Question: What’s the only word in the English language with four silent letters?

Queue

noun
a line or sequence of people or vehicles awaiting their turn to be attended to or to proceed.

verb
take one’s place in a queue.”in the war they had queued for food”

At the Three Choirs Festival, they queue for daily Evensong, one of several free events this week.

I am going to go out on a limb here and say that the Three Choirs Festival is probably one of the few places in the world where there are so many people who want to attend Evensong that people start queuing up at least a half hour before.

Bill Potter and I got to the Prior’s Door of Worcester Cathedral at least 45 minutes before the service and there were at least 20-30 people ahead of us. However, we were still assured a prime spot for viewing and listening—in the choir stalls. (For those who don’t make it to the prime seats, there are plenty of TV monitors to watch in case you get stuck behind a pillar!)

While we were waiting in the Cloisters, I took these photos which name organists of the Cathedral who are buried nearby.

From our vantage point in the choir stalls, I had a very good view of the main organ, one of several pipe organs in the Cathedral. The organist was Nicholas Freestone. He was the same organist as this morning’s Opening Celebration and tonight he played Herbert Howells’ Master Tallis’ Testament for the prelude and Edward Bairstow’s Organ Sonata in E-flat for the postlude.

From the Cathedral website: The Quire Organ was designed and built by Kenneth Tickell and Company Ltd and completed in 2008. The organ contains over 3500 pipes, spanning the roof spaces on both sides of the Quire. The specification is comprehensive, offering a variety of accompanimental colours to the Cathedral Choir whilst also fulfilling its role as a versatile recital instrument.

Evensong tonight was sung by a mixed choir, the Worcester Cathedral Chamber Choir, directed by its founder of 25 years ago, Stephen Shellard.

They sang Festival Responses by Ian King; Anglican psalm tones by Frederick Ouselet / Martin How (Psalm 45) and Martin Luther’s setting of Psalm 46 based on Ein feste Burg; and Edgar Elgar’s “Great is the Lord” for the anthem.

We had bought a snack to eat between Evensong and the concert tonight since there’s not enough time to eat in a restaurant. I presume this might be our concert modus operandi for the rest of the week.

The evening concert was called “Stanford Stabat Mater,” but this was on the second half of the program. I have to admit I liked the first half better which featured a new composition by Grace-Evangeline Mason (b. 1994) called “The Imagined Forest” and Gustav Holst’s “The Hymn of Jesus” which was based on several Gregorian chants, Pange lingua gloriosi proelium certaminis (‘Sing my tongue the glorious battle’) and Vexilla regis prodeunt (‘The royal banners forward go’). What made this piece so magical was that in addition to the large chorus directly in front of us, there were two semi-choruses stationed along the side galleries, making for a 3D musical experience. The sound of the trebles was especially heavenly in the singing of the chants.

Here’s a description of the Festival Chorus which we will hear several times this week:

At the heart of the Three Choirs Festival, and one of the elements which makes it so special, is the Three Choirs Festival Chorus. Made up of mainly amateur but auditioned singers from the local area, trained by professional directors, and working with world-class conductors, soloists and orchestral performers, the Chorus not only sings to a high standard but is also a real part of the community. It forms the centrepiece of many of our large-scale concerts in the cathedral and many members return to sing year after year.

“Everyone gets swept up in being part of something special and hugely significant”

The Chorus unites singers from across Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire. The three contingents rehearse separately twice a week from early May and come together for massed rehearsals in the weeks running up to the festival at the end of July.