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June 24, 2005
The gift of music
Music is a gift. Some individuals have this gift in abundance; the rest of us are able to appreciate it and even contribute to it from time to time in our own often limited way. One of the great joys of working in the Abbey is the music - and we certainly have some very gifted musicians and singers to keep the building filled with the astonishing and frequently breathtaking beauty of their gift.
We are justly proud of the great human inventions, the various instruments which contribute so much to our enjoyment, but few of us really give much thought to the greatest instrument of all - the human voice! In the Abbey we have the privilege of having the three organs - all gems in their own right - but we are also fortunate in having two choirs both blessed with a number of very accomplished singers.
Buildings like the Abbey are acoustic nightmares for sound engineers and speakers - they simply do not carry the spoken voice. But sing - and the sounds rings through the building like a bell!
Recently we had the pleasure of hosting a concert by the King's Singers, a group of superb vocalists who entertained us Royally for almost two hours. Their repertoire and their voices confirmed in stunning style- they sang the entire programme unaccompanied - the properties of the human voice as a musical instrument and those of the Abbey as a musical sounding chamber. No microphones needed for this performance; these voices set the stones ringing with joy, humour, and praise.
Thank God for the gift of music. Thank God for the gift of musicians and for voices like these!
Posted by The Gray Monk at June 24, 2005 11:49 AM