Choral Residency: What a joy walking is

by Leanne Kleinmann

 

“What a joy walking is. And to walk with old friends multiplies the pleasure a hundredfold.”  — Bill Bryson, author and Chancellor of Durham University (2005-2011), in The Road to Little Dribbling (2015)

 

It was a morning of walking for some of us, as we climbed aboard our two buses and headed for Housesteads Fort at Hadrian’s Wall, about an hour north of Durham.

 

For those whose Roman history is rusty (like me!), Hadrian’s Wall is the most important monument built by the Romans in Britain, and stretches 73 miles from east to west across the narrowest part of the island. Roman Emperor Hadrian ordered the wall built in AD122, to mark the Roman frontier and separate the Romans from the barbarians, including the various tribes in the area (current day Scotland is about 10 miles away). Our guide said there’s some question about why the wall was built – was it a show of power, a way to keep people separated, a way to collect taxes?

 

The sheep, which graze everywhere, weren’t telling.

 

At any rate, we tramped up and down (lots of up!) the rolling countryside in a cool English drizzle and learned about Roman military life at the ruin of Housesteads Fort, located at a high point on the ridge. The wall itself was originally 15 feet high, and the section that some of us walked adjacent to the fort seemed much higher, with long, sheer drops off to one side. It’s a popular hiking spot; our guide said many Americans walk the length of the wall every summer.

 

Tonight was our third Evensong, and special because we sang a wonderful setting of the canticles (Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis) commissioned for the Calvary Choir by Joseph Powell from his friend, composer Alex Favazza. Joseph conducted – Kristin was in the choir – and it was wonderful to see the joy on his face. I almost got out my camera, but, well, best not.

 

It’s an incredible privilege to get to sing this magnificent music in a spectacular location like Durham Cathedral, where singers for centuries before us have done the same thing. By this time in the week, the responses – that’s the music that is introduced before and after the psalm by a cantor – are second nature, so we can stop worrying about notes and really feel the music. When the moment is right, it’s transcendent.

 

It’s taken me a while to understand the power of Evensong. It’s a musicianship challenge – we sing nearly the whole time, standing, and the music is difficult. But when you finally understand the rhythm of the service and listen to the way it all fits together, I can’t think of a better way to end the day and prepare for a restful night.

 

“Lighten our darkness, we beseech thee, O Lord; and by thy great mercy defend us from all the perils and dangers of this night; for the love of thy only Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.” 

 

Tomorrow, we take a daylong excursion, because it’s our “dumb day” at the Cathedral – we don’t sing. Our destination is Lindisfarne, the Holy Island, off the east coast of Britain and the place where the monk St. Cuthbert (Durham Cathedral was built to house his remains) lived and prayed and died.

 

Thanks for following our journey. We feel the love from Calvary, even all this way away.

 

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