20 December 2009

9 Lessons and Carols

The 9 Lessons service went beautifully - Bruckner's Virge Jesse that was such a disaster in practice yesterday went perfectly tonight, and the Poulenc Quem Vidistes Pastores Dicite floated like a sunset cloud. Good thing too: I've been dreaming this thing for days (literally - I woke in the middle of the night with it running through my head!). Hodie was a bit ragged at the start but we got it together by halfway through the first page.

The one thing that didn't work too well was the candles: at the front of the church is a triangle-shaped candle holder with nine candles a side. The candles are lit in pairs, starting with the outside pairs, one pair after each one of the nine Bible readings in the service, finally meeting with the reading from John's Gospel. The right-hand side lit perfectly, but the left-hand ones were possessed! Not one single one lit first time! Our poor server was in despair.... it was even worse that the Governor General was present tonight and she felt so embarrassed. What was worse was that I know she'd carefully pre-lit each one this morning to make sure that problem wouldn't happen tonight! She said to me after the service that by the end of the night it had just become funny and she'd given up stressing about it.

Well, today's over. It's been a huge day and I'm completely knackered. Good thing that small daughter is sleeping over at grandparents' house. I think I might head into the shower and then to bed. Sister T is tired!

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