I hadn’t sung with Priory Voices since 2013 but the chance came to join them at Canterbury Cathedral. It was nearly taken away again, as the original dates were double booked; fortunately we were able to transfer to the following weekend. This was at the cost of both choir and organist having very restricted rehearsal time (something which has happened on several of my visits to Canterbury), which the Cathedral acknowledged had created difficulties for us.
As at Worcester, we sang Gibbons’ Second Service for Saturday evensong. No complaints here as I think it is my favourite canticle setting. This time we used the edition by Robert King which gives it a (mostly) 2/2 time signature; Fellowes’ 1936 edition has no time signature and this was the first performance I’ve sung in which was beaten in minims. Here it was paired with Great Lord of Lords, a piece of which I know the Amen because it was one of a repertoire of Amens we used to sing at the end of Evensong at one of my former churches.
Canterbury has a rather nice chamber organ which would have suited this music well, but it is now forbidden to visiting choirs because last year another visiting choir dropped it. How do you drop a chamber organ?!
On Sunday we brought out Continental Romantic repertoire for the Eucharist – Widor’s Mass Op 36 and Rossini’s O Salutaris Hostia. For Evensong there was the British equivalent – Wood in E flat no. 2 and that great Trinity warhorse, Stainer’s I saw the Lord.
Canterbury clearly does well out of the tourist trade – well enough to be able to afford to have the heating on even at the end of May (it was definitely needed).