I honestly don’t think so. Unfortunately. And it’s really a shame when the Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys is one of the finest in the Anglican Communion or anywhere!

I was wondering: Do most of those in the (Low Church) congregation realise or have any clue as to the quality of choral excellence they have at Saint Thomas?  My guess is: No. Not at all. I think most couldn’t care less, in part, because they don’t have a chorally trained ear or any training in music.  I suspect most in the congregation see the Choir of Men and Boys as “they’re just the Choir” rather than one of the finest choral ensembles in the world. Of course someone there from The Juilliard School or the Manhattan School of Music or the Mannes School of Music would hear the choral excellence, even if they’re not in the vocal music concentration where they’re training. 

For example, I read a comment on Saint Thomas’s YT channel recently.  The commenter said nothing at all about the music or the High Church Mass.  Nothing.  Instead, just like Roman Catholics, his comment was about “the spoken word.”  Years ago, I had a heated discussion with a Roman Catholic over this topic.  That person had no respect for the music. He said that the music was unimportant and only the “spoken word” (Homily/Sermon) was important.  Sigh.  One has heard “the spoken word” over and over for years. It didn’t matter to this pleb that the musicians were amongst the finest in the world and they had gone through decades of training.  To this person, the musicians were not important and their music was not important.  Unfortunately, I suspect many at Saint Thomas are of the same mindset, which is very disrespect to all of the musicians. 

Obviously, those in authority at Saint Thomas Church doesn’t hold that view otherwise they wouldn’t continue to have the only residential Choir School in the US to train their boys and some of the finest trained organists one can hire, despite the very basis “dry as dust” and “by the book” boring and humdrum way most of them play hymns the majority of the time.

And these days, most of the congregation appears to be very Low Church even though Saint Thomas Church is High Church/Anglo-Catholic.  I’m not sure why Low Church people go to a High Church, or is it that they don’t know the difference?  Or are most of them tourists visiting Manhattan? Are many of them even Anglican?  One gets the impression they’re not Anglican by the way they turn around to watch the procession.  I’ve never seen that before anywhere.  But some people turn all the way around and face the back of the Nave.  What is there to watch?  They look like they’re waiting for the bride to come up the aisle or something!  Do they think they’re at a wedding?  And many stand with their arms folded not taking part in anything so that tells me they’re tourists, acting as if they’re in a museum or some place other than a church.

*Having been in Anglican processions as a chorister I know I would feel uncomfortable with the people in the pews turning around to watch us process, and when we pass by people they would hear our individual voice.  Individual voices should not be heard in a choral ensemble trained in perfect intonation, unless the person is singing a solo.

I see their excellent thurifer (the Asian guy) waiting for the lazy, bottom-heavy/Low Church people — did they mean to go to a Southern Baptist Church instead? — in the Nave to stand to cense them.  Why are they so slow standing to bow to the thurifer?  What is wrong with people?  Don’t they see him approaching them with the thurible yet they remain seated?  Groan.  People!  Didn’t they see the thurifer censing the Choir? So why do they remain seated? And within camera view, only one or two people (at the most) bow to him.  Does that annoy him that people are so disrespect to him or out-of-it?  It would annoy me if I were the thurifer.  Does it really put you pathetic people out to bow to him?  (Disclaimer:  I can’t stand Low Church people and that’s how most of these people in the pews act.  Why are they at Saint Thomas?).

I think they could care less about the music programme at Saint Thomas to be honest. And the reason I say that is that I recently saw one of the programmes of their Concert Series and it was poorly attended. I had expected or thought that the Nave would be filled like it was on Christmas or Easter or as it will likely be for their performance of Messiah. For the performance I saw, it was a recital of piano and organ music given by Jeremy Filsell, the Organist and Director of Music/Choirmaster. That would be another opportunity for people to hear the relatively new pipe organ. The people who showed up for this performance was about the size of the group who shows up for Choral Evensong. Most of the congregation was not there, which told me the majority of the “new” congregation (new since the COVID pandemic) couldn’t care less about the music. Which I had sensed to be the case from most of those Low Church plebs in the pews. You know the ones who nod rather than bow when the processional crosses pass, if they do anything at all! Many don’t do anything. Genuflect? At High Church Saint Thomas? The closest thing to genuflecting is to see some people do this silly curtsy type nonsense. Much of the current congregation could easily be mistaken for Southern Baptists. One wonders why they’re even there in an Anglo-Catholic parish when they don’t follow High Church protocol. What are these Low Church plebs doing there? Why would they go to a High Church when they, gasp, sigh, oh don’t get me started. It makes no sense. Or do most of the people who show up at Saint Thomas live nearby and that’s the only reason they’re there?