"In Praise of Women"

The church was packed for the concert - and then the choir stood up and moved to the front, and it didn't seem quite so full after all!

It was an evening of unaccompanied singing, but not like the Village Quire. This was serious classical music, beautifully done, ranging from the Renaissance and Baroque to Benjamin Britten and a modern setting of Emily Dickinson poetry, with a bit of Brahms in between.
The Dutch conductor explained that Renaissance music was in praise of God, but based on the human - so the rhythm was that of the heartbeat of an adult man at rest, and the length of the line was that of a (well-trained) human breath. Then the Baroque got bored with that, and upped the tempo and chopped up the lines a bit.
The women being praised were St Cecilia, patron saint of music; St Barbara, patron saint of soldiers and "things being blown up", and the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalen, and were sung in Latin, German and English.
Beautifully sung, too - it was a very enjoyable evening.
The retiring collection was in aid of the new organ - it's being played now, but they haven't quite paid for it yet!