#fleekweekinwells

The first thing I saw was this awesome art instillation with colored umbrellas suspended between stores.  Apparently other cities through out the UK and Europe and similar ones.  It was so vibrant and just set the moved for a fun filled, relaxed day.

I was on my own meandering and came across the Bath Abbey.  I took some time to walk around it, seeing it from the outside, and seeing the square and gardens on south and east sides.  

I decided to go inside and explore.  They had a suggested donation of £2.50, and all i had was £2 and $0.50, but they were happy to accept my quarters :)  I decided not to take a tour but just meander myself.  It reminded me of Notre Dame in it’s Gothic architecture.  There was significant damage from WW2 that you could see particularly in the north floor, but they had spent quite a bit of time and money restoring it and they did a very good job!

After exploring the Bath Abbey I went back to the square to people watch, listen to musicians, and journal while waiting for Liz (who was getting dropped off by her family who came in to visit the night before).  Once she arrived we made our way to the Roman Baths.  It was only £15, and came with a free audio guide, which was full of interesting tidbits.

The view from upstairs was quite spectacular with statues of Roman soldiers (such as Julius Caesar) looking over the bath below, with the Abbey towers peaking over top.  You really could feel like what it was like to be there with all of the modern amenities missing.  If you look down, there are actors dressed in Roman clothing, telling stories and giving information.  

Inside you would fine scale models of the baths back in their prime, maps of the land with the varying size hot baths, cold plunging pools, massage rooms, and 3 stages of heated rooms to help you acclimate to the temperature.  They really thought of everything.  Some of the rooms were difficult to tell their original purpose, but other rooms had some ruins allowing you to understand how the water was pumped from one pool to another, and how they made their heated floors -- yes -- heated floors.  They had a floor about 2 feet above the actual floor, with bricks supporting it throughout, and slaves would take heated bricks from the furnace and pile them in the crawlspace to heat the floors above.  Genius.  It never ceases to amaze me how SMART they were so long ago.  

The baths weren’t just for bodily cleansing,but also for spiritual cleansing and re-centering.  People would come to pray to the goddess statues around the pools,  Pretty awesome.    

Before we left the baths, you are allowed to taste the hot spring mineral water.  I was a little hesitant because it was so warm, but it wasn’t so bad!  

After the Baths, Liz and I walked down the River Avon on the east side, then thought about heading home so we ended up at the bus stop where we found Aimee!  We were glad we found her so we decided to go to a local brewery (Bath Ales), then found an awesome underground Spanish Tapas bar where we were the only customers.  It was a nice break from the daily routine (especially since Wells is SO small, with only a handful of restaurants that close pretty early)

As a resident choir you are to sing the services everyday.  Due to the nature of Anglican churches, that means you’re learning new music for every day.  We received our music in late May, had only 11 rehearsals as a choir (most of our work is done on our own), before we hopped on a plane to head to the UK. 

The members of the choir changed throughout the two years, and we only have concerts every 3 months, so it had been hard to form a bond with members, this experience changed everything.  We started bonding without SUPER early flight to Atlanta, a 10 hour layover, a 7 hour flight to London, a 3 hour line for customs, and a 3 hour bus ride.  By then we knew more about EVERYONE in the choir, including how we handle stress :) In addition to that bonding time, majority of us stayed together in the dorms for the Wells Cathedral School, so we lived together, shared bathrooms (men and women), and ate breakfast in the cafeteria together every morning. 

We had a pretty routine schedule most days that looked like this:

7:00am              Wake-up, get ready 8:00-9:00am      Breakfast in the cafeteria 9:30-11:30am    Rehearsal in the Choir School 11:30-3:30pm    Lunch, Free time 4:00pm-4:45pm Rehearsal in Cathedral Quire 5:15pm-6:00pm Evensong 6:00pm-?           Dinner, Free time

I never sang for a service at an Anglican Cathedral so much of this was foreign to me.  As a resident choir, you participate in Evensong every day, and on Sunday also the Matins and Eucharist.    You also had to wear a uniform consisting of closed toe black shoes, a black Cassock (long robe), and surplice (a white tunic that goes over the Cassock).  I grew up in a Evangelical Mennonite church turned nondenominational community church, so I was lost on just about everything: how to sing a chant; what a “Mag & Nunc” or “Preces & Responses” were; and even the titles of the services. 

Here’s a breakdown of the service and what it all is (to the best of my knowledge and memory).

Evensong:  It is a primarily sung service in the evening after the work day has ended, and before dinner.  It is held in the quire and follows this format:

Introit: We used a choir member who is also a Organist to play our introit

Preces & Responses: Melodic prayers led by a cantor, followed by the choir singing the response     Cantor: O Lord, open thou our lips:     People: And our mouth shall shew forth thy praise.     Cantor: O God, make speed to save us:     People: O Lord, make haste to help us.     Cantor: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.     People: As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,                                        world  without end. Amen.     Cantor: Praise ye the Lord.     People: The Lord's name be praised.

Psalms:  Psalms of the day following the Anglican Liturgy, that are sung in chant form, ending in the Gloria Patri (Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be : world without end. Amen.)

Lessons:  The Priest will give two lessons, one each from the Old and New Testament Canticles: A Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55) and Nunc Dimitis (Simeon 2:28-32) that follow each of the lessons, each ending the the Gloria Patri.  Prayers: Spoken prayers by the Priest, praying for those of the congregation, state, nation, and world. Collects:  Sung collects, one that follow the liturgy, and two that are standard. Anthem: a celebratory piece that typically expands upon the lessons, psalms, etc., from the day.

We did Evensong Monday-Wednesday, had Thursday off (due to a scheduling error), Friday-Sunday, with the addition of Holy Communion and Eucharist on Sunday, as well. 

Choral Eucharist: the main Anglican service, similar to a mass, taking place on Sunday mornings with prayers, readings from both testaments, and ending with communion. (This program was modified some from it’s traditional form for our service)

Introit

Mass: Benedictus (Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest) & Agnus Dei (O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us. ... grant us peace.)

Anthem

Choral Matins: follows the Eucharist and the sevenfold monastic cycle of prayer.  It’s not as common but happens is most British Cathedrals, like Wells Cathedral.  It contains prayers and readings from both testaments.

Psalms

Canticle: Te Deum

Canticle: Jubilate Deo (Psalm 100)

Anthem

We sang some of the most wonderful pieces of music this week.  Some were difficult to get the hang of, but it was well worth the work to hear it all come together in such an amazing cathedral and acoustic.  We were lucky enough to have an ORIGINAL “Preces & Responses” written for us by an English composer, Graham Keitch, who also wrote an two anthems for us!

Here are the pieces we sang:

Magnificant and Nunc Dimittis George Dyson, Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in F David Hogan, Mount St. Alban Service Graham Keitch, The Charleston Service Herbert Sumison, Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in A CS Lang, Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in F Harold Friedel, Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in F Anthems Let us LOve in Deed and Truth, Larry King Ubi Carita, Ola Gjeilo Absalon Fili mi, Graham Keitch THe Souls of the Righteous, Geraint Lewis Greater Love, John Ireland No Eye has Seen, No Ear Has Heard, Graham Keitch My Soul’s Been Anchored in the Lord, Moses Hogan Seek Him that Maketh the Seven Stars, Jonathon Dove

Eucharist Missa Brevis (Benedictus & Agnus Dei), Andrea Gabrielli