Signed in as:
filler@godaddy.com
WESTMINSTER ABBEY EVENING TOUR - 21ST JUNE
The Purcell Club’s evening tour of Westminster Abbey gave us a unique and intimate experience of one of the most iconic buildings in the world. Held just once a month, these after-hours tours take place in the serene quiet of the Abbey once it has closed to the public, allowing us to explore its ancient spaces in a more reflective and atmospheric setting. Members of the Purcell Club, a vocal ensemble of former Abbey choristers, give their services in order to put on these tours and all the profits from ticket sales go to the support the Abbey and a range of small charities.
We started our tour by assembling in the Cloisters for a warm welcome by a member of the Purcell Club and took seats in the Nave where the first piece of sacred music was sung. Our very knowledgeable speaker described the history and architecture of the Abbey in some detail moving from one location of interest to the next, including the Quire (with its beautifully carved wooden stalls where the choir and clergy sit), the Sacrarium, High Altar, and Cosmati Pavement where monarchs are crowned (the Cosmati pavement is a medieval mosaic floor dating back to 1268), St Edward the Confessor’s Shrine (who started rebuilding the Abbey between 1042 and 1052 ), Henry VII’s Chapel (it is the Chapel of the Order of the Bath with its impressive knights’ banners hanging over the stalls and its magnificent fan vaulted ceilings) and finally Poets’ Corner (the final resting place of Geoffrey Chaucer, Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, to name but a few). At various points there was a pause for members of the Purcell Club to sing suitable musical pieces ranging from 16th to 21st century. On returning to the Nave for the final part of the tour, a short piece was played by one of the abbey organists to demonstrate the Abbey’s magnificent organ installed for the coronation of King George VI in 1937.
What made this tour truly special was the addition of live sacred music. The music resonated beautifully through the Abbey’s stone arches, transforming the tour into a spiritual and sensory journey unlike any other.
