Worcester Choir Tour 2024

So we went to the Vatican on day 2. I mean, that was a thing. Who gets to do that? If you'd told us at the beginning of the year we'd be singing Mass at the Vatican at the end of the year, well, I don't think any of us would quite have believed it. But then on our final full day in Florence we had not one, not two, but three amazing experiences that really made this the best day. And we should add a fourth - because this was the best meal all week too! We sang High Mass at Santa Croce. We sang in the Duomo - which was closed to toursists so we could sing in there. And we finished with another Compline, up at San Miniato al Monte, high over the city, with views over the whole bowl of Florence. Santa Croce. Its beautiful facade, guarded by a statue of Dante, with frescoes of St Francis by Giotto, stands above a piazza where traditional Italian football is still played on the stone surface. Here we came to sing Taverner and Byrd. English music in Latin. Then on to t...

Day Five, and (on the Euro 2024 quarter final day when England face Switzerland) we are singing for an audience at St Mark's English Church on Via Maggio, our rehearsal base all week. A sort of liturgical concert - Evensong, but Very Choral Evensong. Instead of Bible Readings we sing pieces based on Scripture, and before the Introit, a pre-introit piece, sung from the stairs in the lobby to the church where people on the street can hear us and maybe join us as a result. At rehearsal, Caius is ready, wearing his England shirt, teaching Ben all the words to 'It's Coming Home'. Hopefully we aren't. Not yet. Evensong is, of course, the staple of what we do at Worcester. But (like football these days, it seems - let's not forget that England have lasted longer in the competition than the Azzurri!) Evensong is a bit foreign here in Italy... So here we've sung Mass at the Vatican, and tomorrow we will sing Mass at Santa Croce, we've sung Compline at Santi...

After the break of yesterday, today was back to work! It was great to be singing in our base at St Mark's again, working through lots of the material that we will be looking at this weekend. We have a lot to cover on Saturday and Sunday, and even if most of it is familiar material to us, working through the detail so we can sing at our very best and represent both ourselves and Worcester College well matters. For sure, this is a terrific time away and an amzing opportunity to explore one of the world's great cities, but we are here to be Worcester College Choir! Caius, our director of music, is struggling today though. The sun is relentless, and the walk up to San Miniato yesterday seems to have taken its toll. Fortunately Benedict, our organ scholar, knows all our music, and stepped in to run the second half of the rehearal while Caius went back to his hotel room to get a bit more rest. Today also sees the last day Matthew, our assistant chaplain, is with us before he has ...

What everyone needed today was - rest. After two hectic days, two amazing and very full days, we got to relax - to go out into Florence and see this beautiful, magical place. Some took themselves off for a bit of quiet time alone. Some got into groups together, some just twos and threes. Gardens, churches, museums - all were visited. As well as cafes, gelateria, shops and more besides. The weather is amazing this week in Florence. The skies are the purest of blues, and the temperature is full-on summer, without being oppressive. Yesterday (in Rome) there was a moment when the rain came, but then the sun returned and restored order once more. This is ideal vacation weather - and though there's a lot of work on this trip, eve so, it really does feel like the most amazing break. Great company, great music, and the opportunity to see amazing places. We are very lucky this week - although all of us have contributed the the trip financially, some friends of the choir have also donate...

Our travelling days are not yet done! On Wednesday morning it was up early and onto the fast train to Rome. The Metro there threw us out into - Blue skies, sunshine, crowds, and picture-book sights. Some spent time wandering around the Colosseum, some found other places to explore, a decent group was led off by Assistant Chaplain MCS to San Clemente to see the amazing archeological dig and the beautiful basilica there, before trekking past the Forum, the Circus Maximus and onto lunch. Then our intrepid leaders forged ahead to make sure all was well for the main act of the day - singing the 5pm Mass at St Peter's Basilica. The Vatican. We had no doubt at all that they knew what they were doing. Every confidence. But when we got there - goodness that place is big. It's almost impossible to get a hold on the scale of how big it is, because it is devoid of anything inside. The statues are gargantuan. The writing around the interior of the dome stands at around 2m per letter...

Once bags were left behind, there was just a moment to breathe, and then we were straight into rehearsal. Our venue for rehearsal all week is St Mark's English Church, and Chris, the priest there, welcomed us warmly as we arrived and settled in. Then it was straight to work... Tonight we have compline, and tomorrow is a big day without any time for further prep. We stayed a little longer than planned in order to work through everything really well. Tonight at Compline, Deborah Pritchard, old member of Worcester, will be with us - and we are singing her Nunc Dimittis as part of the service. We really want to do that justice! Then there was time to change into choir blacks for performance, and everyone gathered outside Santi Apostoli ready for our first service. Santi Apostoli is a beautiful eleventh century church, with a stone inscription on the outsdie that seems to indicate an even older foundation, as it says the church was founded by Charlemagne. The American priest who le...

There was an early start to it all - the first call was to meet at Gatwick North Terminal at 4am. 4am. Gloriously, several folk decided to make their way to the airport the night before and catch a little sleep in a hotel on site. Some looked amazingly awake and alive - others looked - well, let's say, it was the airport lighting that refused to flatter... Here's how the choir were feeling: Amazingly, everyone was on time, everyone had brought everything, and we all sailed through passport checks with hardly a problem. Two or three almost missed the flight because they took their time over breakfast (we started to learn who might be at the back of the pack when we needed to move fast anywhere) but soon pretty much everyone was sound asleep, high in the air above the alps... And then we were in Italy. Italy - gloriously bathed in sunshine, making the previous week's heatwave in Oxford feel palid and slightly fake. Italy, with airconditioned trains and railway platfor...