In my mind, Sunday is framed with the amazing experiences of the recent days, concluding our tour Sunday morning with the service at St. James's, Piccadilly in London and walking the St. Paul's Choir mascot Frida in our Washington D.C. Capitol Hill neighborhood just before midnight!
Why did we choose St. James's for our final morning? It is commonly believed that Wren's St. James's inspired Benjamin Latrobe in his design of St. Paul's, Alexandria. What the two churches have in common are the galleries and columns, though St. James's influence is romanesque while St. Paul's is neo gothic.
St. James's Church has an amazing history. It was completed by Christopher Wren in the 1680's. Queen Mary gave the organ to the church in 1690 which was originally in her father's Roman Catholic Chapel in Whitehall Palace. As the Queen was Protestant, she had the Catholic chapels dissolved. Hence, the organ was available. John Blow and Henry Purcell were the first to put the newly installed instrument through its paces. Rebuilt over the years, it is currently not functioning, but the original case remains. The church hopes to restore it in the future. Leopold Stokowski, conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra in the early twentieth century, was at the age of eighteen, appointed as Organist and Choirmaster of the church. In 1940 the church suffered major damage due to bombings. By 1954, restoration was complete. The current organist, Malcolm Hicks, is also organist for the BBC Symphony.
The poet William Blake was baptized in the font (which survived the bombings and still can be scene) in 1757. We sang a number of pieces from our tour repertoire and were sure to include John Tavener's transcendent setting of Blake's The Lamb.
Following the service the choir scattered into the surrounding neighborhood for a quick lunch before heading to Heathrow for home. Those of us sitting at tables to dine looking out onto the street were entertained with a Hare Krishna parade.
Continue to check back on this tour blog as I plan to gather postings from singers and groupies in their own words over the coming days.
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