Choral Evensong - 10th August 2009, York Minster

Monday morning visits to Manchester Airport are more or less business as usual in my life, but this morning's was a bit different. Instead of heading off to Terminal 3 to take a Fokker 50 over to Rotterdam, Dad dropped me at the station to catch a train up to York for a week's singing at York Minster with the ECS.

This is my fourth ECS cathedral visit, and having vowed each year that I would work for an RSCM medal before the next trip, finally I've managed to achieve it. The six of us that took the exams in June wore our medals on a cathedral trip for the first time today.

Generally, congregations at a weekday evensong, even in the big cathedrals, can be quite small (think less than 10). Whilst I expected York to be an exception to this rule, I was amazed when we entered the quire to realize that there were upwards of 100 people listening to us. As if the large numbers weren't enough to give us nerves, the fact that Andrew Carter, the composer of this evening's anthem had made a special effort to come and listen to us, certainly did the trick.

* Responses: Nardone
* Psalms: 54, 55
* Canticles: Wood in E flat (number 1)
* Anthem: God is Love, Carter