Q. I am preparing a translation into French of Sir
Hubert Parry's majestic coronation anthem 'I Was Glad', so that my local choristers can sing it before Holy Mass on Sundays during term-time. The translation itself seems straightforward enough. My dilemma, though, is what to do about the `vivats'. At the Queen's coronation, choristers sang `Vivat Elizabeth Regina'. Here in France, should our choristers sing 'Vivat Presidens Jacobus', or do you feel that a French congregation, distracted by such an expression of avowedly republican sentiment, might unhelpfully turn its mind to questions of airline tickets or hair restoratives? Dear Mary, you must get an enquiry like this every other week, so you can appreciate how much I would value your advice, based on a matchless store of long experience and sheer common sense.
M. W.D.W., Fragny-sur-Oise A. Let the vivats stand. By all accounts our reigning monarch is still globally revered, and tops the list of most envied aspects of British life as perceived by foreign nationals. Explain to the children that they are being offered the rare opportunity to admire the concept of a figurehead who stands totally above suspicion, and no doubt they will seize it.
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