Scotland and Ireland Tour Travelogue Five
Dear Friends,
As the Choir-in-Residence at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the members of the Georgia Boy Choir will become quite familiar with certain parts of the magnificent, old building. But there is a great deal more there than meets the eye. There is a tremendous amount of fascinating history associated with the Cathedral. So, on Tuesday morning, the boys had an opportunity to take a guided tour during which many of the statues and historical artifacts were explained to them. The young singers were fascinated and eager to learn more. The tour guide was surprised at their level of interest and engagement, and commented that he was very impressed with the intelligence of their questions and responses.
From there, it was off to Trinity College, just a short walk through the busy streets of Dublin, where they would visit the famous library and view the ancient Book of Kells, an illuminated manuscript of the Gospels, dating back to the 9th century. Again, the young minds were captivated, learning about this medieval treasure.
After some delicious lunch and some of their favorite activity, shopping along Grafton Street, it was time to get back to work.
Being the 4th of July, the afternoon’s Choral Evensong contained an all-American program. The Canticles (Magnificat and Nunc Dimitis) were composed by David Hogan (originally written for the Washington National Cathedral), the Preces and Responses the Choir is singing all week are by Gerre Hancock (formerly of St. Thomas Church, New York), and the anthem was “Saints Bound for Heaven,” an old, Appalachian hymn tune arranged by Alice Parker and Robert Shaw. The Georgia Boy Choir represented their country well.
In Cathedral Choir parlance, Wednesday was what they call a “Dumb Day,” simply meaning that Evening Prayer is spoken, not sung, so the Choir has the day off. With an opportunity to get outside of Dublin and see some of the Irish countryside, the boys headed first to the Hill of Slane. Here they found the ancient ruins of the first Christian Abbey in Ireland dating back hundreds of years. They took advantage of the fact that they had this historic place all to themselves to do some filming of a new music video.
In case you haven’t already seen it, here is a link to the Georgia Boy Choir’s new music video of “Over the Misty Mountains” by Howard Shore, arranged by David R. White.
This adventure was followed by a visit to Trim Castle, the largest Anglo-Norman castle in Ireland. It was here that much of the movie Braveheart was filmed. Again the imaginations of the boys were piqued as they strove to envision life in the castle 900 years ago. It was a wonderful way to end the day.
Thursday was a double-header for the Choir, so there was little time for anything but singing, although they did manage to sneak in some morning souvenir-shopping. Just up the road from St. Patrick’s sits the magnificently beautiful Christ Church Cathedral of Dublin. Dating back to Norman times and having been extensively renovated and restored during the 19th century, it is a marvelous building whose excellent acoustics made it an ideal site for a concert. The assembled audience sat mesmerized as they listened to the young Georgians perform their well rehearsed repertoire. The inimitable sound of their voices filled the vacuous space with other-worldly beauty, and the Choir’s organist, Scott Atchison worked wonders on the spectacular organ.
Here is video of the Georgia Boy Choir singing Benjamin Britten’s “Jubilate Deo” in Dublin’s Christ Church Cathedral.
When that concert was over, it was straight back to St. Patrick’s for Choral Evensong. The boys were looking forward to it because the Evening Canticles they were to sing that night by Herbert Brewer were some of their favorites. It was thrilling to hear that enthusiasm come through in their singing.
Another of their favorites is the setting by George Dyson, which they sang earlier in the week. Click here to listen to the Georgia Boy Choir sing the Magnificat from the Evening Service in D by George Dyson.
As they enjoyed some ice cream after dinner that night, several of the boys were overheard talking about what a fantastic time they’ve been having and how they can’t believe it is almost over.
Until next time,
The 2017 Georgia Boy Choir Scotland and Ireland Tour Team