Supernatural Songs at Southwark Cathedral

A change of pace tonight with a visit to the lovely Southwark Cathedral for the Hilliard Ensemble and performances of Arvo Pärt’s Fratres.

I bought cheap restricted view tickets figuring that it probably wouldn’t make too much difference to the sound. But a word of warning. Do not buy tickets in the South Transept. The sound’s being projected down into the main body of the church and you’re on the side closest to the train tracks heading into London Bridge. So the already quiet music is drowned-out by the noise of trains. Also, at least at tonight’s performance, there was NO VIEW. It wasn’t restricted, there simply was no view as you were looking at the scaffolding for the choirs seats. Unfortunately, this did have a detrimental effect on my ability to fully enjoy the music of one of my favourite composers as I could neither see the performance or hear everything. But the tickets was only £5. At that price, even with the poor sound, there was still enough enjoyment in the evening to make it worthwhile. Just next time, I won’t be such a cheapskate.