ON THE eve of St Cecilia’s Day, last Friday, our cathedral in Portsmouth was full for evensong. The choir — boy choristers, lay clerks, and choral scholars — sang the opening responses as usual. The psalm set on this occasion was 136, to a chant by Charles Lloyd, “O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is gracious”, with the response running right through, “For his mercy endureth for ever.” The cathedral choir sang the first line, and then, perfectly in time and in tune, 150 untrained children sang the response (above). That fresh, young, naïvely cheerful sound brought tears to my eyes.
The cathedral was full that evening. The singers came from nine schools, and parents and teachers had turned out to support them. The schools joined the choir again in Margaret Rizza’s Magnificat, and also in an anthem by the contemporary composer Matthew Coleridge, a setting of words in praise of St Cecilia by Joseph Addison. The children also led the intercessions and sang the final hymn with gusto.
This all took place through the cathedral’s Cathedral Sing and Choir Church projects, which enable cathedral musicians to bring music and singing to schools in the diocese (News, 28 June 2019), making up at least some of what has been lost by the abandonment of music in so many of them.
At a time when our educational institutions seem to be abandoning Christian culture, initiatives such as these seem to me to be a crucial aspect of mission. One of the reasons that Christianity spread in the ancient world was that Christians did not think that education should be reserved for an elite. In fact, they were much criticised by the Emperor Julian (361-363), known as “the Apostate”, who complained that Christians should not be trusted with the classics, but should stick to their own Gospels: the inferior writings (as he saw it) of mere fishermen.
Christian culture, in terms of music, art, and literature, is the foundation of our society, and our children are surely entitled to encounter it in their school years. The experience of singing together used to be universal; now, it is much rarer. A couple of years ago, I went to a school reunion and met a friend who had always proclaimed herself to be a convinced atheist. Yet, on this occasion, she admitted that what she treasured most about her schooldays was singing hymns at morning assembly.
Cathedral Sing is supported by the Cathedral Music Trust. Earlier performances with schools here in Portsmouth, most notably a Messiah last year, led children who had no previous connection with church to take an interest in joining the choir. A new generation of young singers bring in their parents, as hearts and voices are uplifted in Christian worship and discover the thrill of singing together. Perhaps Christianity really is good for the soul. Anyone surprised?
