Dear Friends:

Today provided a glorious close to our 12 days in Great Britain! Most of the day was spent in Salisbury, but on the way, we stopped for a brief visit at Stonehenge, just a few miles away from Salisbury. It was an appropriately gray and rainy day to be there! And the mystery of that place, while somewhat diminished by the crowds and the fact that you can't walk right up to the stones any more, is still powerful as one sees these ancient stones rising from the Salisbury Plain, surrounded by miles and miles of open fields and few other landmarks.

The rain continued as we drove the last few miles to Salisbury, another picturesque town - in this case dominated by the very large cathedral, with its 400 foot spire rising to the heavens. The Fodor's Guide describes the cathedral as a "soaring hymn in stone," and even that lofty language is inadequate to do it full justice. Dating from the mid 13th century, it is the only medieval cathedral built entirely within one century - with most cathedrals taking several centuries or more to be completed. As a result it has the most unified architecture of any of the cathedrals and is a prime example of early English Gothic architcture. The Chapter House at the cathedral also houses one of only four remaining original copies of the Magna Carta, signed by King John at Runnymede in June of 1215. It is the best preserved of all of the copies and is a marvel to see up close - and to imagine the complete sea change which it brought about in the system of laws, and the relationship between the crown and the land owners and people.

We arrived there in time for lunch and some brief self-guided exploration before hooking up with tour guides to lead the group through the cathedral. From the tours, we gathered in the choir stalls to rehearse and make preparations for our last Evensong of the trip - and what a phenomenal space in which to make music! As in any large space, it required some time to adjust vocally and to train our ears to hear in a different way - and we were more spread out than in the more intimate space of Rochester. But the group became more than comfortable with the space by the end of the 1 1/2 hour rehearsal, and was ready to lead worship.

The service was indeed glorious - and the choir sang as well or better than at any other service during our time in England! There was a farily large congregation gathered, and though the clergy were a bit more "formal" than at Rochester Cathedral, they greeted us warmly and were most pleased with our contribution to the worship. We sang the Howells Collegium Regale setting of the Magnificat and Nunc dimittis, as well as the Imant Raminsh Ubi Caritas which soared through the building. The acoustic there was amazing in that at the far west end, listeners reported that the sound was just as clear as it was near the choir, some 300 feet away! An interesting connection was made evident by the Vicar Choral who sang the service, noting that Richard Shephard, the composer of the Preces and Responses we used, was indeed a lay clerke (alto member of the choir) at the cathedral for a number of years, and also Associate Director of the school there! So that indeed made it a wonderful connection...

As we left Salisbury, the sun broke through the clouds, and we drove again through the lovely countryside back to Bath for our closing dinner and farewell at the Theatre Royal in the center of town. This group has grown wonderfully in its fellowship and support of one another, and it was most evident at the dinner which was full of storytelling, presentations of "awards" for various things observed during the trip, and serious presentations of thanks to the many people involved in planning and carrying out the trip. The evening was capped off with the singing of a "psalm" setting in praise of the tour - composed by Kay Ramsay - an amazing piece, and performed with virtually NO rehearsal! :-)

Our jovial group is now busily packing up the dirty clothes (as well as downing last pints in the hotel bar!) and the many purchases which will provide continuing reminders of this extraordinary time of spiritual and musical growth for us all! We all have been aware throughout our time away of your prayers and thoughtful presence with us - and we have in turn thought of you often and kept you in our hearts.

As we return tomorrow, we look forward to sharing the richness of our experience with the gathered congregation at Third, and will look forward to continuing to serve God and the Church with renewed energy and a new perspective in the days ahead.