Among the offerings are a 3rd-4th century Buddha, a four-foot wooden
choirstall angel from a 17th-century Antwerp workshop, a contemporary chanukiah--a Jewish ceremonial candlestick--and a 16th-century Flemish alabaster tablet depicting the Judgement of Solomon.
18 Regarding another choirstall that Charles occupied during the ceremonies of the Order of the Golden Fleece, see below.
The entire clergy of the city and the king's chapel opened the procession 'cantant salmps de morts', and more than 200 men with torches, hooded trumpeters with their instruments covered, heralds, halberdiers, ambassadors and noblemen marched to the cathedral.(17) Once inside, the king sat in the episcopal chair(18) of the choir [ILLUSTRATION FOR ILLUS.3 OMITTED], the closest seat to the transept, where an effigy of Maximilian on a sumptuous catafalque had been placed amid candles.(19) Ambassadors, noblemen and the personal retinue of the monarch also occupied seats in the choirstalls. The cathedral was illuminated splendidly: black satin cloth covered the walls and red velvet the floor.
In addition to [TABULAR DATA FOR TABLE 2 OMITTED] the greffier (secretary) and the roi d'armes (official herald) of the Order, only 13 or 14 members other than the king participated; representatives of the absent chevaliers sat in the choirstalls to perform the ceremonies in their stead.(39) The spectacular processions attracted the curiosity and admiration of the public:
The
choirstalls only survive now as panels flanking the choir or pseudo-crossing in the tower base, the seats having been destroyed by rot and removed c.1992.
Grazinyte-Tyla charmingly turned the orchestra round to acknowledge applause from the enthusiasts in the
choirstalls. And concertmaster Laurence Jackson paid the compliment of doing an Andris on her, refusing to stand his players until she had received the personal accolade she deserved.
The authority he has brought to England's top order has been staggering, but that wasn't always the case when left home to spend five years in the St Paul's
choirstalls as a young schoolboy.
He throws himself into Purcell's tumultuous word-painting with an extrovert abandon not often bred up in Anglican
choirstalls. He's used to sending his words right to the back of the theatre, and even his pronunciation is pertinent--he `reels to and fro' not with a refained art-singer's rolled r but with a boldly voiced consonant that is richly expressive and probably quite Purcellian.
But there was nothing of the
choirstalls about these performances.
(4) Numerous three-dimensional objects are on display with the paintings, notably the remarkably preserved
choirstalls of the Abbey of Staffarda, near the marquisate of Saluzzo, executed by either French or Piedmontese craftsman during the first quarter of the 16th century, most probably for Giovanni Ludovico di Saluzzo (1496-1563).
It is a pity that the late-15th-century wooden lectern from northern Italy, the
choirstalls from the Certosa of Pavia as well as the handsome Venetian wellhead attributed to Bartolomeo Buon have not been reinstated here but placed in the smaller Gallery 129 nearby.