OWCCS Evensong in Winchester College Chapel 18th May 2024

“It's wonderful to be back here again after thirty years!” said one member of OW Chapel Choir Soc as we walked into Chapel together. And for some it had indeed been that long, but for others it had been just a year. This was the second of our Society's Evensongs in Winchester and we were yet again graced with fine weather: blue skies framing College Chapel Tower and School, a familiar and heart-warming sight. Many of our soprano and alto guests, some coming from as far away as Germany, remarked with wonder at the beauty of our fine school.

Jeremy Summerly, a true master of choral music, led the way into the rehearsal via the Psalms: a bold choice with three different chants, but this was a decision which paid dividends later. Some of us were rusty, searching our memory banks for the meaning of the double lines in the middle of the first verse. Indeed we began raggedly and hesitantly but through patience and good humour on Jeremy's part and formidable leading by girl choristers from Winchester Cathedral, the wheels began to turn more smoothly and we evolved into one body of singers. Of course the English choral tradition was in our bones, dormant perhaps for some, but all it needed was a little gentle coaxing to reappear.

After the Psalms, Stanford in B flat and Balfour Gardiner's Evening Hymn flowed forth sonorously. After the rehearsal and photographs on College Hall stairs (see photo), we were treated to tea and generous amounts of cake in School. The Headmaster spoke to us of the importance of maintaining the choral tradition at schools such as ours and in particular the Quiristers. During Evensong, as the familiar and comforting liturgy unfolded, I stood still for a moment, watching the evening light shine through the mediaeval stained glass in Thurbern's Chantry, and reflected how lucky we had been to have sung such beautiful music in such a beautiful place all those years ago. The service drew towards its close with a Whitsun Eve sermon by The Revd. Justin White on the Tower of Babel contrasted against the miraculous unifying event of Pentecost, and the need today to bring a fractured world together despite the division of our languages. And so it was that choral music on this evening became our own unifier. We celebrated this afterwards with a sumptuous dinner in College Hall and a warm atmosphere of conviviality amongst friends old and new. Stet res Wiccamica!