At 3pm we went to Evensong at Westminster Abbey, "we" being Teresa, Beth and I. Obviously, they'd closed the Abbey for sightseeing, but there were still lots of tourists looking very puzzled. At the Great West Door, where the entrance to the Abbey for Evensong was, there were 2 guards, and a lot of people were coming up to them and saying "we're here to visit" and the guards would just shake their head. I felt like telling them "Pssst, the magic words are 'We're here for Evensong", to which the guards just nodded their heads and parted for us to walk through. I'd imagine that behind us there would be even more puzzled looks from tourists who didn't speak English.
The service was only an hour, and the choir was beautiful. We couldn't actually see anything because of where we were sitting, round the corner from the quire, in the area between the quire and the high altar.
But we could still hear the beautiful music that echoed into the high ceiling! And also the organ. Which was a little bit creepy-sounding at times, but it was also quite beautiful sometimes. Also at the end of the service when everyone was leaving they had some music, but I think the organist had a hissy because he started playing loud dissonant chords that hurt my ears. Maybe his page turner forgot to turn the page so he was angry.
Obviously the service was very traditional and structured and rigid. And sometimes when the solo guy was singing he was like chanting, and it was quite monotonous. But better than Rebecca Black. More musicality.
My only question would be why we had to stand and sit so many times during the hour. But that's not a complaint.
After we walked out I ate my grapes which I had packed from home, but they were all soft. Why is fruit so not fresh in England *sigh*
The service was only an hour, and the choir was beautiful. We couldn't actually see anything because of where we were sitting, round the corner from the quire, in the area between the quire and the high altar.
Obviously the service was very traditional and structured and rigid. And sometimes when the solo guy was singing he was like chanting, and it was quite monotonous. But better than Rebecca Black. More musicality.
My only question would be why we had to stand and sit so many times during the hour. But that's not a complaint.
After we walked out I ate my grapes which I had packed from home, but they were all soft. Why is fruit so not fresh in England *sigh*
No comments:
Post a Comment