This year, the Commonwealth War Grave Commission’s ceremony at Bayeux Cathedral was supported by the British Army Band Tidworth, Jedburgh Pipe Band, and Portsmouth Cathedral Choir, and led by the Bishop of Bayeux and the Rev. Dr. Jonathan Knight.

I helped behind the scenes planning the Order of Service, and I felt there were some very beautiful moments. The Torch of Peace was anticipated by a beautiful performance of Morten Lauridsen’s ‘O Nata Lux,’ and brought in to ‘Nimrod.’ At the end, we sang “The Day Thou Gavest” which was followed by “Sunset,” complete with the lowering of the standards. Tosh MacDonald, the Pipe Major, played the lament walking from the west door of the church to the alter, echoing the path of the Torch of Peace and perhaps linking the sacrifice of the fallen to the peace we enjoy today.

I sang the ‘Ave Maria’ attributed to Caccini after the Act of Remembrance, and led ‘Highland Cathedral’ after the service.