Right Now

[TullyBascombe]

I would expect that monastic life would likely be pretty much internet free, though from my experience on a variety of places on the net there may be a niche for a group dedicated to a sort of internet Samaritanship - damping down flame wars, fighting cyber bullying, encouraging the downhearted, and so on. Perhaps you could establish an entirely new monastic order dedicated to spreading cyber enlightenment and promoting cyber peace.

I'm actually not completely facetious here.

Oh, and the left side of my face has recovered better than 85%. There's still a slight flattening of my left upper lip and when I pit the left side of my face against the right the right still wins.

[Rebecca (:]

Hello everyone! It's been quite a while since I've been on here, as I only just now remembered my password. I just wanted to stop by and say a quick hello, and that I hope to become a relatively active member once again . I hope everyone is doing well!

[Yorkie]

Hello everyone! It's been quite a while since I've been on here, as I only just now remembered my password. I just wanted to stop by and say a quick hello, and that I hope to become a relatively active member once again . I hope everyone is doing well!

She's alive!

Hi Rebecca, glad to hear from you. I thought maybe you had grown out of your Libera crush

[kay]

Hi Rebecca
I don't 'know' you but anyone who puts 'Libera crazy' at the side of their posts gets my vote every time. Welcome back

[chris17]

Hi! Nice to see you around again.

[Rebecca (:]

She's alive!

Hi Rebecca, glad to hear from you. I thought maybe you had grown out of your Libera crush

I am!
Ah of course not! Don't think that'll ever happen haha. It's great to be back though

[Lumi]

St Paul's finally published their music lists for next week. Very exciting, my timetable now looks like:

Wednesday: Evensong at St Paul's Cathedral
Thursday: Concert day
Friday: Evensong at St Paul's
Saturday: Mass at Westminster Cathedral, Advent Procession at St Paul's
Sunday: Sung Eucharist at Westminster Abbey, Advent Liturgy at WA

Not really looking forward to all the quieuing – I understand the advent services tend to be quite popular – but some really great music to be expected. That includes verse services by Humfrey & Batten and Mass for 4 voices by Byrd, and of course all the music at the two advent services. So no doubt this trip will be worth all that time and money – even if I slightly worry how well this spontaneous 6-day holiday is going to combine with two end-of-term exams that I have two weeks later.

[Liesma]

Please pray for Latvia, because the roof of the Maxima supermarket collapsed during shopping hours around 6pm on Thursday in the Riga suburb of Zolitude. There are 52 dead people. Many people have been severely suffered.

[Yorkie]

St Paul's finally published their music lists for next week. Very exciting, my timetable now looks like:

Wednesday: Evensong at St Paul's Cathedral
Thursday: Concert day
Friday: Evensong at St Paul's
Saturday: Mass at Westminster Cathedral, Advent Procession at St Paul's
Sunday: Sung Eucharist at Westminster Abbey, Advent Liturgy at WA

Not really looking forward to all the quieuing – I understand the advent services tend to be quite popular – but some really great music to be expected. That includes verse services by Humfrey & Batten and Mass for 4 voices by Byrd, and of course all the music at the two advent services. So no doubt this trip will be worth all that time and money – even if I slightly worry how well this spontaneous 6-day holiday is going to combine with two end-of-term exams that I have two weeks later.

Probably looking to do Evensong at St P's on Wednesday (despite my vowing to never do so again since their appointment of a female Alto, but as nobody else has the full choir what can you do?). Friday will do the Abbey I think. Maybe hook up with you and try for seats in the quire?

[Lumi]

Probably looking to do Evensong at St P's on Wednesday (despite my vowing to do so again since their appointment of a female Alto, but as nobody else has the full choir what can you do?). Friday will do the Abbey I think. Maybe hook up with you and try for seats in the quire?

You can't possibly be serious about the alto being that big a deal.
Sounds good, sent a PM to you.

[Yorkie]

Probably looking to do Evensong at St P's on Wednesday (despite my vowing to do so again since their appointment of a female Alto, but as nobody else has the full choir what can you do?). Friday will do the Abbey I think. Maybe hook up with you and try for seats in the quire?

You can't possibly be serious about the alto being that big a deal.
Sounds good, sent a PM to you.

Of course it's a big deal! Where will it end? Also, it's St Paul's; hardly living up to his teachings is it!

The thing that makes English choirs unique is their use of adult male Altos, but to be fair I have never heard her sing individually so for all I know she may blend perfectly & be indistinguishable from her male counterparts.

One of the real issues though is the reak of nepotism that surrounds the whole affair.

[Yorkie]

St Paul's finally published their music lists for next week. Very exciting, my timetable now looks like:

Wednesday: Evensong at St Paul's Cathedral
Thursday: Concert day
Friday: Evensong at St Paul's
Saturday: Mass at Westminster Cathedral, Advent Procession at St Paul's
Sunday: Sung Eucharist at Westminster Abbey, Advent Liturgy at WA

Not really looking forward to all the quieuing – I understand the advent services tend to be quite popular – but some really great music to be expected. That includes verse services by Humfrey & Batten and Mass for 4 voices by Byrd, and of course all the music at the two advent services. So no doubt this trip will be worth all that time and money – even if I slightly worry how well this spontaneous 6-day holiday is going to combine with two end-of-term exams that I have two weeks later.

How did Friday at Paul's go? We had a real stroke of luck at the Abbey and were seated DIRECTLY behind the choir; I could look over their shoulders and read the music (well theoretically - I can't actually read music!). It was great to hear them work at such close quarters.

Tom said overall he thought the Abbey were better singers but that Paul's had the better Evensong.

[Lumi]

How did Friday at Paul's go? We had a real stroke of luck at the Abbey and were seated DIRECTLY behind the choir; I could look over their shoulders and read the music (well theoretically - I can't actually read music!). It was great to hear them work at such close quarters.

Tom said overall he thought the Abbey were better singers but that Paul's had the better Evensong.

Quite nice, although I recall thinking that it wasn't as good as Wednesday. The introit sung on both days sort of haunts me though. I really loved it, but I can not find any mention of it anywhere. Not sure even who the composer is, apart from his last name "Boyle".

Lucky you, though I did get seated in the choir stalls for the sung eucharist on Sunday, it was a little further away. Byrd was great. Though, having now heard the full choir live, I can now definitely say that I personally do much prefer St Paul's.

So I'm quite content with my choice to go to St Paul's on Friday, but I have to say it was really nice to meet up on Wedneday. Also cheers (to Tom also) for the meal – I'm pretty sure that ended up being my only warm meal in London apart from some Pret takeaway.

As to the weekend, Advent Procession at St Paul's was pretty dissappointing – too many hymns and just overall unimpressed by the selection of music, also the "dramatic" procession of light was mostly the cathedral's lighting being lit one third at a time as the choir processed.
Highlights were Poulenc's Trimor et Tremor being sung from the West doors, and later an interesting contemporary piece by a composer called Matthew Martin that drawed from O Come O Come Emmanuel & at least one of the O antiphons. For the latter, the choir had processed to the two transepts with trebles on one side and the Vicars Choral on the other. The acoustic effect with the alternating, intertwining parts from two directions was pretty amazing.

On Sunday, the Advent Liturgy at WA more than made up for the previous night: the congregation were seated on the sides of the nave with candles, with the choir processing first to the main doors. I can't quite explain it, but the atmosphere was much nicer than at St Paul's. One of the anthems sung in the Nave was Lloyd's Drop Down Ye Heavens – full choir at the doors, soloists on the other side of the congregation at the choir screen. That was a nice surprise (apart from me nearly choking and finally having to give up and cough during the music. ) After several readings and anthems there, the entire congregation followed the choir during O Come Emmanuel, processing to seats in the transepts. Great selection of music there, including some RVW and Britten which was great.

Had to skip Westminster Cathedral on Saturday – took some effort just to get myself to St Paul's with that cold. I was not very happy to fly back home on Monday to find something of a first snow on the ground, but well, at least people here know how to insulate windows and heat up buildings.

[Yorkie]

Had to skip Westminster Cathedral on Saturday – took some effort just to get myself to St Paul's with that cold. I was not very happy to fly back home on Monday to find something of a first snow on the ground, but well, at least people here know how to insulate windows and heat up buildings.

,

As Tom pointed out, it wouldn't be a visit to London without an authentic British cold!

[Lumi]

I am unbeliavably angry right now. And that does not usually happen, but this is just rage. So, sorry, but I need to vent this off somewhere.

The student union of the University of Helsinki (of which I am now a very reluctant member) have made a final desicion to evict four historic academic music groups from the Music Hall of the Old Student House – due to renting the entire building to a restaurant corporation for better financial gains.

This includes Akademiska Sångföreningen – the longest-standing choir in the entire country, "Singers of the Student Union" – the oldest Finnish-speaking choir, and the Symphony Orchestra of the Student Union which directly traces back its roots to 1747 (and now that is old in this country). So there is probably no need to explain the significance of these groups for the cultural history of this country. These are not some trivial campus organisations.

Specifically, 140 years ago, musicians paid for about 15% of the construction of the building by travelling around the country with their instruments and raising funds; hence the Music Hall that was designed and dedicated for their use. They have used it ever since.

The music groups obviously have fought this plan and a compromise (including significant financial compensation!) was reached such that the future of the Music Hall in its current use would be sufficiently secured. The corporation in question was ready to accept: it was the student union who refused the compromise.

The reasons for this inconceivable decision? Declared secret. Following the outrage, the newly elected president of the student union gave a statement saying that should the musicians refuse to leave, the union will seek an eviction order from the district court.

"Spei suae patria dedit" is inscribed on the front of the Old Student House, paying tribute to how the funds were raised for constructing the building. At the risk of once again sounding like an overly patriotic nut, I have to say I would very much right now like to tattoo that phrase on the foreheads of the Union's board members.