‘Let the choir sing!’
Good morning,
One of the hardest things of the pandemic for many people has been the restriction on singing. It’s been allowed in the shower but few other places. Community choirs, football terraces, political party conferences, concert halls and karaoke bars, weddings and funerals, bar mitzvahs and church services have all missed the sound of people singing together. Singing together makes us feel good, confirms our belonging to community, and adds to the joy of life.
Members of St Salvator’s Chapel Choir have sung wonderfully, on their own, in chapel services this year. But after a year of only virtual harmony, the Chapel Choir will be able to sing together on the very last Sunday of the academic year. Following changes in government regulations, small groups of singers can now sing in services of worship in Scotland. This Sunday’s University Service at St Salvator’s Chapel on 23 May features an octet of student singers, offering music for Pentecost Sunday, conducted by the Director of Chapel Music, Claire Innes-Hopkins. I will be the preacher for this final Sunday service of the year, speaking on Dum Spiro Spero – While I breathe, I hope. People can reserve a space at the service, which begins at 11 am, at https://events.st-andrews.ac.uk/ until all 60 spaces are reserved. (As I write, there are still 45 spaces available.) The service can also be seen and heard via livestream at https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/community/worship/
The last time the choir formed octets was for the St Andrews Voices Festival back in October – here they were in the bandstand:
And as a reminder of how lovely the sound of multiple voices can be, here is a link to Chapel Choir octets singing for that Festival: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Far4VDBR2W0
The songs are The Blue Bird by Stanford; As Torrents in Summer by Elgar; I Love my Love, arranged by Holst; and Loch Lomond, arranged by Vaughan Williams.
It has been a long year. But perhaps this Sunday we will have a taste of a new spirit – of being together, not least in song.
Yours,
Donald.
Revd Dr Donald MacEwan
Chaplain