Draco

I like this image. For some reason I can kind of sympathise with it!

A good weekend of singing so far. An ordination service yesterday, when one of the three being ordained used to sing in Glasgow Chamber Choir and later Glasgow Renaissance Singers with me so it was nice to have a personal interest. A well put together service and a great turn out of congregation. The music was simple but effective. View me Lord, by Lloyd (Peter, I think, not Harold!) was the rather lovely anthem. (Update: Thanks to Kelvin for leaving a comment correcting me. It is of course Richard Lloyd, not Peter)

Then this morning went pretty well too, and I had a short conversation with NW who has recently returned to Glasgow after her summer break from RSAMD, and she said some nice things about this here Blog. Thanks, it's nice to have good feedback!

Tonight we have what has been described as a Festal Evensong to celebrate Michaelmastide (St Michael and All Angels), but I thought Festal Evensong was noted for having a Te Deum sung at the end, and unless FW is going to spring a last minute surprise on us, we aren't doing a Te Deum. Maybe I'm wrong about the necessity for this particular part of the service to be in place to make it Festal. That's entirely possible. Anyway, it'll be a good service with some of my favourite music. O quam Gloriosum (Tomas Luis da Victoria) is the Introit, William Smith Responses, Canticles in A by Herbert Sumsion, and the anthem is Factum est Silentium by Richard Dering. The words for Factum est Silentium paint a fantastic picture:

Factum est silentium in coelo dum committeret belum draco cum Michaele Archangelo. Audita est vox, millia millium dicentium: salus, honor et virtus omnipotenti Deo. Alleluia.

There was silence in Heaven while the dragon fought with the Archangel Michael. A sound was heard, thousands of thousands saying: salvation, honour and power to almighty God. Alleluia.

The Dragon of course is Satan (I think!).

On a related note, today is the 2006 National Police Memorial Day and the Archangel Michael is, as I'm sure you all know and if not shame on you, the Patron Saint of Police Officers (in the Roman Catholic Church anyway!) so Evensong tonight being related to Michael and All Angels, and the anthem being the story of Archangel Michael's fight with the dragon, it all fits rather nicely.

Anyway, the oven's just bleeped to tell me the roast is ready so I'm off to stuff my face.