richardbloomfield.ie

March 2008 Archives

Alarm!

The fire alarm went off at about 11.30pm, and within a few moments people were coming out of their apartments to see what was happening. Some were fully clothed, but others were already dressed for bed, and all were somewhat disturbed at the prospect of a fire in the apartment block.

I joined the small gathering round the alarm control panel, while one of my neighbours phoned the management company for advice. Someone went to the 2nd floor - as indicated on the alarm display - to check for signs of something wrong, but returned to say that nothing looked amiss.

With no obvious signs of fire, the advice from the management company was to reset the alarm, which we did. And when the alarms were silenced, people quickly dispersed and returned to their homes.

The whole incident lasted no more than five minutes from beginning to end, but within those few short minutes I met and talked to more of my neighbours than in the whole of the previous eight months combined. Strange what brings people together.

Photos from the Loreto Tour

If you’re interested, here’s a random selection of photos from the Christ Church choir tour to Loreto, Italy.



For more images, either reload this page or visit the Loreto 2008 photo set on Flickr.

Off the rails

Despite the very best efforts of National Express East Anglia to try and delay me on Tuesday morning, I did eventually make it Stansted Airport in time to catch my plane to Italy and join the rest of Christ Church choir on tour.

My timetable allowed me just over 3 hours before check-in closed, to make the 90 minute journey from Peterborough to Stansted. And I ended up needing every single spare minute. The train out of Peterborough was late arriving, and then got cancelled in Ely; throwing its passengers off onto the platform with little clue how to proceed. The next train then got us as far as Cambridge before that terminated too. And the third train was a good 20 minutes late leaving for Stansted - although it did manage to make it all the way to its destination.

In the end it took us a full 2 hours and 45 minutes to get there. And from some of the phone calls I overheard from my fellow passengers, some of them had completely missed their flights.

I was lucky, however, and made it with 20 minutes to spare. However, the whole experience probably took a couple of years off my life; what with the stress of it all.

In contrast, the two trains we caught in Italy itself (on the other end of the flight) both ran exactly to time - to the minute. And the Italian ticket inspector even waived the €50 fine we should have paid, when we failed to validate our train tickets before boarding.

Holy Saturday Batman

There truly is a page on the internet for every subject you might want to know about.

I was just updating my facebook status this morning to include the phrase Holy Saturday Batman - based on the fact that today’s called Holy Saturday in the liturgical calendar - but also with a gentle nod towards the classic 1960s TV show Batman.

Anyway, so someone asked me what the reference meant, and I was finding it quite difficult to explain Robin’s famous Holy *something* Batman catchphrases from the series. That is until I found a complete list of the expressions he used on the internet:

Batman Details - Holy Whatever Statements

Tenebrae

Inside the unassuming church of Old Saint Paul’s in the city centre of Edinburgh last night, the congregation gathered to hear the choir sing the service of Tenebrae for Maundy Thursday.

The service comprises psalms and readings sung to plainsong and faux-bourdon settings. This evocative rite with simple but dramatic ceremony helps to draw us into the darkness of the Passion. During the rite the lights are gradually extinguished until just one candle, representing Christ, remains shining in the darkness. This is a foretaste of the Resurrection; the light that banishes darkness.

When I was living in Edinburgh the Tenebrae service was always my favorite one of the year, and this is the first time in 12 years that I’ve missed it. The service is sung throughout (except for a small amount of spoken text at the end), and is performed from a booklet compiled for All Saints, Margaret Street in London (including the instruction to the choir to “exit to the south grill”).

One year I cut short a business meeting in Washington DC, to catch a flight home to Edinburgh to attend Tenebrae. And for me, it’s always been an important part of Holy Week; one that I miss very deeply now that I’m in Dublin.

Italy Tour

On Easter Monday the Christ Church choir head off on tour to Loreto, Italy, to perform at the International Sacred Music Festival. The choir will join the Orchestra of the Marche Region to perform Handel’s Messiah.

Patrick's Day

It’s just a little bit after ten in the morning, and as I type I can hear a load of drummers having a warm-up practice prior to the big St Patrick’s Day Parade through Dublin’s city centre later on today. According to press reports, there are some 4,000 participants taking part in the parade, and an estimated one million spectators expected.

The parade is just one of the events being held today (and over the weekend) to celebrate Ireland’s saint. The St Patrick’s Festival has included concerts, film, street theatre, children’s events, and a funfair. And, of course, St Patrick’s Day itself is a public holiday here in the republic - so everyone can take part in the fun.

This is all of a marked contrast to the saint’s days in the UK, which hardly ever get mentioned these days. I know that Scotland has been trying to raise the profile of St Andrew’s Day, and the Scottish parliament have been exploring the idea of making it a public holiday. But in England it seems that almost nothing is done to mark St George’s Day. Indeed, a survey taken last April found that a third of all English people didn’t know the date of St George’s Day.

Going Green

Green hair, green clothes, green Guinness, and even green milkshakes from McDonalds. I’ve heard that pretty-much the whole of Ireland turns green for St Patrick’s Day. And so in the spirit of the celebrations, I’ve updated the colour scheme for the site. Hope you like it. And a very happy St Patrick’s Day to you on Monday.

St Patrick's Concert

This evening we’ve got a concert at Christ Church, as part of the St Patrick’s Day Festival celebrations here in Dublin. It’s a bit of a mixed bag - with music from 8 different countries - which is a lot of fun to perform, and hopefully to listen to as well.

The full programme is:
Mozart Missa Brevis in D (K194) - Austria
Bach Cantata 182 “Himmelskönig, sei willkommen” for Palm Sunday - Germany
Araujo Los Coflades De La Estleya - Latin America
Poulenc Seigneur, je vous on prie - France
Pablo Casals O vos omnes - Spain
Howells Hills of the north rejoice - England
Traditional (arr. Runswick) She moved through the fair - Ireland
Chilcott The Making of the Drum - Africa
Parry I was glad - England

Christ Church Choir Gap Year Opportunities

The music department of Christ Church Cathedral Dublin have recently launched a new Gap Year Placement Scheme, for pre and post university students.

The scheme offers a generous package of accommodation, tuition, and a maintenance grant - and is an excellent way for young men and women to gain experience singing in a cathedral choir; either before taking up a choral scholarship at college, or to further their musical career after graduation.

The choir at Christ Church already has a number of singers from a collegiate background, and also offers choral scholarships to singers studying in Dublin. It is also the only Anglican cathedral in the UK and Ireland that offers professional singing opportunities to women.

For more information about the scheme, please feel free to download the following leaflet, and email the Director of Music for more information.

File: Christ Church Gap Year Placements (PDF, 1.3MB)