Yesterday was my first
service ever at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, and it was a special one, Choral
Evensong concluded with a commemoration of Henry the Sixth on the Eve of the
Anniversary of his Death.
The choir was
excellent. It is smaller than some
foundations, with 10 boys (and a probationer this service) and I think 8
men. One could pick out individual
voices a bit more than with larger choirs, but their singing was nonetheless
exemplary. It let me know that I
missed English choral worship more than I knew!
At the conclusion of the
Choral Evensong portion, there was a procession to the grave of King Henry to
the right of the altar rail. There
two youths from Eton placed a yellow rose and a yellow lily on the grave. And an official from Kings read a
prayer.
I think it was immediately
afterward that the choir sang Ley’s Prayer
of King Henry. It was
beautiful and moving. And it was
the first time I had even heard that composition. I need to find if a good recording is available somewhere.
After the service, I went
over to the grave and prayed chiefly for two intentions.
This morning, I will go to a
brief memorial service at Eton.
I was there for a Choral Evensong in February a year ago or so. We were able to sit in the quire, behind the adult choir and across from the boys'choir group - there were probably almost 30 or so combined. It was so beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI should correct something. It turns out the full choir at St. George's is larger as I found out the next night.
ReplyDeletewannabe