Unofficially so, that is. At least for now.

My friend said:  “So Washington National Cathedral (WNC) gave up Herbert Howells so they could have this mess?”  He brought up a recent video of a Liturgy from WNC.

Well, it’s the worst we’ve ever seen. 

There was a Choir in the Quire stalls in tacky light blue Choir robes. The Choir was not from the Anglican Communion.  They’re United Methodists from Texas.  What were they doing there? The Choir was awful.  They are the Choir from the church of the former organist at WNC. He was the organist before Benjamin Straley was organist. I take it that auditions are not held or required for membership in this Choir, and they take anybody they can get. This Choir made the Tanglewood Festival Chorus look good. As much as I am critical of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus’s soprano and alto sections, they are far superior to the dreadful sounds and noises coming from the sopranos and altos in this Choir from Texas. 

I didn’t read/scan the comments under the video, deliberately so. But my friend did and he said the sheeple in the comments that he scanned loved what they saw at WNC.  Well, clearly as is usually the case with congregations, most of whom know nothing about choral music or about an Anglican Liturgy, I suspect. One would have thought that the Choir would have been educated just a tad about an Anglican Liturgy, such as bowing to the processional crosses, as one example.

My friend asked me why people in the pews turned to watch the procession?  Oh that again. Don’t get me started on that! Anglicans don’t do that from my experience.  Although I’m seeing more of that these days. At state ceremonies in the Church of England (at St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral or Westminster Abbey in London) I’ve never seen the congregation turn and watch/look at the procession. These sheeple turning to watch the procession are tourists who don’t know any better, I suspect.  They look like they think they’re at a wedding and waiting for the bride to come down the aisle.  Any other time they’re standing with their arms crossed as if they’re in a museum not participating at all. When I’ve been in Anglican churches — and not as an Organist/Choirmaster but rather sitting in the Nave — I saw no one turn to watch the procession.  To begin with, what there’s to watch, sheeple?  You bow when the processional crosses pass — which none of these tourists did because they didn’t know to do that! — and the rest is the Choir and clergy.  WNC is a tourist church. 

The Praise Band was, well, don’t let me get started on that!  Of course the Cathedral have sanitised the Praise Band by giving them an Orwellian name called: The Cathedral Contemporary Ensemble (Dahling), which can mean anything. I wonder how long they spent trying to dream that up so that people might not think it’s a Praise Band?

I didn’t pay any attention to the Praise Band since I can’t stand it, but my friend said that the electric guitar or “gee-tar” is a 4-string bass. The drum set only had 3 drums, but had more cymbals. And all the instruments looked out of place — because they are! — and were shoved up against the Choir stalls because the Cathedral has never had a specified place for a Praise Band. They could have dumped the Praise Band on the free-standing altar, no? And use the altar as “a stage.”

The best things about this Liturgy was superb Thomas Sheehan, the Cathedral Organist, the polished acolytes and the priest who speaks perfect español. 

Other than that, I have absolutely nothing positive to say about this garbage called a Liturgy at WNC.  They have really gone down hill.  Do they plan to stay in the Anglican Communion or join the Southern Baptist Convention? That would be a most appropriate move at this point.  Or join the Pentecostals.  When do they plan to start rolling in the aisles at WNC and “speaking in tongues?” Wouldn’t surprise me at this point. They will have to change their ideology and views on social justice issues. And that’s part of the odd thing about this phenomenon, in that they’re trying to be like a religious cult (Southern Baptists or Pentecostals) with whom they supposedly disagree on many issues.

As I’ve said, they’re trying to be “all things to all people” and it’s a mess with clashes in styles.  Nobody up there in Upper Northwest in the District (of Columbia) seems to have the intelligence to understand that, and accordingly, programme two different Liturgies as other churches do who insist on joining the Praise Band Cult:  Other churches (none of the Anglican Communion to my knowledge) have the Praise Band service at 8 and have the “traditional service” at 11.  That’s what other churches have done who have sold out to the lowest common denominator and are catering to hick.  But to have gospel music in a traditional Anglican Liturgy, it doesn’t work but they seem too stupid or dense up there to grasp that, quite frankly.  Dr Paul Callaway, one of the highly-regarded former organists at WNC, must be rolling in his grave about now.  “So this is what they’ve done to this Cathedral Church?  Where did these Anglican imposters, hijackers come from?” he must be asking.

Well, at least there is Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue where one hears the finest of choral excellence from their renowned Choir of Men and Boys and a High Church Mass. Let’s hope they never lower their standards to the gutter as WNC has done.

As I’ve written before, the person I feel sorry for is Thomas. I don’t think he quit his job at Harvard for this caca. Yes, he could probably find a job wherever he wants with his talent and skills. Or, maybe he likes living in the District and is willing to put up with this shit to live there.