums are hard to judge because we only went into the Ashmolean in Oxford. But they had so much stuff. Cuneiform tablets to Greek sculptures to famous paintings. It’s an art and archeology museum which is an awesome combo!

Best tour guide goes to Oxford. In Cambridge most of the colleges are still closed to the public so you can’t tour them or even look inside their closed doors. So our guide spent most of his time standing outside of walls talking about what was behind them. Oxford seems to be a little more open and our tour guide took us into two colleges. She also talked some about how you see the British really supporting Ukraine (it’s been brought up in every evensong prayer we’ve heard). She and her husband had just taken in a Ukrainian refugee family in the past week and were adjusting to having them live with them in their house. We also stumbled across David the gardener at Corpus Christi College and he took us to the roof of a building so we could have a better view of Christ Church Cathedral.

Overall, I think Oxford would be a better town to live in, but I’d gladly live in either if I could attend one of these universities. It’s difficult to feel like a “real” professor when you hear about their faculty. I’m not sure I could even compete with some of their grad students. But it sure would be nice to come do a sabbatical here!

You’d think that, when a church organist is on vacation, he would avoid churches. But nothing could be further from the truth. It’s not like we do it for the money—something musicians and teachers share is that they do their jobs for the love of it, and it’s also nice if it pays the bills. As an organist, nothing thrills me more than hearing other organists play wonderful music on magnificent instruments. Even better if it’s in an actual worship service, for organists have little time to worship when they’re trying to keep track of everything happening in the services during which they’re responsible for music. Believe me, it is obvious to everyone when I lose focus, even for a second. 😄 (I often tell Julio, my partner-in-music at Jacksonville FUMC, that it is really only during his solo piano service-playing that I can truly worship during our services. Oh, and also during your sermons, Steve. 😉)

It must be said that my wife knows me well—and she understands this. (Perhaps this is because she has heard my play-by-play after EVERY church service.) She has used her superb trip planning skills to work in Evensong at the main cathedrals most everywhere we will travel this week and beyond. She knew I would love it, but even I didn’t anticipate just how much I needed it.

We queued up early yesterday for Evensong at Westminster Abbey and learned as we entered that photography was not allowed during services. That was very freeing, and it made the experience, well, more experiential than documentary. We heard the choir rehearsing with the organ beforehand, giving us a taste of what was to come. As it happened, we were able to sit on one of the two front rows facing each other, with the organ and choir on our left and the altar on our right. The music was, of course, amazing—early baroque works of Adrian Batten and William Smith; Joseph Barnby’s 19th-century setting of Psalm 80; Herbert Howells’s Magnificat and Nunc dimittis; William Walton’s The Twelve; and the recessional Allegro giocoso by Edward Bairstow. Hearing highly-trained musicians, including the clear tones of boy sopranos, is a treat. But having it enrich a church service is even more uplifting.

The high point was singing along with the choir in the hymn “Let the round world with songs rejoice” (tune DEUS TUORUM MILITUM, which I recognized, but I’m not sure what text I’ve sung before…but I digress). I consider accompanying congregational singing my main job as organist, but I rarely get to be part of the congregation. Hearing scripture read and sung, listening to service music, speaking responses, and singing together—such a simple service in structure, but immersed in it I was quite overcome, especially considering the magnificent space and the fact that daily services have been held at Westminster for over a thousand years. I choked back tears and couldn’t really speak for quite a while after we left the sanctuary.

That service alone would nourish my soul for quite some time, but I almost giddy with the thought that we get to do it again this week at King’s College Chapel, Cambridge; Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford; and St. Paul’s Cathedral. Later on it will be Canterbury, Exeter, Bath Abbey, Yorkminster, and Durham. Like I said, my wife knows and loves me. 🙂

When I get back home, my organ skills will not have improved, but I hope that my refreshed spirit will show when I play. Our organ will likely have been revoiced by then, better balanced for the sanctuary space, and I look forward to learning its new nuances and leading congregational worship again. See you in August, church family!