On Monday, August 8 we began our week as the choir in residence at Gloucester Cathedral. Our days are now settling into a routine schedule -- coach from hotel to cathedral at 9:00 am; rehearse in the Education Centre in the morning; lunch and free time in Gloucester until we gather to prepare for our public rehearsal at 3:30; Evensong service at 5:30. On evenings when we attend concerts in Worcester we then dash to the coach, take-out dinner in hand.
Our rehearsals are in a very old building that is now the Education Centre.
Our first Evensong service in Gloucester included a new Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis "The Selwyn Service" by Canadian composer Stephanie Martin. Ms. Martin is in the area attending the Three Choirs Festival, so she was in the congregation to hear us sing her wonderful setting of these texts.
Another highlight on Monday was a detailed tour of the cathedral. Gloucester Cathedral was built and rebuilt over a period spanning several centuries, and thus exhibits several distinct architectural styles. The Abbey Church of St. Peter was built from 1089 to around 1130, and the massive Norman pillars in the nave date from that period. The vaulted stone ceiling in that area was completed in 1242, replacing a wooden roof that burned.
The cloisters (which were used in the filming of one of the Harry Potter movies) feature fan vaulting from the 1350s, and in fact this technique was invented here.
Bath Abbey is a spectacular later example of the use of fan vaulting.
A number of important historical figures are buried in Gloucester Cathedral, including King Edward II, whose gruesome murder took place in Berkeley Castle in 1327. His magnificent tomb was built on orders of his son Edward III.
Laura S.
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