Passion at the Festival Hall

Palm Sunday, or Passion Sunday, 2012.

Our kind friend Bundle invited us (and an old school friend of mine, 1949-57) to join her at the Royal Festival Hall for a performance of Bach's St Matthew Passion. It's a very appropriate work for the day (and the most wonderful music), but older tradition had its performance scheduled for Good Friday.

This was a truly outstanding performance, given by The Bach Choir ("The") under their conductor David Hill, with an excellent line-up of soloists and with Florilegium providing the orchestral accompaniment. The main Bach Choir was afforced by a Ripieno Choir made up of schoolchildren selected from London schools. In our photograph here, members of the choirs and the orchestra are beginning to assemble in preparation for the second half of the work. The Ripieno members are wearing white, the others black. Every red seat and every space in the choir seats behind will be occupied by this huge force of singers.

According to the programme notes, The Bach Choir "has long been established as one of the world's leading choruses", and on the showing of this performance, it most certainly is.

There was a two-hour interval between Part I and Part II of the work, allowing adequate time for a picnic lunch in the style of Glyndebourne. Some people had brought the most extravagant and extensive meals: some of the tables resembled those magnificent picnic spreads favoured by extended families in France on sunny Sundays.

If these remarks suggest something somewhat at odds with observance of this solemn day in the Christian calendar, then one of the functions outside was even more strangely timed. Just outside the Festival Hall was a Chocolate Festival in full swing. There were perhaps 50 stalls like the one in this photograph, and huge crowds milling around.

But it was a warm and sunny spring day, as can be judged from this jolly scene down by the Thames, photographed from the fourth-floor bar of the RFH.

After the performance, we all went for a very nice, sunny stroll along the south bank of the Thames.

Along the way we found many interesting "happenings", including a guitarist/singer standing in the water while performing, a troupe of highly acrobatic young people jumping and somersaulting, and these sculptures created in the sand of the "beaches" of the river.

One interesting find was Hopton's Charity, near Blackfriars. Charles Hopton (b. ca. 1654) provided in his will for these almshouses to be built in the parish of Christchurch, Blackfriars.

Further along the river, we were treated to a fine view of The Shard. I understand that this building, which might be the tallest in Europe for a few weeks, reached its ultimate height (310 m) only two days ago, on Friday.

And so we then walked over the Millennium Bridge (sadly stable) to St Paul's, some tea, and started our journey home.

It was the beginning of the end of a memorable day out. The music was the highlight, of course, but our Thames Walk was a fine counterpoint to it. Thank you Bundle!

Because I took so many photographs on this day, I have set up a little gallery with a more extensive collection than is reasonable to provide as links in this account.