It took longer than expected to get
back to York Minster for a Choral Eucharist for
Ascension Day so we arrived in the middle of the
first hymn. The setting of the Service was Missa
Brevis by the still-living composer Joanathan Dove.
It is a lively and quite exciting setting with some
loud chords followed by pauses in which the sound
echoed around the cathedral. It was great! The choir
(the girls and adults today) also sang the
unaccompanied anthem "Coelos Ascendit Hodie" by
Stanford. The organ voluntary was by "Transports de
joie" from "L'Ascension" by Oliver Messiaen. I
don't usually enjoy his organ music much but I found
that I did on this occasion. The sound of the huge
chords echoing around the vast space of the Minster
was magical and something that I won't forget. You
can hear a performance of it by Richard McVeigh
here
but, really, it's one of those occasions when it can
be said "You had to be there!".
After a meal eaten in haste at McDonald's, we
managed to be late for our final event of the day, a
performance of Donizetti's opera "
The Elixir
of Love" by the York Opera. Details of the
performance can be found
here
but I don't know how long the page will remain "up"
after the season finishes. "The Elixir of Love" is a
comic opera and the plot is really quite silly but
the music is very approachable and easy to listen
to. The opera was sung in English. I enjoyed the
performance!
Once we go "home" I spent a considerable time trying
to upload files for yesterday's journal. The
interent connection was terrible but I finally
managed the task. Of course this meant that this
entry for May 18 was not completed until 10:30pm on
May 19. I'm not sure how much of May 19 will be
completed on May 19!