I finally achieved my ambition of sitting in these, sadly not for a service, but as part of the audience at a talk given to a meeting of the Friends of Cathedral Music in Bristol. It came after a concert (not part of our programme but I heard the tail end of it) in which the Chapel Choir were joined by deputies to form the ‘Chapel Singers’. As a long-standing dep at the Chapel, I think I should get in on this!
I’ve been an FCM member for a few years, but not been to a meeting before. (I can’t see the name written out without thinking of the ‘Friends of Italian Opera’ in Some Like it Hot!). This was a regional gathering for the South-West, and included talks about the Cathedral School and the Cathedral choir, a demonstration of the organ, an open rehearsal of the choir and evensong.
It was certainly worth going to and even though people and places were well known to me I learnt a lot. I didn’t recognise any of the other FCM members present, but managed to speak to a few of them. I should have made more effort to keep conversations on musical topics though; I don’t get much chance to talk to others who are knowledgeable in this area, and shouldn’t waste the opportunities that come my way to do so.