Of those left, the remainder were either adult or much older members, a couple of overseas visitors, a handful who could just not be found and one or two who chose not to answer my calls or messages. Other boys, now men, who were in the choir at the time remember Archbishop Pell being a regular presence in their lives.ĭuring May 2016, I called as many of the 50 choristers from the time as I could muster. His Grace, Archbishop George Pell, was to say the mass. The sounds of “Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hal-le-lu-jah!” echoed around the sacristies and the nave. Huge celebrations were planned and, in its honour, the boys were to perform Handel’s Messiah. Photograph: tupungato/Getty Images/iStockphoto Pell would drop in to watch the choir at singing practice. In 1997, the last year that The Choirboy and The Kid spent in the choir, the bluestone gothic pile known as The Cathedral Church and Minor Basilica of St Patrick, or simply, St Patrick’s Cathedral, was celebrating a centenary since its consecration. The choristers were expected to sing from the first day of term one to Christmas Day. “ would disappear from sun-up to sundown … He was just gung ho, you know?” “Oh my god, everything had to be done yesterday,” Mary laughs. The Choirboy threw himself into his new role as he did everything in life. The working parents carpooled to help with the commute. It was to be a big commitment for the families but the boys were very enthusiastic. “A nice scholarship for a good education.” “But it was good, you know?” Mary says, smiling at the memory. The Choirboy’s mum, whom I’ll call Mary, had no idea her boy had this talent. “It was a dream of my mum and I, that I could go to this incredible private school that we could never afford, she was so proud,” he says.
0 kommentar(er)
