Evensong New College Oxford Saturday 5th March 2011

As a teenager in the 1960s I was much influenced and helped by two people: Morley Dobson and his female partner Sue Fisher. Morley taught, or tried to teach, at Rochdale Technical School for Boys. He had, I understood been at Harvard and Cambridge, he wore a very threadbare Harris Tweed suit, his hair went everywhere and had pebble small glasses. His partner, though we did not use the word in those days, was a social worker. They were members of the Society of Recorder Players. They took me to many concerts. One day they took me to Choral Evensong in York Minister just after I started at the University there. It was a cold autumnal evening. The music was wonderful. I had no idea what it was all about. Afterwards, we had tea in Betty's tea rooms. We chatted and I spoke about the oddness of going to what I called a "Protestant" service. They put me right and casually they said they were agnostics (not atheists) and it was for them a purely an aesthetic experience - like going to any other concert but in rather a "smashing" building.

I sent many hours in the next three years sitting at Evensong in the Minster and it became one of the more important experiences of my undergraduate time in York. I also came to know some of the Minster clergy and the last thing they could be called was "Protestant".

Fast forward to now and there I was in New College Oxford hearing one of the finest choirs in any religious foundation that I know. My current favourite is their recording the J S Bach's St John Passion sung entirely by current and past members of the College choir including James Gilchrist http://www.newcollegechoir.com/cds/bachpassion.htm

They were not on top form last night but still very decent. What struck me again, as it did in York Minster all those decades ago, was that this was more liturgy as performance (as it always is to some extent) rather than liturgy as the common worship of the people of God present in the chapel.

I remain grateful to the cathedral and collegiate musical tradition of the anglican church. It has added so much to the musical life of the country. I would not be without it. However, my preference is for liturgy as the common worship of God of the people gathered together. I realise among my musical friends this view is not popular.