now boarding

First half of term.

After the full-on month of advent and all the Christmas services, and a good couple of weeks holiday, the winter term approaches with all the regularity that business as usual brings.

We've been very busy as a family since Christmas trying to move house, hence the lapse in posts, so here's a brief overview of some of the things that have happened.

Christmas Day
Our second Christmas spent at the Cathedral, Tom has a hectic schedule (which I'll describe later) and we end up collapsing in a heap back home around 5.30 in the evening. What's nice is that for us, having our family day on boxing day, added to the festive warm up of activities, services and concerts, means that christmas is warmly long and gradual, enabling us to savour the spiritual aspect of this time of year. 

Settling back in
Tom goes from strength to strength and the beginning of this term was his best ever, I know he'd agree that. He helped with packing and organising and there was barely a tear on returning to school.

Radio 3 Broadcast
Every year around the time of St. Paul's day, choral evensong is broadcast live from the Cathedral. Apart from the microphones everywhere it's business as usual for the boys.

Parents Evening
There are some teachers we barely get the chance to see, or indeed have never met before, so the parents evening is a great opportunity. And of course to hear how Tom's doing. Here too he seems to be going from strength to strength. Possibly as his confidence in the choir and with boarding rises, his school work reflects this.

Games Workshop trip
One Saturday I took five of the boys to Games Workshop on Oxford Street. They loved it. They really are a great bunch, working and playing together and supporting each other in a way that would put many adults to shame. 

300th Anniversary Gala
A big concert this one, to celebrate the Cathedral's 300th year of completion. John Rutter conducted and Andrew Carwood, the director of music, sang Tenor. 

Cello
We knew Tom was enjoying his cello but we weren't quite prepared when his teacher told us just how much potential she believes he has (echoed by the schools director of music). The plan is for him to take his grade 2 exam this spring but then skip straight to grade 5. this also means we need to prepare for the purchase of decent instruments, so long as, as his teacher puts it, he doesn't decide to give it up and play rugby.

A new year 5 chorister
Tom is joined by a new probationer after half-term, boosting the numbers in his year to four! Eight seems to be average. For a couple of terms, Tom was the only chorister in his year.

 

Midnight Eucharist

I really don't know how the boys do it. Christmas Eve's midnight Eucharist started at 11.30 and didn't finish until 1.00am. The boys sung beautifully but must have been exhausted; in fact when I spoke to Tom afterwards, he said that one of his year mates didn't make it as he was 'too sleepy'.

That said Tom was on a bit of a high, full of energy and looking forward to later on in the morning.

It's that wonderful mix of solid professionalism and young boy.

The Cathedral does feel very Christmassy, complete with lit tree above the West end pediment, the formal and informal although I'm getting to be a little ambivalent about some of the carols, I wonder what the Choristers think.

So we'll see him at the 11.00 Eucharist, that'll be just 10 hours since he sang his last. Then it'll be Christmas lunch with all the Chorister Parent families, followed by Festal Evensong, then end of term. Phew.

Happy Christmas!

Britten's Ceremony of Carols and a Celebration of Christmas

The concerts keep coming thick and fast, and two of the most popular within 5 days of each other. With their school work continuing a pace, the cold weather and numerous rehearsals really put pressure on the boys, but their commitment, stamina, professionalism plus the support form the nurses(!) too see them through.

The exeat, a probationer-style weekend off from Friday afternoon until Monday morning the weekend before Christmas comes as a very welcome respite.

The pretty much have no time to themselves, even cramming in ice skating, pizza eating and a trip to the potted panto.

Benjamin Britten's Ceremony of Carols is possibly our favourite, not only did Britten write the piece especially for boy's voices but it's short and the only musical accompaniment is a single harp, so it's pretty much perfect. If you're really lucky and get into the Cathedral earlier in the day, you might even catch a glimpse of them rehearsing.

The Celebration of Christmas is quite a different affair, corporately sponsored and featuring a large orchestra (the City of London Sinfonia). It includes traditional carols the audience can sing along to as well as readings from actors, politicians and the like.

The first piece was Once in Royal David's City. Apparently all the most senior boys had rehearsed for the first verse solo but won't have known who it would be until the last minute.

Contrary to my last post when I observed that tom always seemed to be stood behind or off to one side, for these two events he was plumb in the middle, according to one of the gap students, Tom seems to perform better when he has a very clear view of the conductor (although Tom himself isn't quite sure why he's positioned there).

These concerts and the Christmas Eve carol services in particular get ever more popular and this year a giant screen and sound system were erected in Paternoster Square. Glad I was inside, as it was snowing all evening.

Photo from the Cahedral's facebook pages

 

O Adonai and Advent

And now begins Advent; starting with two Advent processional services and culminating in two services on Christamas day itself via Handel's Messiah and Britten's Ceremony of Carols. All this in addition to the daily rhythm of Cathedral services. No wonder that the nurses work overtime to ensure that absences are kept to a minimum.

These additional services, ceremonies and concerts are hugely popular and the usually unfurnished North and South aisles are set out with seats for the few thousand who will attend, listen and worship.

The first Advent took place last night and our favourite Anthem is the Antiphon, O Adonai.

The choir breaks into two; boys and men's voices, each under the north and south transepts. Tom explained the boys' rather unique improvised performance.

"... the piece has a section which is is divided into five phrases, when the conductor brings you in you sing one phrase, whichever one, and you must have a five second break in between. You keep singing in your own order, so say you could do phrase two, phrase four or phase one then phrase five. When the conductor puts his hand up, you complete the rest of the phrases, then stop."

"... There's a solo at the beginning, and he sings all five sections of the phrase all through, then we start our orders, then once everyone's stopped, the soloist sings another solo but higher. Last night Hugh hit a top C, and that was quite amazing."

"The vicars Choral just sing the whole piece altogether, straight through."

Technically it might sound a little tricky, messy even but the experience is awesome. Add the natural acoustics of the dome, a deep and resonant bass solo and the result is truly breathtaking.

 

 

 

 

Not your usual Christmas Day.

Christmas Day is significant for many reasons, not least that ours will be quite different from most; at least for he next 4 or 5 years or so. For Tom it represents the finale of the whole year (Holy week withstanding), most especially for a 9-year old third-desk, it's success as reaching and passing successfully through this super-tough month of advent.

So after an 11.30 Midnight Eucharist the night before, he woke up a little later than usual to see stockings under the Christmas tree in their dorm. Tom had a yoyo, a pot of gooey play putty. After getting dressed, they went down to the TV room where their presents were. Boys had £27 to spend on gifts from the Argos catalogue courtesy of the school, the staff and the Cathedral.

After breakfast there was a long rehearsal after which the boys stayed in the Cathedral as the congregation arrived.

We drove up town for the family Eucharist at 11.00, then into the school straight after for a full Christmas lunch shared with the whole choir and chorister parents, the vicars choral, some of the Cathedral staff and the school's residential staff. A beautiful doo, lovely food and so lucky yet slightly weird to be spending Christmas Day with anyone other than close family.

 
 

Here's what the Head chorister at Winchester Cathedral has to say about working on Christmas Day.

 
 

Then after lunch we all went over with the boys to sit in the quire for the Festal Evensong. Their last duty for the year. Slightly tipsy, rather tired but what a services. Short and sweet (no sermon, thank goodness) with the beautiful and fitting For unto us a child is born from Handel's Messiah.

After packing up the rest of Tom's stuff, we bundled into the car and eventually arrived home around 5.30. At this point our plans might have been different from other families, but we couldn't stop our two opening their gifts as we stoked up the fire and sat back to watch Harry Potter... and relaxed into Christmas.

Midnight Eucharist

We've come a long way from September when Tom was made up. It's been tough and rewarding, and now we've reached Christmas. Some say the midnight Eucharist is the most wonderful of the year's services, others that it's a big ask for the younger siblings but it's certainly a full Cathedral for the first Eucharist of Christmas.

  

Memorable it has to be said for the Organist who managed to gently bring 'Jingle Bells'  into the post communion organ accompaniment. Not everyone noticed it at first, but as the simple notes unfolded, wry smiles crept over much of the congregation and some of the clergy too.

As the organist said - you've got to keep the Choristers happy. And he did.

Happy Christmas.

End of term? Not yet.

Is it -  isn't it? 

School carol service in the Cathedral followed immediately by end of term for all the day pupils and probationers. 

The Choristers have a well-deserved long weekend exeat, but then it's back to school Monday lunchtime for Christmas week. 

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are treated like Saturdays; morning rehearsal, leave at around 10 then returning around 2pm for Carol Service, parties with the Cathedral Canons, visits to the cinema (Disney's A Christmas Carol!).

End of term is actually after 2 Carol Services, 1 midnight Eucharist, 1 Christmas Day Eucharist and a final Evensong for good measure.

Now that's end of term.