The following blog was written by Anna George Meek, a third year Ensemble Singer.
In spitting rain this morning, we traveled through fen country to Ely Cathedral, England’s fifth largest; today it was filled with the intoxicating aromas of white roses and lilies for the 900th anniversary of the diocese. 900 years! It’s hard to wrap our minds around the enormity of where we’ve been, and what we’ve had the privilege to do.
The Cathedral's Lady Chapel, where we sang, has white walls crowned with carvings so intricate, they turn stone to lace. Or should I say ice? We could see our breath inside, so we performed in scarves and coats and gloves. Yours truly wore her corduroy pants under concert dress. But the acoustics were exquisite. And if all this weren’t magical enough, John Rutter (yes, THE John Rutter) recorded the performance for us, as a gift.
The sun came out for our ride back to Cambridge where we had a free afternoon to rest up for the concert we’ve all been looking forward to--in King’s College Chapel.
If you’ve never sung in King’s College Chapel before, imagine touching a match to a gas stove—just one note, and our voices lit the air and blazed. Tonight, the spirituals were the concert’s highlight. The group was tight, we were high with the excitement of where we were, and Philip beamed that high-wattage grin only Philip has. When the vaulted fan ceiling finally stopped ringing, the audience erupted in whistles and cheers. Us, we haven’t stopped ringing yet.
Some of us walked out with an audience member who was glowing about the concert. “It was cloudy before, and now the stars have come out,” he said smiling at us. “Just for you!”
If that’s not everything we came for, I don’t know what is.
Don't miss today's photo blog for more photos from the Ely Cathedral, King's College Chapel and our other adventures!
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