Christmas as a chorister

As I mentioned here the other day, from the age of about 9 to 16 I was a chorister with the big Anglican church in my hometown.  I wore a cassock, surplus, ruff and ribbon and rose through the ranks to eventually be Head Chorister, complete with shiny badge. I wasn't brilliant (that was my brother, who truly had the voice of an angel and could have had Charlotte Church back on the next bus to Cardiff) but I was hard-working and reasonably talented.  Where as boys' voices peak around 13, girls' don't peak until around 18-21 (and so it was with me, by  18 I had a well-trained, well formed voice and was much more confident about my abilities) and I sometimes found it a struggle to lead but it was all fun.

Christmas was the busiest time of year. We practiced on Wednesday and Friday evenings, and often Saturdays and Sundays too. We would sing 2 services on a Sunday, occasionally 3 and just once a year 4 if you were a treble/soprano like me. That would be Christmas Eve where we sing a morning service, crib service in the afternoon, evensong and then finally midnight mass before being back to church for 9 the next morning. It was always pretty jolly though and the 9 carols and lessons service is always pretty special, with the telling of the Christmas story and accompanying music.

My memories of Christmas are always tied up with the church and while I can't say I have retained much Christian faith, I came to love the services, music and tradition. I hope that Toby will enjoy music as much as me and consider becoming a chorister himself. At any rate, he may just be the closest thing I know to an angel on Earth.

Comments

[Nicky]

That's a really lovely memory to have, and to pass on.