Stop Press from Rome
Along with several other parents I went to Rome this week to witness the Mary Ward 400 anniversary celebrations and to listen to our amazing Rome Choir.
Choir Trip to Rome 2009 - Phototographs
The first event was the meeting in the Piazza de Popolo of the many sisters of the CJ community from all over the world and their family and friends and the Mary Ward Pilgrims. The latter had emulated Mary Ward and followers by walking in their foot steps over the Alps in a journey that had taken six weeks. Our girls were a part of the welcoming ceremony in the Piazza and then they led the audience into the church of St Maria de Popolo. Within these beautiful walls, surrounded by artists such as Caravaggio, they gave a flavour of their future concerts as well as singing the Mary Ward Jubilee Prayer, which was especially written by Richard James.
The next event for the choir was within St Peter’s Basilica itself, at the main Altar just by St Peter’s shrine which is canopied by the dome designed and painted by Michelangelo. Here the girls had the honour of taking a considerable part in the well attended Mass, supported by the Basilica’s Cantors. I found this to be a most moving and humbling experience.
The evening recital took place in St Eustachio, just by the Pantheon. The girls opened the event with Richard James’ Jubilee Prayer once more and then sang a varied programme including Cantique de Jean Racine by Faure; various beautiful unaccompanied spirituals, ‘For the Beauty of the Earth’ by Rutter; The Ave Maria by our own Fr. Andrew Moore and Richard James’ ‘The Lord’s Prayer’, which I never want to end whenever I hear it. The concert ended perfectly with John Rutter’s ‘The Lord Bless you and Keep You’. This performance raised the roof and was given a most highly deserved standing ovation by the overflowing audience which lasted several minutes and resulted in an encore of the perfectly balanced, unaccompanied ‘Soon and very soon’.
There were several solos throughout the concert and these, the talent and enormous work and dedication of Deborah Radford, the musical skills of Richard James on the organ as well as his and Father Andrew’s creativity, all combined with the angelic, soaring voices of the choir to create an experience which I will forever treasure in my memory. For those of you who would dearly love a flavour of this wonderful evening, I thoroughly recommend that you attend the Concert to be given by the Rome Choir on Saturday 17th October in St Mary’s Chapel at 7.30pm. You will not be disappointed.
