Report on ‘Sacred Music’ CPW at Noddfa Spring 2025

The chair was Carola Geist-Divver with the support of her son Edgar and Cathy Scott. Tim Redmond was our chaplain and Breideen Murtagh the organiser.

Sacred Music, Noddfa, CPW what an attractive combination. The leaflet sat on my desk for a few weeks getting buried and then retrieved. It had been some time since I’d attended a CPW event but I could feel myself being drawn to this one. I had the time in May so there was nothing to stop me. It was a fabulous week. I met both familiar and new faces and the week was rich with music and fellowship. The weather was glorious and Noddfa as beautiful and peaceful as I remembered.

To spend 5 days in lovely surroundings is a tonic in itself but to experience it in the company of the CPW family brings quite another type of healing. The rhythm of prayers morning and evening, the talks and discussions all enriching our spiritual life. The spacious house at Noddfa and the extensive grounds brings refreshment physically, mentally and spiritually. The clean Welsh air, the walks and swimming (!), the beauty of the gardens and countryside. A change of scene and a change of company.

Always an early riser I started each day with a walk either to the beach or round the grounds. One morning with Cathy and Eileen to try a swim although the low tide and shallow water made it more like paddling. And it was cold. I did manage a couple of dips when the tide was higher in afternoon though. One morning returning from a walk I was surprised by a group of ponies, including a couple of foals, grazing on the lawn in front of the house. Apparently they were wild ponies down from the mountains. We enjoyed their company all day.

The theme was ‘Sacred Music’ but as you might expect this led to so much more. Carola guided us through 5 mass settings in different styles and from different periods. We learned about their origins and composers and of course we could listen to them bringing our own 21st century experiences and knowledge. It was hard to remove ourselves from the state of the world however even in the seclusion of the Welsh countryside. The war in Ukraine and the devastation of Gaza were of course on our minds as we listened to the Karl Jenkin’s Armed Man and Britten’s War Requiem. It was upsetting to learn that the Armed Man had been composed for the millennium to mark the end of the conflicts of the 20th century and looking forward to a peaceful world in the next century. The War Requiem was a response to the horror of the 2nd World War.

Our other mass settings were a traditional Gregorian Mass, Bach’s Mass in B minor and Ramirez’s Missa Criolla. During the talk on the Bach Mass, Carola played excerpts from the mass and showed us a manuscript page from the piece. Hearing the complex music and seeing it written demonstrated the marvellous skill of the musicians and the creativity of Bach being able to conceive of such a work. Being able to sit and reflect on such things without any outside thoughts intruding made the time in Noddfa very rewarding.

Other music treats were the Bernstein Mass which was presented by Edgar. It is a fully staged dramatic piece that was commissioned for the new Kennedy Centre and premiered in 1971 at the time of the Vietnam War, Watergate and youth protests. Cathy talked about late 20th century church music that had been written post Vatican II especially for congregational participation. Involvement of congregations was also part of the discussion led by Tim on ‘Music from a priest’s view’ encouraging us to be involved in the music for Mass. Pope Leo had just been announced prior to our week so it was lovely that we could include in our musical feast a recording of him singing the Regina Coeli.

Evenings included a favourite hymn session, gospel music, a quiz and of course cheese and wine.

The week was beautifully organised and we enjoyed 5 days of freedom from preparing food as the Sisters and their staff provided our lovely meals.

Lindsay Reynolds