Monday, 15 July 2024

Monday was all about settling into our home for the week, the magnificent and beautiful Gloucester cathedral, famed for its fan-vaulting. We rehearsed for over four hours, most of which was spent in the Cathedral’s Song School (pictured below). A tiny, but storied place for 38 people with no chairs! The choir is doing really detailed and amazing work. We were told by the cathedral verger about the history of great musicians who had rehearsed and worked in this very space. Our day of rehearsals was broken up by a wonderful tour of the cathedral. Its famed cloisters and their beautiful fan-vaulting was an important setting in many Harry Potter movies. This cathedral, like many, holds the stories of those throughout its history and today in its fascinating architecture and quirks. We enjoyed discovering some of these. Our day ended with our first Evensong. It was a great experience for us all to sing and worship in such a space. Because of the cathedral schedule, we had just 30 short minutes to get used to singing in the Quire and generous acoustic where the organist is perched high above the choir and we hear ourselves differently. During Evensong, Canon Craig Huxley-Jones, a wonderful priest and kind person, offered prayers for you, the people of Saint George’s and our ministries.

An American Connection

John Stafford Smith, composer of our National Anthem, was born in Gloucester. His father was organist here in the mid-1700s and John a chorister. John was one of the first serious collectors of Bach manuscripts. More importantly, his Annacreontic Song, the official song of the Annacreontic club became the tune for our national anthem. Above this plaque hangs a Union Jack and an American flag.