5/23/10

Today I attended the Sung Eucarist at St. Paul's Cathedral.  I had a unique experience doing so.  I travelled there alone which left me time to contemplate my surroundings and the nature of the Sabbath day.  This sounds a little silly but, I've had little alone time since arriving in London and it was nice to have some time to reflect on my blessings and to prepare my spirit for the day.  I had the pleasure of attending the premiere of Francis Grier's service "Missa Spiritus Sancti".  Now, I say it was a pleasure because it was really neat and contemporary and interesting however, by the time the sound reached back to where I was sitting, it sounded like it had gone through a food processor.  It seemed like a very moving work with drama.  There were drums and other percussion instruments played.  I thought, what is the purpose of this work?  Is it to delight the senses? Was it written specifically for large cathedrals like St. Paul's in mind?  I felt that this music might have been more appropriate for a concert setting but I enjoyed hearing something different.