I had to head to the office today even though it's a Saturday to prepare for my upcoming Structured Programming course, but I was surprised to see Lunar New Years festivities had been transferred to the weekend.

I saw the Dragon and Lion dances as well as some other performances from Chinese and Vietnamese residents of Dickson, and the Canberra Yut Hung Kung Fu school:

In the nearby market stall there was a Korean 호떡 vendor. From our conversation I gathered that there were Korean 설날 events there as well, but in the morning and I was already too late. Oh well, the 호떡 was delicious though!

Miseréris ómnium Dómine, et nihil odísti eórum quæ fecísti, dissímulans peccáta hóminum propter pæniténtiam, et parcens illis, quia tu es Dóminus Deus noster.

This Ash Wednesday was my second at All Saints Ainslie, and I intoned the Trisagion again this year. We had a decent compliment of choristers to perform Duruflé's Ubi Caritas:

Ubi cáritas et amor, Deus ibi est.	Where there is charity and love, there God is.
Congregávit nos in unum Christi amor,	The love of Christ gathers us as one,
Exultémus et in ipso iucundémur	Let us rejoice and be glad in him,
Timeámus et amémus Deum vivum	Let us fear and love the living God
Et ex corde diligámus nos sincéro.	And love each other with sincere hearts.

As well as Gibbons' Drop, Drop Slow Tears which is just a lovely poem:

Drop, drop slow tears

And bathe those beauteous feet,

Which brought from heav'n the news and Prince of Peace.

Cease not, wet eyes,

His mercies to entreat,

To cry for vengeance, sin doth never cease.

In your deep floods

Drown all my faults and fears,

Nor let His eye see sin, but through my tears.

For this Lent I am making some private observances and sacrifices, but I will also be singing the evening office (either Roman or Scottish Episcopal) every day of this Lent. This Sunday will be a choral Evensong!

Invocábit me, et ego dixi exáudiam eum: erípiam eum, et glorificábo eum: longitúdine diérum adimplébo eum.

This Sunday was a busy one for me, as the choir of All Saints Ainslie sings Evensong now on the final Sunday of the month. I, along with a few of our other male singers, sang for the morning mass without the rest of the choir. I sang a special tonus peregrinus gospel acclamation, and for an anthem I sang Tallis' Why Fumeth in Sight, the famous Theme of Ralph Vaughan Williams' Fantasia fame. I've linked to a recording of me singing the first verse.

Why fumeth in sight: the Gentils spite,

In fury raging stout?

Why taketh in hond: the people fond,

Vayne thinges to bring about?

The kinges arise: the lordes devise,

in counsayles mett therto:

Agaynst the Lord: with false accord,

against his Christ they go.

Let us they say: breake downe their ray,

of all their bondes and cordes:

We will renounce: that they pronounce,

their loores as stately lordes.

But God of might: in heaven so bright,

Shall laugh them all to scorne:

The Lord on hie: shall them defie,

they shall be once forlorne.

Then shall his ire: speake all in fire,

to them agayne therfore:

He shall with threate: their malice beate,

in his displeasure sore.

Yet am I set: a king so great,

on Sion hill full fast:

Though me they kill: yet will that hill,

my lawe and worde outlast.

For Evensong we sang Psalm 51 to a nice Anglican chant, and the Nunc Dimittis from Gibbons' Short Service. We didn't get the Magnificat ready in time, so Alasdair and I just sang an antiphonal plainchant Magnificat to the tonus peregrinus. For the anthem, we sang an old favourite of mine, Morley's Nolo Mortem Peccatoris: