2 more cathedrals off the list
One of my lifetime ambitions is to sing in each of the Anglican cathedrals in England and Wales.
This last week I’ve managed to tick off a further two from the 40-something which I’m currently half-way through. And what titans they are.
Durham was my first destination, singing with the Dionysus Singers the weekend before New Year.
Due to ‘staff shortages’ I ended up singing countertenor in the hitherto unknown (to me) but pretty tasty Puer natus est nobis, a mass by Tallis. It felt so comfortable, and I don’t believe I offended too many ears, that I’m consequently contemplating a choral career change. More on that another time…
Then just yesterday, I was in Norwich singing with the Cathedral Consort + friends, under the auspicious direction of David McKee. Norwich is widely thought to be a long way from just about anywhere civilised but with the traffic on your side and the occasional flexible interpretation of the speed limit, it can be done in just 4 hours from Bristol. And however long the commute, it’s one of those cathedrals that justifies it the minute you arrive.
Actually, I’m full of praise for Norwich as a city in general. For somewhere that might appear to be something of a backwater it appears to “have everything” with the added bonus that no one seems to have latched onto this making houses prices so low that my friends Dave and Sarah have bought, as their first property, a 4 bedroom semi.
Two moderately humorous things about “Dionysus”: when I enquired of a regular as to the meaning of the name, I was told it was the Dionysus is the Greek god of wine. In a rare moment of erudition I remarked that I thought that was Bacchus. After some debate we concluded that one must be the Greek god and the other Roman. Actually they are one and the same (both Greek).
The other, I learn reading up on him is that he was said to be womanly or “man-womanish”. Decidedly fitting if act on my bass to alto conversion!
Hmmm. English Literature evening classes… moving to counter-tenor… it’s all beginning to add up.
BTW, I’m off to buy an iPod Touch which is quite easily hackable to be an iPhone (without the phone bit, obviously) without fear of total embrickage. Mind you, it’s also pretty clear that Apple is bringing out a mini-tablet PC sometime this year…