Although I’ve been in King’s College Chapel in Cambridge several times over the years ‒admiring the architecture, the furnishings and the superb Adoration of the Magi by Rubens ‒ I’d never been to a service there.
To be honest, I’ve never much enjoyed recordings made there
– the resonant acoustic seems to turn everything into a sonic mist – but Matins
last Sunday was spectacularly wonderful. The famous choir, directed by Stephen
Cleobury, was on top form, and made full allowance for the fact that the music
lingers in the air far longer than in most environments.
Perhaps most memorable were two pieces by Simon Preston – a
dazzling Toccata as organ voluntary and a setting of the Jubilate that fully
endorsed the inspiring words for a multinational congregation:
O be joyful in the Lord all ye lands.
Serve the Lord with gladnessand come before his presence with a song.
That we were and that we did.
Posts
