Ah now, I'm a sucker for this kind of stuff. Although the name Miserere Mei Deus wasn't familiar, I figured it was something I'd be into, so I happily booked.
A late start is handy in that it gives me time to eat beforehand, and the organiser of the London European Club group who were headed to this had suggested meeting beforehand in the café in the crypt under the venue - the church of St. Martin in the Fields. I was lucky with the Tube - one arrived just after I got to the platform, and was headed into town. I disembarked at Embankment and wove my way through the crowds, hoping that the intermittent rain spatter overhead wouldn't get any heavier, since I wasn't wearing a hood. Luckily, it didn't. Unluckily, my phone needed charging and I'd left it at home again, as I remarked to myself when I came onto the Strand and saw the Christmas lights again. One day, I might get a photo..
As luck would have it, I arrived at the box office to collect my ticket right behind the organiser! We found a table in the café - which is quite large - and I chose a dinner. Unfortunately, the stroganoff didn't enthuse me much, and the wine was a bit sweet even for my sweet tooth.. The chocolate mousse, topped with chocolate sprinkles, was much more of a success! Despite having to eat it with a soup spoon.
As people gradually arrived, we discovered an inordinate proportion of Irish were present! Anyway, the chat was enjoyable, but soon after it started to get busy, it was time for us to leave. There'd been another concert upstairs earlier, you see, whose audience came down to the café afterwards. At about the time we were allowed to take our seats for what we'd come to see. I was delighted to discover that I didn't really have to go outside again - there are stairs directly from the café to the church door. And we entered, to the beautiful sight of the main aisle of the church, gilt decorations on the ceiling glinting in the dim light. And again, I remarked - no camera to take photos. I've been to candlelit concerts here before, but never actually sat in the main section - usually in the side aisles or gallery. This time, however, seating was unreserved.
So we took a pew or two in the main aisle, and I revelled in the luxury of a pew with so many mod-cons - a footrest, a shelf for your bag, and a slanted top shelf that you could rest your reading material on, with a rim at the bottom so it didn't fall off. Reading material, on this occasion, consisted - for me - of a programme; I figured I'd find it interesting to know what was being sung, and figured I wouldn't recognise most of it. So I shelled out the £1.50.
We were treated, first of all, to the most sublime rendition of Te Lucis Ante Terminum (Festal version), by Tallis. There was a requiem, then the main feature, Miserere Mei Deus - which, of course, I recognised as soon as I heard it. They dispatched some of the choir to the gallery for that, providing a terrific surround sound effect. How sublime it is to hear a singer hit that high note, over and over.. (it did occur to me to be glad she didn't choose that moment to have a coughing fit). Plenty more of the same followed in this 1-hour programme, including a couple of English numbers (one contemporary), and ending on a different arrangement of what we started with. Whose lyrics, as quoted in the programme, differed from what was being sung in the final verse. Never mind, this was a fantastic experience!
Afterwards, we approached the outside with trepidation, and shivered in the cold for a while, waiting for our organiser to reappear - turned out he'd gone back for a programme. And as soon as he appeared, we dispersed - it was too cold to do anything but go home. And I was delighted to get in..
Tomorrow, I'm back to Dublin for my final U2 concerts of the year, flying back here on Sunday - I hope to get the keys to my new place that evening, so I'm not bothered about going out that night. On Monday though, I'm headed to The Homecoming by Harold Pinter, at Trafalgar Studios. Stars Gemma Chan, Gary Kemp, John Macmillan, and Jon Simm. And the good old London Dramatic Art group has tickets (well, one left now!) for cheaper than I can get them anywhere else! Premium, front row seats too. Excellent - and I'll be glad to meet them again, it's been months! Finally (for now), on Tuesday I'm joining the Kensington Classical Music group, who have the cheapest tickets I can find for a performance of the pianist, Lang Lang, with the Philharmonia, at the Royal Festival Hall. Features my two favourite classical composers - Mozart and Beethoven..
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