Cathedral Choristers Embark on USA Tour
Thursday 24th September
At the moment I am writing to you from the back of a Delta Airlines Airbus 330. Onboard wifi allows me to communicate with the outside world. Below us is an unimaginably vast vista of land – Canada stretches before us as far as the eye can see but there are no roads or houses or signs of human habitation. The world is truly remarkable. I am accompanying the Cathedral Choir on its 500th anniversary tour to the US. I am particularly enjoying the fact that the 500th anniversary of the foundation of the Choir (and hence the School) coincides with the 250th anniversary of the country we are visiting, namely the United States of America – that makes us twice as ancient as our host nation! Two of the choristers have already joined the Delta Airways flight crew by walking through the cabin collecting rubbish – or garbage as it seems to be called here. Talking of differences between English and US English, I was again reminded of one of my favourite and potentially life-changing variants – as we taxied down the tarmac at Heathrow, the American captain of our plane announced, with absolutely no hint of panic: “Ladies and Gentlemen, we will be taking off momentarily!” Fortunately, the take-off which we shortly thereafter undertook has so far led to a flight which has lasted for several hours and we are now closing in on our first destination, Minneapolis, where we are to give our first concert. Everyone seems to be having an enjoyable time though I confess that the boys are watching different films from the one I chose!
Last Saturday we witnessed an extraordinary event. Gathered in the Cathedral was a huge choir of former choristers who had been invited to sing with the Cathedral choir. There were about 50 singers, a few who had left the school three months ago and one who had left the school 75 years ago! One of the pieces we sang was the Jubilate by the former Cathedral Chorister and Christ Church undergraduate, Willam Walton. Very touchingly, some of the singers who were there on Saturday had sung as trebles in the piece’s first performance at Christ Church with the great composer himself sitting in the choir stalls. The piece is typical Walton, full of characteristic energy and power with an opening section which has an element of discordant pointedness. But as the piece nears the end, in one of my very favourite moments of choral music, it melts into one of the most ravishing and warm-hearted passages accompanying the words “His truth endureth from generation to generation”, a phrase which always seem to me to be moving but which, last Saturday, given the generations of former choristers singing in the building where they had had so many formative experiences, was particularly touching.
Friday 25th September
We arrived last night in Minneapolis, one of the largest cities in the Mid West, that part of America where the distances are vast and which produces much of the agricultural produce of both the country and many parts of the world. It is an immensely gentle and friendly place – Minnesotans pride themselves on this and indeed when we arrived at the airport we were guided by a volunteer from before we arrived at Immigration right through to where we met the bus. It is ironic then that such a gentle city, which I have known for a long time as it is the home of a great friend of mine, should be inevitably associated in so many people’s minds with three acts of violence, the killing of George Floyd which led to the Black Lives Matter movement and the two recent ICE killings. So far we could not feel more welcome or safe here.
But of course the most delightful people of all have been the choristers, who have been wonderful travelling companions. Indeed one member of the plane crew said that she had never met a politer group of boys. Our first concert is tonight in St Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral where we are also having supper. I am certain that the boys will charm further members of the local population, this time both socially and musically.
Mrs Fairhurst is providing me with a daily update on what is happening in the school. On my first day away there was an action-packed day and I cannot wait to read through the newsletter tonight to see what else has occurred. I wanted to thank Mrs Fairhurst and all the staff for so kindly covering for me in my absence.
As I write, day is slowly dawning across the man-made skyline of Minneapolis. I know that most people at school have already had lunch – things really do move fast in Oxford. Have a good weekend.
