Expectans Expectavi

When I was a chorister I loved Wood's "Expectans Expectavi". When I became senior organ scholar at university in 1979 I included it as an anthem on the music list. I was laughed at as were the music and the lyrics. Odd, then, that it is still a staple of cathedral music.

People have their own (musical) tastes but it does not mean that mine are wrong. I think this was a case of 'Christian' one-upmanship and I hope those responsible have grown up after 45 years.

Here it is - slightly slower than I like it but not the slowest I found!

Fed up

I admit to being a bit fed up with the C of E. By that I mean I am fed up with the pretence that people (and the church is the people) actually care. So, I am fed up with church people.

Why?

1. Bellringing. Still nobody has enquired as to my well-being after my departure from the ringing chamber some week ago. Of course, it does not follow that bellringers are Christians and so one cannot reasonably expect them to act in a Christian way: except that I know some of them profess to be practising Christians.
2. Organ playing. I have stuggled to understand what happened this weekend just gone when I found out by accident that there had been a wedding I was not asked to play for. One hopes that the reason is a good one but, had the book not gone missing I should never have known. Thus I feel there has been a lack of openness. How can a church claim it has no organist and yet one magically appears out of the blue?
3. Vicars and 'modern worship'. The current crop of incumbents are relatively young (compared to me) and have - probably - not been 'brought up' around organists and 'proper' church music. They do not know how to engage with professional musicians. I have been the 'victim' (for want of a better word) of a misunderstanding regarding a previous wedding and I fear the same thought processes have resulted in the current situation.
4. Silly season in church. The new idea in church is to have 'activity resources' or 'inclusivity packs'. Thus, on each pew, one church has a container of paper, crayons and pipe-cleaners for people (of all ages) to fiddle with - if they want to - during a service.
   

Why do I bother?

Howells and a screaming child

Choral Evensong from Selwyn College has just come across my Facebook feed so I have been listening to it. Who the hell takes a screaming kid to choral evensong?

The canticles in the above video are by Herbert Howells whose music was really popular when I was a chorister and, I assume, still is. This music speaks powerfully to me although I did not initially like the St. Paul's Service when I was young, although all ex-choristers love the "Coll. Reg". I think the first set I got to know was the B minor which I have not heard for years.

Listening to Howells' music takes me back and I feel both nostalgic and emotional. I was incredibly lucky to be a chorister under one of the finest choir trainers of his time in a period when church music was highly-valued. We worked hard as choristers and we were urged to aim for perfection: this was an attitude instilled in us. Mistakes, yawns, bad intonation and poor dynamics were frowned upon. Bum notes from the organ were as rare as poo from a wooden horse.

I was also lucky enough to sing in the first performance of Howells' "Thee Will I Love" which was written for Peterborough Cathedral and the commemoration (with a Solemn Requiem) of the 1100th anniversary of the Massacre of the monks of Medehamstede and first performed in Peterborough Cathedral on 9 November 1970: I was 12. This is a long anthem with an absolutely brilliant climactic moment just over a minute in at the word "Reigneth". I once conducted it when I was an organ scholar some 8-9 years later.

I would have liked to have been present at an evensong like this one featured on YouTube but the child would have ruined it for me. I can only assume there is something I do not know as to why this child was there. I had to stop listening to the video as I was totally distracted by the extraneous noise: full marks to the professionalism of the musicians. I simply could get get 'into the zone' as it were. Even the dignified recitation of the Creed was spoilt for me.

It has been a day of spoilt worship. Communion this morning was ruined by [a] Show and Tell church [b] a long sermon which merely retold the old testament reading's story of Elijah and the Baal worshippers. No mention of Father's Day.

I think I simply do not enjoy church any more and I need to stop playing for services which annoy me.

At the name of Jesus

When I was a chorister we used to bow our heads on three main occasions.

1. When crossing from one side of the cathedral to the other (North to South or vice versa) when we had to stop, face the altar and bow either from the waist or just the head. This was especially done when we crossed on, say, an errand near the choir stalls. If we were right at the West end or in the nave it didn't seem to matter.
   
   
2. As we entered or departed from the choir stalls in procession. We would bow in pairs (Dec. and Can.) as we entered, pausing for half a second (or the next pair would bump into you). On the way out we did rather a clever move: we got out of our respective stalls and joined the growing procession but, for a brief time, we walked backwards as we bowed and then did a 180 degree turn and continued to process in a dignified manner.
   
   That's what I recall anyway. Many choirs you see these days do a corporate bow - if memory serves, we only did this on Sundays when the crucifer was present. Obviously, we did not bow when singing about Jesus!
   
   
3. During the Apostles' Creed, in Evensong, when we got to the name of Jesus. We were bang on with our bows just as the syllable 'Je-' left our lips. I knew it was coming, I would get ready and be keen not to miss it.
   

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Ghost... (people do not like ghosts these days and Spirit is used, as well as Creator not Maker. In fact, I am disgusted with the C of E for the text on that page)

I do not see '3' happening these days. Certainly '1' does not (although it may do in places I have not been to). I always found it difficult if there were visitors about, as I felt they would not understand. When I first became an organist my then vicar would actually stop and genuflect when walking around the church.

I have to say I miss bowing: I did it this morning - automatically - in the Nicene Creed which we say rather than sing. I was the only one.

I miss saying the Creed in Evensong in a choir and it is one of my strongest boyhood memories, as I often stood near one of the bass lay clerks, Bill, who joined in with a quiet confidence I sought to emulate. It was team action; a programmed response; the right thing to do; "a sign [which] lifted us all from the mundane and served as a convenient reminder that there are lofty realities that transcend and beckon us." (I have quoted from HERE)

Church today has been the usual disappointingly casual affair. Noise during my pre- and post-service voluntaries: not just chatter [in the vestry which is adjacent to the organ] but loud, excessive chatter.

I'm not sure I want to bother much more. Nobody else does.

Modern wedding couples

I suppose I ought to applaud couples who want to marry in church given that so many places are able to host the ceremony these days; but what has happened to standards these days?

I find it appalling that people are so rude or disorganised that a wedding due to start at 1430 does not begin until 1501 and on a Sunday too when people are giving up their time to ring the bells (in my case as I was not at the organ). Every last detail was included on page 1 of the service sheet: the names of the page boys, bridesmaids, lesson readers, and a whole host of others (cake maker, hairdresser - no, not really but they might as well have been listed)

Vicars ought to be telling brides to arrive on time. In my youth it was common for there to be several weddings on one day, spaced out to allow time for photographs and so on. I did hear tales of brides' mothers almost coming to blows if the previous wedding overran; "It's our turn now!"

Modern couples like to throw money at weddings and the reception was at a very lavish stately home near here which I will not name. The couple were transported by coach and horses. However, when we finished ringing, the 3 bridesmaids had been left behind, all alone, as transport arrangements had not been thought through.

The service sheet had several typing errors and hardly anybody sang the hymns anyway. Worst of all, many guests were late arriving and were smoking right up to the church porch; they started again as soon as the service was over.

To cap it all the organist was terrible and had no idea how "Shine, Jesus shine" went. At least they only wanted one verse.

Chatter

I played for an Easter service today and what surprised me was that it was not too long; just an hour.

I had been asked to prepare the organ part for an anthem but illness had reduced choir numbers. So we all met half an hour before the service to run through it and see if it was viable: it was. We had the full quota of 4 hymns and this anthem during communion in addition to the Gloria, Sanctus, Benedictus and Agnus Dei. I played a new piece as a voluntary.

I also played a Buxtehude Chorale Prelude before the service and a quiet piece by Healey Willan. What I did find a little irritating was the loud chatter before the service. There seems to be no habit or tradition of quietly settling in one's pew and getting ready for the service - I was taught this as a child.

Another thing I find irritating is the way the momentum of the service is ruined at the end. It should go

• Post communion prayer
• Hymn
• Blessing
• Voluntary

Unfortunately we had notices about upcoming services and Banns after the hymn. This was an anti-climax. We had just sung "Thine be the Glory" and, surely, one wants to have the blessing and then depart: by all means chatter at the back of the church where the organist cannot hear.

I was spoilt for choice on topics to blog about today as Revd Richard Coles has spoken about his retirement. It is a good article, as far as I have got, so I will hop over and read the second half now.