Church choir to welcome summer from on high
AS MAY dawns on Saturday, the Town Church choir could be one of the only choirs in the British Isles able to celebrate the spring holiday with a public performance.
Inspired by a similar event in Oxford, it will be the first time the local singers will have done a May Day choral performance.
From atop the church’s tower, 12 experienced choristers will perform unaccompanied for about 10 minutes from 8am to celebrate dawn of summer.
Islanders are asked to gather safely by the harbour to hear the songs, and are invited to breakfast in the church afterwards.
‘As far as I’m aware it’s never happened in the Channel Islands before, I couldn’t find any evidence, and it might be the only one in the British Isles,’ said co-organiser and choir soprano Kate Swan.
Since at least the 1600s, choristers have sung from Magdalen College’s Great Tower in Oxford to thousands of people gathered below.
The event has survived wars and diseases, and virtual offerings were taken last year and will be again this weekend.
Ms Swan has attended the Oxford celebrations in previous years, having studied history in Oxford, and said the tradition dated back millennia.
‘We will mainly sing madrigals which are very spirited, uplifting and celebrate coming out of spring, with maybe one sacred to reflect that this is a church setting.’
The Magdalen College choir in Oxford will be performing for May morning, but it will be a pre-recorded performance shown online.
Planning for the Guernsey live event began last week.
‘We felt it important to celebrate coming out of spring, especially with coming out of lockdown and all going on elsewhere,’ said Mrs Swan.
‘Today we’re rehearsing for the first time. We’re lucky that in the choir we have a very good body of experienced singers who are familiar with the madrigals.’
Town Church rector the Rev. Matthew Barrett said he was hopeful that a large crowd would be drawn to the event. In Oxford thousands often attend.
‘It’s about May day and celebrating spring, so is an event for everyone dating back to pagan days and beyond,’ he said.
Saturday’s weather currently set to be sunny with a gentle breeze.
The performance opens Town Church’s summer music series, a well-established line up of choral, instrumental, children’s and adult groups.
Other main UK May Day events to be digitalised this year are Hastings’ Jack In The Green Festival, Cornwall’s Obby Oss festival and Edinburgh’s Beltane Fire Festival 2021.
n Visit townchurch.net/ for more information.
