Westminster Pilgrim; Being a Record of Service in Church, Cathedral and Abbey, College University and Concert Room, with a Few Notes on Sport

urn:iso:std:iso:639:ed-3:eng

193-4

text excerpt

At the postponed Coronation all went well, the Litany being sung early in the proceedings on the steps of Henry VII.'s Chapel by the Bishop of Oxford and the Bishop of Bath and Wells. I had the honour of rehearsing these two distinguished pupils, and they each accepted a Book of the Music from me as a reward for their keen attention to their studies ! The Processional anthem "I was glad" made a splendid effect, the Westminster boys' "Vivats" coming in with superb effect. And they had an extra chance also, for in consequence of His Majesty the King not entering the Choir until some time after Her Majesty the Queen, the "Vivats" had to be repeated. It was here that the value of Dr. Borland's system of signals, already referred to, was fully revealed, and my precaution in adopting them amply vindicated. The signals to the choir and band worked admirably, and I must add that Dr. Alcock (now organist of Salisbury Cathedral) at the organ extemporised so effectively that the whole affair, which might have proved an awkward moment if not a catastrophe, passed off as if it had been rehearsed as a part of the programme. Sir Walter Pariatt sat on the conductor's platform with me, taking his share in conducting the orchestral music and directing the performance of his own anthem. Concerning my Homage anthem no cut was necessary. The aged Archbishop Temple was a little slower over the "Homage" than we had anticipated, the music in its entirety being required to accompany this picturesque function. A striking feature of the ceremony was the Procession of the Regalia, which formed an early and interesting item in the day's proceedings. The Abbey clergy charged to bear the regal symbols from the Jerusalem Chamber into the Church were accompanied in procession by the choir. Traversing the Cloisters, singing the hymn "Rejoice to day with one accord," to the grand old tune "Ein' feste Burg," a pause was made for a short service in Edward the Confessor's Chapel, and another pause near the Chapel of Henry VII., while Tallis's Litany was sung as above described; then, supported by two trumpets and three trombones, the procession was resumed, to the strains of "O God, our help in ages past." At the last verse, as the singers comprising the choirs of the Abbey and the Chapel Royal neared the great West door, the hymn was taken up by the Coronation choir and the vast congregation, producing an unrehearsed climax of overwhelming majesty that will never be forgotten by those present.

excerpt from 'Westminster Pilgrim; Being a Record of Service in Church, Cathedral and Abbey, College University and Concert Room, with a Few Notes on Sport' pp. 193-4 (430 words)

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