Candace Bawcombe's Blog

I packed one really nice dress with a matching jacket.  You never know when you might actually run in the same circles with royalty.

I did not really expect to have a brush with royalty, but I did. 

We arrived in London the day Harry Patch, the last Tommy, died.  He was 111.  First reports said he was 113.  In any case, he was the last living WWI vet in the trenches.  The last of a lost generation of men.  I have a part of WWI history in my family as I had an uncle who served with the Canadian army.  I inherited his WWI field glasses. He was a Scottish man who moved to Canada, then later to Chicago where he married my father's eldest sister. 

As we were in London we watched the news coverage with the footage from almost 100 years ago.  We noticed wreaths by the War Memorials in London.  It was only a week later that we discovered the funeral would be at Wells Cathedral - while we were in residence.  No, we were not asked to sing.  Wells' Choir and an organist were called backed from holiday.

To be seated in the Nave one had to have a ticket.  I was able to get the last ticket.  1300 people in the nave singing O God, our help in ages past.  What an experience.  Everyone knew the words.  Hardly anyone I could see even looked at the bulletin for the words.  The Duchess of Cornwall (Camilla) and the Duchess of Glousester seated from a few yards from me.  The Wells Choir - 8 men and 22 children, girls and boys dressed in Elizabethan collars with the choir robes, performed.  The Dean said a brief homily.  On the Cathedral Green outside, BBC and ITV cameras were everywhere along with Bobbies.  The crowd reached some 3000 plus for the smallest city in all of England.  I could barely walk out of my apartment.  I saw officers from Belgium, France, Germany, England and a few ambassadors in the audience. 

We were all there to celebrate a life.  As the Dean said, "An ordinary man with an extraordinary life".  The bugelers played Revielle for the last time. 

The announcement of the service that day at Noon was annouced with the Wells Amatuer Bell Ringers.  I am not certain but I believe these were the people on the ropes ringing the bells the old-fashioned way - not the electronic way and no handbells in sight.  As I was dressing that morning at 10am the bells began.  They rang jubilently for one and 3/4 hours before the hearse arrived at the Cathedral. 

I was able to watch all 6 Virgers - there movements - the various processions - there were several.  I later met the organist and we talked about instruments and the local organ gossip of who was building what where.  I now have word on who might be building the next important organ in England and it is someone I know.  Plus, I know how to play a hymn for 1300 people!

What a moment in history to share with the country of England.  I will forever remember the service and be grateful to all the Tommy's for their service in fighting for freedom.   

As we prepared for this trip I would sometimes ask myself why we were going to all this bother.  We had participated in extra rehearsals on Sunday afternoon for the past six weeks.  After all, it is summer.  I found myself practicing piano more at home and both organs much more.  When the St. Andrew's organ died for a week I was practicing four hours a day minimum, at All Saints' and St. Vincent's.  This actually turned out to be a great blessing.  It is much easier to play a smaller organ after practicing on a larger one. The All Saints' organ is just that - much larger. 

The Wells organ is LARGE.  Because  I have the experience on the larger instruments, lately I am somewhat comfortable here at the Cathedral console.

The day we arrived I was hoping to meet the other organist who would be splitting some of the services with me.  That didn't happen.  In fact, there is no other organist, even though we had made arrangements.  They all have taken a holiday, and only come back for special events.  More on the special events later.  I am playing all the services by myself except for two pieces on two different services which I decided not to learn.  I didn't want to learn them at this point because I was already swamped with notes and I did want the opportunity to conduct.

As soon as we held our first rehearsal in the Quire at the Cathedral; only one hour before our first Evensong, it became clear to me that our choir is on a mission trip.  Wells has been a house of prayer for 1100 years.  The clergy tell us that almost each day.  We were here to continue that tradition - the tradition of prayer.  Yes, we have verbal prayers and vocal prayers.  Our mission is much greater than that of just singing.  This, my friends, has become a most moving mission.

CB

The repertoire has been chosen.  The rehearsals have begun.  The money has been raised and spent.  The planning has occurred over fouryears. 

I plan to publish repertoire and the texts to the piecesin the next few newsletters.  Ifyou happen to be at Morning Prayer or Holy Communion over the next eight weeksyou will hear some of these pieces. 

Anthem:  Theythat go down to the sea in ships………………………………..Herbert Sumsion

Anthem for SATB choir and organ  - This piece was composed for DennisKiddy and the Choir of Repton Preparatory School, 1979.

They that go down to the sea in ships; and occupy theirbusiness in great waters;

These men see the works of the Lord; and his wonders, inthe deep. 

For at his word the stormy wind ariseth:  which lifeth up the waves there-of.

They are carried up to the heav’n, and down again to thedeep:  They are carried up to theheav’n, and down again to the deep. Their soul melteth away because of the trouble.

They reel to and fro and stagger like a drunken man: andare at their wits’ end. 

So when they cry unto the Lord in their trouble: He deliv’reththem out of their distress.  Sowhen they cry unto the Lord in their trouble:  he deliv’reth them, out of their distress.  For he maketh the storm to cease:  so waves thereof are still.  Then are they glad because they are atrest:  and so he bringeth them untothe haven where they would be.

Herbert Whitton Sumsion (14 January 1899 – 11 August 1995) was an English musicianwho was organist of Gloucester Cathedral from 1928 to1967. Through his leadership role with the Three Choirs Festival, Sumsionmaintained close associations with major figures in England's 20th-centurymusical renaissance, including Edward Elgar, Herbert Howells, Gerald Finzi, and Ralph Vaughan Williams. AlthoughSumsion is known primarily as a cathedral musician, his professional careerspanned more than 60 years and encompassed composing, conducting, performing,accompanying, and teaching. His compositions include works for choir and organ, as well aslesser-known chamberand orchestral works.

Sumsion was born in Gloucester.  In 1908, at the age of nine, Sumsionbecame a probationer in the Gloucester cathedral choir, which was then underthe direction of HerbertBrewer. After two years he became a full chorister and sang until1914. Gloucester was (and is) one of the three host cities, along with Worcester and Hereford, of the Three Choirs Festival, an annualfestival of choral emphasis first held in the early 18th century. Sumsion wouldlater write of his musically formative experiences at the cathedral: ‘Quitesoon after my entry into the choir I was singing with the [Three Choirs]Festival Chorus and gradually absorbing the choral music of the great classicalcomposers and the contemporary writers, of whom the giant was certainly Elgar.'^[1] WhenSumsion’s boy-soprano voice broke at age 15, he became an ‘articled pupil’^[2] toBrewer, a designation connoting a three-year apprenticeship in organ, choraldirection, and music theory. As one of Brewer’s articled pupils Sumsion wasfollowing in the footsteps of his slightly older contemporaries, Herbert Howellsand Ivor Gurney. Sumsionpassed the Associateship exam of the Royal College of Organists in 1915,and in July 1916 joined Howells in passing the Fellowship exam; though he wasonly 17, Sumsion was awarded the Turpin prize for the second-highest marks inthe practical component.^[3]

At the Royal College of Music Sumsion also met R. O. Morris,professor of counterpoint and composition. When Morris accepted a position atthe Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, heasked Sumsion to serve as his assistant; the two, along with Morris’s wifeEmmie, departed for Americaat the end of September 1926. The Curtis Institute was then a conservatory inits infancy, but figures such as Leopold Stokowski,famed conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra, wereassociated with it in its early days.^[6] Sumsion’sdecision to accompany the Morrises was of consequence to his personal life aswell as his career. Emmie Morris wrote frequently to her sister Adeline (whowas married to Ralph Vaughan Williams) and reported‘with interest’ on Sumsion’s courtship of an American girl, Alice Garlichs.^[7] Sumsionhad been introduced to Alice through her uncle, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania whomSumsion had met on board the ship to America. On 7 June 1927, Herbert and Alicewere married in Philadelphia.

Choral and organ music appear most often in Sumsion’soutput during his Gloucester tenure and retirement, with many choral piecesdating from his last decade of life. Works such as the Magnificat and Nunc dimittis in Gmajor and the anthem They That Go Down to the Sea in Ships have joinedthe standard repertoire of Anglican church music and have beenrecorded by many choirs. A new disc of Sumsion’s choral music featuring theEcclesium Choir (Philip Stopford, director) was released in 2007 as No. 9 inPriory’s British Church Composers Series. Sumsion’s most significantwork for organ is the challenging Introduction and Theme, which has beenrecorded by Donald Hunt (among others) for the Helios label.