Our St Edmundsbury Local Gathering on Sunday, June 9th was supported by 20 Friends who joined organisers Mark Bellis and Judy Chisman for a really fascinating day. Some supporters had already attended Eucharist in the morning, but the official part of the event began with highly informative tours of the cathedral – thank you to our all-knowing guides Valerie and Robert! – in which we found out about the building’s interesting history as St James’s Church dating from 1503, the creation of the diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich in 1914, and more recent additions, such as the wonderful tower (2005), north transept and cloisters, completing the scheme originally envisaged by Stephen Dykes Bower.
We were then warmly welcomed by Timothy Parsons, the Director of Music, in his last term at Bury St Edmunds before moving to become Director of Music at Wells cathedral in Somerset in September, before we observed the choir rehearsal. Evensong was festive affair, with the Rose Responses, Stanford in C and the anthem was a real favourite: Vaughan Williams’s Let All the World in Every Corner Sing’ – all quite brilliantly sung. The voluntary, played by Richard Cook, Assistant Director of Music, was Fanfare (1966) by Kenneth Leighton. We then had the treat of tea, with Judy Chisman’s wonderful, home-made cakes and biscuits – absolutely delicious!
The day concluded with surely one of the most remarkable organ recitals we had ever attended – duets by Tim Parsons and Richard Cook. Tim cleverly gave us a guided tour of the inside of the organ, while Richard demonstrated the relevant stops and the music ranged from Tomkins’s ‘A Fancy for Two to Play’ (duetting on the charming chamber organ), via the Toccata and Fugue in D minor (main organ duetting with chamber organ), the slow movement of Shostakovich’s second piano concerto (main organ plus the cathedral’s wonderful Steinway) – very touching – and finished with Robert Quinney’s breathtaking arrangement of Jupiter from The Planets, with four hands and four feet dashing to and fro on the main organ, which we observed via screens in the nave, and which resulted in a standing ovation from a full cathedral!
Overall, a wonderfully enjoyable gathering – very many thanks to Tim Parsons for having us in the last, very busy few weeks before he leaves for Wells.
By Mark Bellis, Regional Coordinator for the East and South
