I didn’t mention where I was staying in Seattle. It’s a new Silver Cloud hotel at Broadway and Madison. I love the slightly freaky cosmopolitan character of Broadway, and yet we’re only a few minutes walk from Pioneer Square. Highly recommended.
So this morning I met up with Chris and Celeste for coffee, and eventually we headed over to the Cathedral for the 11 o’clock service. One of Chris’s jobs as acolyte was to to be one of three manipulating 12 foot long poles (actually more like fishing rods – really flexible and whippy) with long streamer ribbons on the ends. As the Easter procession snaked around the pews (accompanied by a satisfying amount of incense – that takes me back a few years!), they twirled the ribbons above the congregation. The whole effect was like something out of a painting from the Italian Renaissance.
Bishop Warner gave a nice sermon in which he quoted various poets including John Lennon, citing (without any irony) “imagine there’s no religion”. The folks at St. Mark’s don’t seem to want doctrinal issues to get in the way of being nice to each other and building a community….
The other cool thing about the service was the music. I grew up on Palestrina and plainsong, and I’ve found much of what passes for “religious” music these days to be about as moving as “I’d like to buy the world a Coke”. The music at St. Mark’s was delightful, both as music and in context. From a performance perspective, the organist, trumpet soloist, and percussion were superb, while the choir was very good (but not great). As for the compositions, much of the music was written by one Peter Hallock. I’d never heard the name before, but the style was striking and effective – and very English. Strongest influences were clearly Britten and Warlock, though there were touches of Saint-Saens. I visited the Cathedral shop and bought a CD of his works after the service. I gather that he has been associated with St. Mark’s for years, and was responsible for arranging their renowned Sung Compline program.
After lunch, we split up, and I did some serious power-walking – from the hotel down Madison to Pioneer Square, up 1st Street to the Public Market, then over Pike Street to Broadway and back. After that I was too knackered to do much else; Chris and I met up for a drink and then retired. (Memo to self: my drink was a strong English cider by Aspall. Stunning.)
Tomorrow morning to SFO on Alaska Air, and so to work.