Liturgy

Choral church music is at its most effective when it’s embedded in the liturgy as it was designed to be, rather than performed on stage in a concert. The Mozart Requiem works well in both situations; but if you happen to be in a pew, mid-mass, eyes closed and head in the praying position at the moment when the choir breaks into the ‘Lacrimosa’, the music will somehow be doubly powerful. Two annual summer festivals of music within the liturgy celebrate this truth. The first is the Roman Catholic St Birinus Festival, now in its fourth year.

A few years ago I had a panic-stricken phone call from a female friend. ‘Help!’ she wailed. ‘Remind me what classical music I like. I think I’m going to be a guest on Private Passions.’ I could understand her anxiety. The programme, which celebrated its 30th birthday this month, is BBC Radio 3’s lofty version of  Desert Island Discs. Eminent writers, scientists, artists and businessmen, plus the occasional book-plugging celeb, explain how music – mostly but not exclusively classical – is, well, one of their private passions. Even if, as in the case of my friend, it isn’t. It’s an honour to be asked on the show, which is presented by Michael Berkeley – the first classical composer since Benjamin Britten to be elevated to the House of Lords.