Loss

As organists we are frequently called upon to provide music for funerals. By the time you read this the funeral will have taken place of a talented musical director, Nick Gale, formerly Director of Music at St George’s Cathedral, Southwark. Aged only 39, the Roman Catholic world has lost a major figure, an expert in Gregorian Chant and staunch supporter of all things Latin, meaning the language of the church, not what you see on Strictly Come Dancing. Nick’s loss to the RC world is comparable to the loss felt last year in Dulwich when our member Tim Penrose died suddenly.

Professional singers offered to sing at the funeral and enquiries have been made for a musical memorial to Nick. It is strange how a sudden and unexpected loss of has a habit of drawing together people who haven’t seen each other for a long time, relationships that dwindled are somehow rekindled, and the music that formed a big part of that person’s life suddenly is at the forefront, for a while at least. The memorial held for Tim in All Saints West Dulwich last year was a musical feast, and one for Nick will be the same.

Most of the time we are playing for the funerals of people we don’t know, and we are all hopefully sensitive to their families’ musical requirements, even if they are not to our taste. Our job is to serve and offer advice when it is sought. At the service the privilege of a glimpse into someone else’s life underpins the reasons why those choices have been made. And life then goes on, just like it always does.

Marilyn Harper