Maundy Thursday - Manhattan

Oh my gosh. I'm still picking my jaw up off the floor. That's where I have to start after my Maundy Thursday experience at St. Thomas Church in Manhattan. This liturgy was outstanding, the choir unbelievable.

The conductor is John Scott, who moved here from St. Paul's in London last summer. This is some of the finest choral singing I have heard since NLC! (Sorry, a bit of bias coming through there..) Extremely precise, expressive, details in place, etc. - one gets immediately drawn into the music (and not its production) in that case. For this service, the first of many the men and boy choir is leading in these four days, they sang a mass by Poulenc (I've never heard it - some absolutely stunning moments) - Gloria and all! An additional motet by Poulenc, and two motets by Durufle. It was one of the move beautiful interpretations of Durufle's Ubi Caritas I have heard. They also did an Anglican plainsong Psalm - as tight as it can be, and fully expressive of the text. They also did Gregorian Chants, very traditional English Hymnody (and people actually sang!!), and full liturgical rubrical observance. Incense and all. People there (and there were a lot of people in attendance) were fully involved in the ritual, eager to be there.

The service ended with a complete surprise - I'm eager to learn where this practice comes from. At the stripping of the altar, the men of the choir sang Psalm 22 to a Gregorian tone, the last thing the Presiding minister did was wipe off the top of the altar (it sounded almost like sandpaper, actually), then threw the rag or whatever it was onto the floor. At that point there was a loud noise, lights went off, men suddenly stopped singing, the boys RAN out, all the way down the center aisle, then back up the side aisle to the sacristy. As fast as they could. Of course I was trying not to giggle, but the impact of this drama sank in as the evening progressed with an outrageously expensive dinner.

I hadn't planned on going there that night, but was Good Friday, a 5:30 Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday, then Sunday morning. But I decided to find where it was early in the afternoon, and noticed they had a 5:30 service. I thought I'd go there, then somewhere else. I never made it anywhere else, and I can't wait to go back there to see what's next. When I had stepped into the place earlier in the afternoon I heard the organist practicing Langlais' Messe Solennelle - Ooo-baby - the suspense is killing me. When are they going to use that? It's one of the most stunning settings of the Sanctus ever (Remember Bruce Bengtson having introduced me to it?), the only potential rival being that of Durufle in his Requiem.

This means I will be feasting through the entire Triduum in two parishes - their schedules allow this. St. Thomas and St. Peters Lutheran Church.

St. Thomas is an Anglican parish which runs a boarding-choir school for boys up to 8th grade. I've never heard such amazing musicianship. St. Peters' is an ELCA Lutheran parish at the bottom of the Citi-bank tower. They do very traditional things with a creative/contemporary touch. (Contemporary in the GOOD sense of the word: not cheap, commercialist music).

Now I have to find ways to have dinner without taking out a loan.