Requiem
So All Souls’ Day came and went without disaster. This year
we sang the Requiem by Gounod, and while you’ve probably heard of him (“Faust”,
“Ave Maria”) you won’t know his Requiem (actually one of three he wrote,
according to Nicholas, who runs the Music Society and knows his stuff). It is a
fine piece, and parts are very lovely.
The problem with an elaborate musical setting is that you
often find yourself sitting around being sung to at times when the logic of the
liturgy is to move forward, rather than being static, so we try to use the
settings creatively to produce an experience which has both liturgical and
musical integrity. I confess to a particular discomfort with the prevailing
high church practice of singing an elaborate Sanctus and Benedictus in the
middle of the Eucharistic Prayer, while the celebrant stands idly at the altar
for several minutes. This fights against the unity of the Eucharistic Prayer, creates
a great hiatus in the drama of the liturgy, and is totally alien to the
intentions of the composers. The idea was that the celebrant would continue
saying the Eucharistic Prayer while the music happened over the top, and so
that is what we do. We print everything out, so the congregation know what’s
going on, and of course they can see our movements at the altar. The
synchronization between liturgical text and music is only approximate (I
suppose it ought to work best with the Latin Roman Canon, but I’ve never tried
that) but almost always you get a pleasing musical climax at an important
moment.
Musicians often tell me that playing this music in its real
setting makes sense of it, and I noticed that our soprano soloist made her
communion this time. Some people are uncomfortable with the idea of prayer for the dead, but it is the most natural thing in the world to continue to pray for those whom you love after they have died, as you prayed for them during their lifetimes. The setting of the Requiem, as Nicholas Kaye has often pointed out in his "programme notes" for the occasion, gets to the heart of a composer's spiritual outlook, and the result is often very profound. The combination of music and liturgy can be very powerful,
and it is certainly very moving to be at the altar.
This year was special because we weren’t at St Mary Mags,
since it is completely full of scaffolding, and so took over Holy Trinity, Prince Consort Road,
thanks to the incredibly hospitable priest and people there. It was also
memorable because we were running alongside the premiere of “Murder on the
Orient Express” at the Royal Albert Hall, so our arrival at church was greeted
with searchlights and rock music. The red carpet approach to the Albert Hall is
from Prince Consort Road
(up those rather fine steps which you never normally see) and so we were
running the gauntlet of security men and black Mercedes. Apparently someone
found themselves behind Dame Judi Dench. Blessedly, everyone seemed to arrive
on time (including busloads of choirboys) and it all went beautifully. I came
back the next day with my car to retrieve our candlesticks, vestments,
thurible, gospel book and so on, and all was quiet once more.
Animal Rites
Yesterday, I was called out to tend to the dying, in this
case a dying dog in a flat on the estate. I know my rigorist colleagues will
sneer at the sentimental liberalism of this episode, but it had to be done.
Here was an animal companion (in a household well-known to me, for we have
baptized grandchildren) whose passing was causing immense grief to her owner.
In that situation prayer was entirely appropriate, and I’m glad they asked me.
The elderly Staffie knew she was surrounded by love, and we commended her to
the love of God, her creator, which was obviously the right thing to do. The
owner was comforted, and that was the point.
A Regular Caller
One of my regular callers is in despair as his wife has been
arrested, and remanded in custody. What he says, about an assault, makes little
sense and I assume there is more to it. I help him to get to court, miles away
(why?) and am impressed by the politeness and helpfulness of the court officer
on the other end of the phone; it is still possible to treat people with dignity and respect.
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