Day Five: Very Choral Evensong at St Mark's

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 Apostoli (Compieta in Italian) and will do so again at San Miniato al Monte, so doing something even close to our usual Evensong does feel like we are on more familiar territory. Howells' Coll Reg, our own Green Responses, Balfour-Gardiner's Evening Hymn and Ireland's Greater Love topping and tailing the service, with Psalm 121 thrown in and Joanna Marsh's Thou Hast Searched me and Known me, and Bob Chilcott's God So Loved the World in place of the readings - what a programme. We had a ball, and the crowd that filled St Mark's seemed to love it too!
Then it was a quick walk to Santo Spirito Square, where a very helpful Pizzeria had set up a big screen outside, and they organised a long table where we sat and enjoyed tall drinks and hot sunshine and England taking Switzerland into extra time...
But we had to leave!!! Dinner was booked!!! Good job the restaurant also had a TV so we could have great food, great company, great post-concert discussions as to whether midfield or attack were our strength as a choir, and Caius still got to celebrate wearing his England shirt as Pickford was our hero, and England won on Penalties!

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