The music was far more
elaborate and difficult than any to which I had been accustomed, but
it was a great privilege and a great delight to sing with a choir
trained to such absolute perfection. The organist could only spare
time for one short practice a week, during which we went through about
one-third of the music we were to sing on Sunday, all the rest had to
be read at sight. Had not the boys been so highly trained it would
have been quite impossible; they lived in a Resident Choir School, and
were practised daily, and never once did they let us down. I do not
think that the congregation had the faintest idea that half the
elaborate anthems and Services they were listening to, though familiar
to the boys, had never been seen by the majority of the choir-men
until they came into church, and that they were being read at sight.
One particularly florid Service, much beloved by the congregation, was
known amongst the choir as "Chu Chin Chow in E flat." The organist
always managed somehow to produce a really good solo tenor, as well as
an adequate second tenor, mostly privates and bluejackets for the time
being, but professional musicians in their former life. It was a point
of honour with this scratch-choir to endeavour to maintain the very
high musical standard of the church, and I really think that we did
wonders, for we gave a very good rendering of Cornelius' beautiful but
abominably difficult eight-part unaccompanied anthem for double choir,
"Love, I give myself to thee," after twenty minutes' practice of it,
and difficult as is the music, we kept the pitch, and did not drop
one-tenth of a tone.
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