Choir Week at Bury St Edmunds – July 2004 (Part 3)

And so to the final day, with three services (and a sherry invitation from the Dean). A full house greeted us for the Communion Service and the long processional walk helped to concentrate the mind on the Service. After the Communion Service it was straight into Matins with no time to pause and reflect. After Matins we enjoyed a ‘Sherry’ with the Dean before heading back to the School for the final time for a light lunch and to pack.

We spent some time rehearsing prior to Evensong but by this time we were all very aware that this was Katharina’s last service with us. The pews were full, the setting was Smart in Bflat, a wonderful joyous piece and the mood was set. In Katharina’s honour we sang an Introit in German – ‘Also hat Gott die welt geliebt’ by Schutz . It was perhaps our finest performance of this particular work – even Ed managed to sound German! Katharina kept her composure and led us in her normal smiling but professional style, but finally succumbed to the emotion during the last hymn. Predictably this triggered similar reactions on the procession out and after the service.

The final goodbyes after a Choir week are never easy but there was an added poignancy at Bury that will long stay in my memory.

So, I’ll leave it to the younger Trebles to summarise the week and, Esme’s poem to remind us once again of the happy time in Bury:

“The Cathedral was very big and beautiful and the people in it were very kind and helpful especially the Dean and the Clergy who invited the choir for drinks and snacks at the end of the week. The services were full of wonderful music and I enjoyed singing it all. The favourite pieces of music that I sung during the week were Smart in B flat, Locus Iste-Bruckner, Thou wilt keep him-Sumsion and Jesu the very thought of thee-Bairstow. There was also the Also hat gott die welt geliebt by Schutz the German piece that Katharina taught us. Some of the music was hard to sing.” Emily

"Singing in the Cathedral was great because they had these really nice Choir stalls and a really nice atmosphere inside the Cathedral. We had to project our voices a lot so that everybody could hear us. I hope we find a new Choir Director as good as Katharina and carry on having Choir weeks which are great fun.” Gemma

"Overall it was a very successful choir trip with excellent music, which was good as it was the last choir trip with Katharina as Director of Music. We will miss her dearly and hope we can find a replacement as good as her” Michelle

“Bury was great and I can’t wait until the next Choir trip” Catherine (first Choir trip).