Bristol Harbour Festival and Good old boats!

Loved the harbour at Bristol.  While not used today, it was the scene of great nautical history, and unfortunately some shameful as well.  Many seafaring adventures began at Bristol as ships left at high tide through the Avon Gorge.  As ships became bigger, they were unable to travel up to Bristol and the harbour met its demise.  However it has been reborn as a center city draw for eateries, clubs, and other attractions.  We surprised to find ourselves there during the Bristol Harbour Festival where boats braved the high, flooded rivers  to gather under the spars of Tall Ships for the fun of the weekend.  Here are pictures from around the harbour and of course my(David)  personal favorite --old wooden boats!  

There is an old saying that every boat has a soul - Sometimes you have to look deep, but it's there! 

Here are more Wells pictures,  the protective walls held these cross-shaped openings for archers to shoot in a fairly wide field of vision.  We walked around the top of the wall which was called the ramparts - apparently a favorite walk of the current bishop.

We enjoyed the gardens everywhere we toured.  Certainly the reputation for English gardens is well deserved.  These are a few pictures from the gardens around the cathedral, bishop's house and protective walls at Wells Cathedral, probably our favorite.

Here we are in the Chapter House at Bristol Cathedral built in the 1100s.  We gathered here everyday before Evensong for tea and cookies--then a few minutes of silence before processing into the service under the charge of the verger followed by the clergy.  While we were shocked at first that we could stay quiet that long (just minutes, really), we grew to treasure this time in the Chapter House!

 We did a bit of touring -- even though it had been raining and the rivers were flooding, we were determined to get on the water.  We tried to rent a boat on the Thames at Windsor Castle, but the boat livery was closed because the water was running so fast.  We contented ourselves at watching the duck floating down the river at break-neck speed!  

Later we saw ducks feeding in the river outside Wells Cathedral with no regard for proper duck decorum--who cares?  There's food down there!

More ducks at St. James park outside Buckingham Palace.  

More pictures from Amy and David

Pictures from Amy and David Phipps - Trip to Bristol

Here are some of our pictures from the Bristol trip - We had such a good time singing with our friends, enjoying all the sites, and kicking around the harbor!  This is a view of the Bristol Cathedral from the beautiful garden immediately behind the Choir Room. More soon!

Re-entry

Re-entry..... it's the name a friend of mine gives to all of those activities that consume you when you return to earth following a long stint away from home. You know - laundry, dry cleaning, getting the mail from the neighbors', picking up the dog and the kids, mowing the lawn after the 40 days and nights of San Antonio rain - all of that stuff.

And don't forget the best part - downloading all of your remaining trip photos! Here are some from our last few days in London!

Spamalot at the Palace Theater is the hysterically funny musical based on the movie "Monty Python and the Holy Grail". Others in our group saw the musicals Wicked (the prequel to the Wizard of Oz), Mary Poppins, Les Miserables, Lion King, and Lord of the Rings.



Many of us got the memo about Canterbury being the place to wear your pink shirts!



Canterbury is an amazing city. The old part of town, within the ancient Roman/Norman city wall, is now a pedestrian-only area. Visiting this cathedral in particular is very moving - this is the current seat of our faith, the home of the Archbishop, and the place where pilgrims have come for thousands of years to pray at the site of the martyrdom of St. Thomas Beckett.






In modern times the Pope and the Archbishop have met and prayed together at the Martyrdom site, and the sanctuary still stops every hour at half-past to pray for the peace of the world. Praying for peace is a great emphasis in every church in Europe - perhaps because so many visitors to cathedrals are not necessarily members of the Anglo-Catholic faith tradition, yet the desire for peace is something that unites us all, regardless of other lines we draw in the sand to separate us.

Thanks for your prayers for us as we've been away. We look forward to seeing you in worship downtown soon - we'll be the ones in the red and white robes!

We're Home!

Greetings to you all!

It is good to be back on native soil! At least, many of us are back. Some have stayed to vacation longer in Europe or visit friends or relatives. But officially, the tour group landed last night around 11:30 p.m.

Since most of you have requested more photos, I thought I'd just put up a bunch of our last days in London, and as I gather them from the rest of the group I'll put up some other ones.

First of all, for you Harry Potter fans, here is the REAL Platform 9 3/4 from King's Cross station in London. Notice how the luggage trolley is already half-way onto the magical side!



And a few from Stonehenge:




And of the crowd awaiting the BBC Proms Concerts:



And a view across the River Thames:



And of the internet crowd attempting (unsuccessfully) to hop onto the free WiFi around the corner from our London hotel. The red phone booth to the right also broadcasts a WiFi signal -


Check back later today for more pictures of our days in London!

Monday, July 30

Monday, 30 July 2007

Monday was a travel day on the way from Bristol to various places. Some in our group are headed elsewhere, but most of us are staying in London for 3 more days. Sorry I don't have pictures right now - I'm using the internet cafe's computer. When I have a moment with my laptop, I'll put up some photos. That may not be until our layover in the Newark airport... but I'll try sooner!

First stop - Stonehenge, one of the oldest and most mysterious sites in all of the world. Even what is known about it poses more questions than answers. HERE is their website, which has all kinds of info, and I'll put up some pictures the first chance I get.

Next stop - Salisbury Cathedral.... whoever said we might get tired of looking at cathedrals was just plain batty! Some of the only "enamel" stained glass in the UK is at the back of the altar. The depth of the blue color is simply stunning. If you haven't been clicking on any of the external links, please click HERE for their website just to see the stained glass.

After a spot of lunch, on to London, where our hotel is on Kensington Park High Street, overlooking Kensington Park. Since we were only a few minutes from the Royal Albert Hall, some of us decided to take in the evening's BBC Promenade Concert. Remember our Bristol composer - Philip Wilby? We just missed hearing his premier piece at the Proms last Saturday. The program we heard included the European premier of Esa Pekka Salonen's piano concerto and Berlioz Romeo and Juliet.

Thanks for continuing to check in! More soon!

Sunday, July 29

Sunday morning Eucharist, 10:00 a.m.

Did you celebrate "Anglican Communion Sunday" with us two weeks ago at St. Mark's? If so, then you received a foretaste of the feast to come, so to speak, as we celebrated the Communion liturgy and music nearly IDENTICALLY to the service here in Bristol. We borrowed the language of the contemporary Anglican Prayer Book and sang the same setting of the service music, in this case by British composer Harold Darke (click HERE for more info on him).

Completely unknown to us was this AWESOME bit of "it's a small world" - the composer of our chosen communion anthem "If Ye Love Me", Philip Wilby, is the HUSBAND of the Rev. Wendy Wilby, the CANON PRECENTOR of Bristol Cathedral, who has been the cantor for most of our Evensong services!! It's one of Ed Rieke's favorite pieces, and he chose it completely unaware of the connection - isn't that amazing?! Here they are with Ed, Grace and Kristin.


We got to meet Philip earlier this week when he attended the Evensong on Friday night. Last night he had a piece for organ and brass premiered in the Royal Albert Hall at the Proms Concerts - his music is a big deal!

Here we are lined up in the Chapter House awaiting the start of the service. This part of the cathedral is where the monks used to gather - it dates from 1180!

It was wonderful to have Rev. Mike Chalk participating in this morning's service as well. He joined the processional and was the priest who served all of us communion. It was very moving for us.

After a short lunch break we were back at the cathedral for our final service of this residency. It's gone by so quickly... it hardly seems possible that the week is over.... (Can you keep a secret?? We've already convinced Ed to plan the next one! We hope YOU'LL join us next time!)

Our final service at Bristol Cathedral.

Preces/Responses: Hancock
Psalm 88:1-10
Service: Dyson in D Major
Anthem: Hancock You Are One in Christ Jesus

Sir George Dyson (1883–1964) was a well-known English musician and composer. His son is the physicist Freeman Dyson and his grandchildren are Freeman's children the science historian George Dyson and his sister Esther Dyson. He attended the Royal College of Music (where he studied under Stanford) and then worked for thirty years as a school music teacher (at Rugby, Wellington and Winchester), before being appointed as Director of the Royal College of Music in 1937. He received a knighthood in 1941 and was made a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) in 1953.

Dyson composed some fifty works for the Anglican liturgy, including two complete morning and evening Canticles in D major and F major, as well as a setting of the evening service in C minor for trebles. The two evening services for full choir remain extremely popular in English churches and cathedrals, and are certainly part of the core repertoire. In the Oxford Companion to Music, Percy Scholes described his compositions as "skillful, sometimes deeply felt, but never forward-looking in idiom".

Gerre Hancock’s anthem, You Are One in Christ Jesus, was commissioned by the members of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church to honor and commemorate 25 years of service by their Organist and Director of Music, Edwin Rieke. The anthem opens with quietly intense “alleluias” growing out of the organ motive. The text (Galatians 3:27-28) is supported by an undulating organ accompaniment which grows in color and volume to return to the “alleluias.” In the final section, the entire text is chanted on a single note while the organ plays the hymn tune, McKee, “In Christ There Is No East or West.”

Following the Evensong service, Philip and Wendy Wilby hosted a lovely wine and cheese reception for all of us in the Chapter House. Both Philip and Wendy are such lovely people. In fact, all of the cathedral staff has just been fabulous to us, so warm and welcoming and helpful with this detail and with that question. And they've been very appreciative of our singing also.


Some of our group are going their separate ways tonight, either back to the States or on to various other vacation destinations. Most of us, however, will board the bus for London tomorrow for three more days of sightseeing. Keep checking in for more pictures and news!

Saturday, July 28th Evensong

Saturday, 28 July 2007

Preces/Responses: Lehman (see our post of July 23)
Psalm 24
Service: Howells - Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, Worcester Service
Anthem: Mathias Lift Up Your Heads


Herbert Norman Howells (1892-1983) was born in Lydney, Gloucestershire, the son of an amateur organist. He studied first with Herbert Brewer at Gloucester Cathedral, and later at the Royal College of Music under C.V. Stanford, Hubert Parry and Charles Wood. In 1915 he was diagnosed with Graves' disease and given six months to live. Since doctors believed that it was worth taking a chance on a previously untested treatment, he became the first person in the country to receive radium treatment.

Howells would assist Richard Runciman Terry in editing the voluminous Latin Tudor repertoire that he and his choir were reviving at Westminster Cathedral. He took great interest in this work, absorbing the English Renaissance style which he loved and would evoke in his own, and continued it until joining the faculty of the RCM in 1920. During World War II, he served as acting organist of St John's College, Cambridge.

Howells is particularly known for his large output of Anglican church music, including a complete Service for King's College, Cambridge (the Collegium Regale) and settings of the Magnificat and Nunc dimittis for the choirs of St John's College, Cambridge, New College, Oxford, Westminster Abbey, Worcester (TODAY'S SERVICE MUSIC), St Paul's, and Gloucester cathedrals, among others, as well as for two parish churches, St Mary Redcliffe, Bristol and St Augustine's Church, Edgbaston. These settings are often tailored for the building after which they are named.

William Mathias (1934-1992)was born in Whitland, Carmarthenshire. A child prodigy, he started playing the piano aged three, and composing aged five. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music under Lennox Berkeley, where he was elected a Fellow in 1965. He was professor of music and head of department at the University of Wales, Bangor from 1970 until 1988. He founded the North Wales Music Festival in 1972 and directed it until his death in 1992. He is buried outside St. Asaph cathedral.

Much of Mathias' music was written for the Anglican choral tradition, most famously the anthem Let the people praise Thee, O God written for the 1981 royal wedding of the Prince and Princess of Wales, which had a television audience of an estimated 1 billion people worldwide. "Lift up your heads, O ye gates" is a setting of Psalm 24 depicting the King of Glory's triumphal entry into Jerusalem on a donkey with perky rhythms and dialogue between acapella chorus and organ.

Friday, July 27 Evensong

Friday, 27 July 2007

Preces/Responses: Quinn
Psalm 22
Service: Sumsion in A Major
Anthem: Dvorak Blessed Jesu from Stabat Mater

Welsh organist Iain Quinn began his musical training as a chorister at Llandaff Cathedral, Cardiff, Wales. The Preces and Responses (St. John's) were written for the Cathedral Church of St. John, Albuquerque, NM, where Quinn has served as Director of Cathedral Music since 2005.
Herbert Sumsion (1899-1995)was organist and choirmaster of Gloucester Cathedral from 1928 to 1967, during which time he was an influential director of the Three Choirs Festival. He is remembered as a composer for his service settings and anthems such as They that go down to the sea in ships; he also wrote music for the organ. He enjoyed personal friendships with many English composers of the inter-war period, especially Gustav Holst, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Sir Edward Elgar. Great choral works such as Howells's Hymnus Paradisi and Finzi's Intimations of Immortality were first heard at Gloucester Festivals in Sumsion's period of direction.

Sumsion's own music has a very distinctive style that endears it to performers and listeners alike. Word setting is always felicitous and, as might be expected, his accompaniments are imaginative - and playable. There is also some fine chamber music which deserves wider recognition, and numerous works for the organists' repertoire.

Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904) was the first Bohemian composer to achieve worldwide recognition and to this day, he remains the most played Czech composer. In his music we find unusual styles such as the furiant, a bohemian dance rhythm that changes abruptly between 6/8 and 2/4, and the pentatonic scale, a scale consisting of five notes and generally being found in folk music.

The Stabat Mater is based on an ancient Roman Catholic poem, in Latin (click here to read the entire text), that tells of the Virgin Mary’s grief over the crucifixion of Jesus as she is standing under his cross. In 1875, Dvorak lost all three of his then living children, including his two-day-old daughter Josefa. The grieving father began work on his Stabat Mater, as a means of coping with his beloved child’s death.

Thursday, July 26

(Sorry for the delay in posting - it's been more difficult to get to the internet.)

Greetings -

Today is DUMB DAY. Although some may wonder if this is a comment on the intelligence of some not-to-be-named group member, in fact it means only that we are not singing today. :)

Our afternoon off allowed us a much longer excursion today. After breakfast we departed for Gloucestershire to visit Glastonbury Abbey and Wells Cathedral. Glastonbury Abbey was once one of the grandest structures in all of Britain - over 600 ft. in length and tall enough to "inspire even the dullest of minds to prayer" (quote from their museum). The last abbot was hung, drawn, and quartered by Henry VIII, at which time he also removed the valuable lead roof and stained glass windows. The property was then used as a quarry and stones from the Abbey continue to turn up in all kinds of houses and other buildings in the area. It is still unbelievably impressive in its current ruined state. Check out how small the people are beneath this arch over the high altar!



For more pictures of Glastonbury Abbey (the oldest above-ground Christian church in the world!), click HERE.

Because we did not have a service this afternoon, we were able to head on to Wells and view the magnificent Wells Cathedral. Here are the glorious stained glass windows that contain 56 scenes from the life of Christ:



Wells Cathedral also houses one of the earliest mechanized clocks. Click HERE for their website.

And for our fellow St. Mark's singers - check out these choir chairs from Wells Cathedral!! They are currently interlocked with the music stands and kneeling racks, but you can make out how the backs of the chairs rise to reflect the level of experience of the choristers. Imagine how tall some of our chairs would have to be since some of our members have sung in the choir almost 30 years!!



It was a long full day, so at dusk when we returned to the hotel, we were grateful to have our evening meal there in the restaurant. As with many places in Europe, dining is not just nutrition - it is an experience of itself, with courses taken one at a time with plenty of time for conversation in between. We have a full English breakfast every day at the hotel, which includes scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, toast, cereals, tomatoes, baked beans, prunes, grapefruit, and apricots. The food is excellent and plentiful. We are frequently on our own for lunch in whatever place we are visiting so a big breakfast gives us more time for sightseeing! Meals at the hotel usually consist of three choices for salads, main courses, and dessert. And when we are on our own for dinner, Bristol has many fine restaurants to interest every palatte, many of them just a few feet from our hotel.

Thanks for checking in. I'll post Friday's stuff soon!

A Guest Contributor

Here are some WONDERFUL photos, courtesy of tenor, Robert Patlan.

This is all of us in front of the high altar, along with Canon Wendy and Canon Douglas:




And here we are rehearsing in the choir stalls:



If you'd like to see Bristol Cathedral up close and personal, check out their website (click HERE) or go to our first post and click on the panoramic photos - very realistic!

And some more from Windsor Castle:




And some more from the Clifton Bridge and it's neighboring castle. Robert rode his bike up on one of our more recent SUNNY days!




Robert has a blog of his own that he invites you to look at for more trip stories and photos. Click HERE for Robert's blog!

Thanks for checking in today - be sure to leave us comments to let us know when you stop by!

Wednesday, July 25 Evensong

Wednesday, 25 July 2007

Tonight's Service

Preces/Responses: Hancock
Psalm 94
Service: Hogan Mt. St. Albans
Anthem: Marshall He Comes to Us



Gerre Hancock, (born February 21, 1934 in Lubbock, Texas) one of America’s most highly acclaimed concert organists and choral directors, is Professor of Music at The University of Texas at Austin where he teaches organ and is developing a curriculum for the study of Sacred Music. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Hancock held the position of Organist and Master of Choristers at Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue in New York City, where, for more than thirty years he set a new standard for church music in America. He has served on the faculty of The Juilliard School in New York City and taught improvisation on a visiting basis at the Institute of Sacred Music, Yale University in New Haven, CT, and The Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. He is listed in “Who’s Who in America,” and his biography appears in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd edition. Gerre Hancock’s consummate skill is clearly apparent in his concert appearances. Possessing a masterly interpretive ability, he is an artist of taste, warmth, perception and style. Considered the finest organ improviser in America, Dr. Hancock has been heard in recital in many cities throughout the United States, Europe, South Africa, and Japan. On occasion he performs in duo recitals with his wife, Judith Hancock. Compositions by Dr. Hancock are published by Oxford University Press. His compositions for organ and chorus are widely performed and his textbook, Improvising: How to Master the Art, is used by musicians throughout the country.

H. David Hogan was a noted composer of liturgical music, a choral director, singer, writer of art and theater songs and a musical educator who co-founded the esteemed Walden School in New Hampshire. His life came to an early tragic end as a passenger on TWA Flight 800 on July 17, 1996. The Mt. St. Alban Service was written in 1990 for Washington National Cathedral in celebration of the completion and consecration of their new building.

Jane Marshall is an author as well as a composer whose published works cover a 50-year span. She was a consultant for the United Methodist Hymnal, 1989, and many of her hymns appear in hymnals of various denominations. A longtime member of the Meadows School of the Arts theory faculty and the Sacred Music graduate faculty at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University, she is also the author of Grace, Noted, a collection of homilies, essays and hymns published by Hope Publishing Company.

Tonight's service will be accompanied by Parish Choir member, and frequent guest organist, Dr. Grace Ohlenbusch.

Tuesday, July 24th Evensong

By the way - all the text that appears in a different color (the Psalm, and selected other words) indicate a link you may click for more information about that item.

Tonight's Service:

Preces/Responses: Phillips
Psalm 144
Service: Harper - Washington Service
Anthem: Bertalot Amazing Grace

Craig Phillips was born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1961. He is the Music Associate at All Saints' Episcopal Church in Beverly Hills, Calif. He maintains an active concert schedule, and is a noted composer, having received numerous commissions. He received a B.M. from Oklahoma Baptist University, and a M.M. and D.M.A. and the Performers Certificate from the Eastman School of Music, Rochester, N.Y., where he studied with the late Russell Saunders. (N.B. St. Mark's own Ed Rieke and Kristin Roach also hold graduate degrees from the Eastman School of Music!)

Published in 2002, this setting of the Preces and Responses is the only accompanied setting St. Mark's Choir will present during its 2007 residency. It features an extended Lord's Prayer where the 4-part chorus dialogues with the organ in sumptuous harmonies and clean, open voice leading. Phillips compositional style is beautifully tonal with gently shifting meters that highlight his chant-like settings of our most beloved texts.

In honor of St. Mark's upcoming 150th anniversary celebration, the Parish Choir has commissioned Dr. Phillips to write a new setting of Psalm 150, to be presented at the Sunday morning worship services on April 27, 2008.

In 1998, John Harper (b.1948) took over the leadership of the Royal School of Church Music. The Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) is an educational charity promoting the best use of music in worship, church life, and the wider community. It is an open, life-long learning organization, offering training programmes, published resources, courses, and activities. With over 8,500 affiliates, members and friends in over 40 countries it is an international network, encouraged by over 750 volunteers, and supported by a small staff based in the UK.

Harper has had a life-long career in church and choral music, starting as a chorister at King’s College Chapel, Cambridge under the direction of Boris Ord and Sir David Willcocks. (Read more of his fascinating and extensive biography here!)

Today's service was written for the RSCM training course for singers in the National Cathedral, Washington, July 2001. It was made for a resonant building, with slow-moving harmonic material, and choral emphases on unison lines and block chords.

John Bertalot's (b. 1931 in Kent) more than 40 years of professional music-making include posts at Westminster Choir College and leadership of the most ambitious Episcopal Church music programs anywhere in the world. His 5-verse setting of Amazing Grace features an ambitious organ part that literally "pulls out all the stops" and displays the full vocal range of the large choral forces required.

This year all of Britain is celebrating the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery (almost 80 years before the U.S.!). The cathedral staff was especially enthusiastic about our choice of anthem today, whose text was written by John Newton, a British slave trader, upon his repentence and conversion.

Touring Bristol

Tuesday, July 24

The great thing about a bus tour is that it keeps you high and dry during the everpresent rain showers! We feel so fortunate to have escaped the devastating flooding in Oxfordshire and Glouscestershire and are keeping those thousands of people displaced from their homes in our prayers.

Yesterday after breakfast we boarded the bus for a tour of the different areas of the city of Bristol. Over a thousand years of history has seen this city in many incarnations, from a major import/export site, to an industrial hub, and now to a financial and service industries mecca. One of the greatest men in the history of Britain, Isambard Kingdom Brunell (click HERE for more about this great pioneer), supervised the construction of the Great Western Railway and the "symbol of Bristol", the Suspension Bridge:



We also drove through the Clifton area, site of some magnificent aristocratic homes, and past many landmarks we'll try to spend more time with on some of our free periods. The smaller ship in this photo is a replica of John Cabot's ship, the Matthew, that sailed from Bristol to Newfoundland in 1497, and the larger ship is Brunel's "ss Great Britain". (Click here for it's website.)



Then we were off to the church for rehearsal and our first evensong service. Here we are loading our vestments into the choir room, warming up in the choir stalls, and having a first go at the organ:





Then off for dinner, and perhaps a nightcap at an historic pub: The Duke. Do you notice who's portrait has replaced the Duke of Wellington?



That's right! It's Duke ELLINGTON!

Thanks for checking in - see you tomorrow!