Choristers of Salisbury Cathedral
Choristers of Salisbury Cathedral
2012-03-24 16:47:28
Re: BBC 4 TV Documentary of the Week: CHORISTERS OF SALISBURY CATHEDRAL
Judy asked: "Hi, Robert! Thanks! Did you wear one of those cute ruff collars?"
O yes, we wore those "cute" ruff collars (Grrr!). Worse, they were called frills. And we had to sew little shirt buttons onto the insides of our shirt collars to fasten the frills front and back. However, the outfit as a whole was truer to the period circa 1500 than anything you are likely to see now. The cassock was royal purple, not appalling swimming-pool aqua. The cloak and hat were black. Ricardians may be pleased to know that the hat was four-cornered, almost identical to those seen in portraits of Thomas More, Erasmus, Richard III, Henry VII and assorted notables of the period.
The choir, by the way, is much older than the new cathedral, which was completed as recently as 1256. The oldest known alumnus became the philosopher John of Salisbury (Class of 1129.)
When I wrote my memoirs of Eleanor of Aquitaine (reviewed, at one point, by no less than Ricardian Stephen M. Lark), John came in for much criticism in Eleanor's voice. Essays on my "Eleanor" site reflect their friction. (That's eleanor.robertfripp.ca/ => "Short essays"). Ultimately John was a witness to the murder of Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170. Salisbury's choir, past and present, travels through time. A more recent graduate, Robert Goodden, a contemporary of mine, raised the worms that provided the silk for Princess Diana's wedding dress.
Choristers of my generation (1952-57) probably served as the real life models for William Golding's "Lord of the Flies", published in 1954, which covers the theme of savagery among little boys let loose to run amok. Golding was then teaching at Bishop Wordsworth School, next door. We always seemed to be battling the bigger kids across a common wall. If you have ever seen the original film, Lord of the Flies, you may realize that the environment was often savage. It was never cushioned by the uniforms I just described.
I hope you enjoy the show. And for those of you who have a copy of "Lord of the Flies" in the house, read a few pages to get the full contrast.
Robert Fripp
"Dark Sovereign"
Judy asked: "Hi, Robert! Thanks! Did you wear one of those cute ruff collars?"
O yes, we wore those "cute" ruff collars (Grrr!). Worse, they were called frills. And we had to sew little shirt buttons onto the insides of our shirt collars to fasten the frills front and back. However, the outfit as a whole was truer to the period circa 1500 than anything you are likely to see now. The cassock was royal purple, not appalling swimming-pool aqua. The cloak and hat were black. Ricardians may be pleased to know that the hat was four-cornered, almost identical to those seen in portraits of Thomas More, Erasmus, Richard III, Henry VII and assorted notables of the period.
The choir, by the way, is much older than the new cathedral, which was completed as recently as 1256. The oldest known alumnus became the philosopher John of Salisbury (Class of 1129.)
When I wrote my memoirs of Eleanor of Aquitaine (reviewed, at one point, by no less than Ricardian Stephen M. Lark), John came in for much criticism in Eleanor's voice. Essays on my "Eleanor" site reflect their friction. (That's eleanor.robertfripp.ca/ => "Short essays"). Ultimately John was a witness to the murder of Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170. Salisbury's choir, past and present, travels through time. A more recent graduate, Robert Goodden, a contemporary of mine, raised the worms that provided the silk for Princess Diana's wedding dress.
Choristers of my generation (1952-57) probably served as the real life models for William Golding's "Lord of the Flies", published in 1954, which covers the theme of savagery among little boys let loose to run amok. Golding was then teaching at Bishop Wordsworth School, next door. We always seemed to be battling the bigger kids across a common wall. If you have ever seen the original film, Lord of the Flies, you may realize that the environment was often savage. It was never cushioned by the uniforms I just described.
I hope you enjoy the show. And for those of you who have a copy of "Lord of the Flies" in the house, read a few pages to get the full contrast.
Robert Fripp
"Dark Sovereign"
Richard III on Amazon
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