new music wells 79-19

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This year sees the twelfth new music wells - our festival which celebrates the past 40 years of music, as well as seeing the world premiere performances of several new works.

new music wells 79-19 is runs from Friday 11th - Thursday 17th October 2019, during which time all music performed at the Cathedral’s services, and at five special lunchtime concerts, will be selected from repertoire written over the last 40 years.

Wells Cathedral is very pleased to be welcoming back Jonathan Dove CBE as this year’s distinguished Composer-in-Residence. Jonathan was Composer-in-Residence in 2012, when the festival included the first performance of his work, The Wells Service, which will be performed on Thursday 17th October at Evensong. He will be interviewed by Paul Whitmarsh at the Composer Conversations event, at 2:30pm on Wednesday 16th October in Quilter Hall (Wells Cathedral School) and will give a public composition masterclass in Cedars Hall at 2pm on Thursday 17th October.

At Evensong on Thursday 17th October, a new work by Owain Park will receive its World Premiere performance. Other first performances during the week include two pieces written by students at Wells Cathedral School (Rocket Brooks and Thomas Nettle), as well as works by Stuart Beer and David Bevan Jr.

Admission to all services and events is free. Please see this month’s Music List for more information.

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Jenny's Coast-to-Coast Challenge!

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Dr Jenny Kingston, our intrepid and dynamic Chairman, has taken it upon herself to undertake Wainwright’s famous Coast-to-Coast walk in aid of the Trust. The walk is a 182-mile (293 km) hike along the famous long-distance footpath in Northern England. Devised by Alfred Wainwright, it passes through three contrasting national parks: the Lake District National Park, the Yorkshire Dales National Park, and the North York Moors National Park.

With only her husband Peter (and his trusty compass) for support, Jenny is hoping to complete the walk in only 12 days! Each day, you can follow Jenny’s progress as we will post updates on a dedicated page HERE as we receive them directly from Jenny (whenever she has enough signal to send them to us!).

Sponsor Jenny HERE and Follow her Blog


Our Royal Patron visits to mark 25 Years of Girl Choristers at Wells

Photographs by Bill Bradshaw
www.billbradshaw.co.uk

On Tuesday 24 September, we were honoured and delighted to welcome our Royal Patron, HRH The Countess of Wessex GCVO, to Wells Cathedral and Cathedral School. The Countess was visiting as part of the celebrations marking 25 year of Girl Choristers in Wells Cathedral Choir.

The Countess arrived at Wells Cathedral School where she was greeted by Annie Maw, the Lord-Lieutenant. After meeting civic dignitaries, the Countess was introduced to Dr Jenny Kingston, Chairman of the Chorister Trust; the Reverend John Davies DL, Dean of Wells Cathedral and Head of Governors at the Cathedral School; and Alastair Tighe, the Head Master.

Her Royal Highness is welcomed by Dr Jenny Kingston, Chairman of Wells Cathedral Chorister Trust

Mr Tighe escorted Her Royal Highness to the Cathedral School’s concert venue, Cedars Hall. Children from the Cathedral Junior School lined the path and were thrilled to meet the Countess.

Pupils from the Cathedral Junior School greet the Countess

In the foyer to Cedars Hall, Mr Tighe introduced the school’s Head Boy, Jacob, and Head Girl, Astrid, a former Head Girl Chorister. The Countess listened to a short recital given by pupils, which included current Deputy Head Girl Chorister, Sophie playing the marimba, and the Cathedral School’s Choralia Choir which includes many former choristers.

The Cathedral School’s Head Boy, Jacob, and Head Girl, Astrid (a former Head Girl Chorister) meet HRH

Chorister Sophie plays the marimba as part of the Royal Recital

The Cathedral School Choralia. Many of its members are former choristers.

Following the recital, Dr Kingston introduced the Countess to Mr Jeremy Cole, Acting Organist & Master of the Choristers; Mr David Stevens, the Assistant Sub-Organist; Mr James Gough, the temporary Assistant Organist; and Mrs Diana Armstrong, the Chorister Coordinator. Her Highness then met the current Head Boy and Head Girl Choristers, James and Meg, who escorted Her Highness to the Cathedral via the Vicars’ Close, closely followed by the other choristers.

Head Boy and Girl Choristers, James and Meg, meet the Countess

The Royal Party moves down the Vicars’ Close

The party was met at the North Door of the Cathedral by the Dean who introduced the Countess to Bishop Peter Hancock and other members of the Cathedral Chapter. Dr Kingston then introduced Her Highness to some of the Chorister Trust’s donors, supporters, and Trustees.

The Countess listened to the choristers rehearsing for Evensong and then had the opportunity to chat informally with them all.

Her Highness listens to the choristers rehearsing for Choral Evensong

The Countess chats to the choristers and Mr Cole

Whilst the choristers completed their rehearsal, the Countess met with representatives of the first cohort of Girl Choristers at Wells Cathedral, Ms Naomi Barson-Cain, Mrs Gemma Baker, and Mrs Becky Layton. Her Highness then sat down to afternoon tea with the assembled guests, including the Trust’s former chairman, Mr Iain Ball MBE and his wife, Prebendary Helen Ball OBE. Her Highness was invited, with the former choristers, to cut a celebration cake for the 25th anniversary.

Three former choristers, who were part of the first cohort of Girl Choristers at Wells, meet HRH

The guests gathered for afternoon tea

Cutting the celebratory cake

The Countess then returned to the Cathedral where she met with the Choristers, Vicars Choral and Choral Scholars who were gathered ready to sing Choral Evensong. Her Highness was then joined by HRH The Earl of Wessex and the Dean led then to their seats in Quire for the service.

Meeting the choir before Evensong

The music included Stanford’s Evening Canticles in A and Walton’s Jubilate Deo. As was to be expected, the choir sang with great gusto and it was wonderfully uplifting service attended by a large congregation.

At the end of the service, the choir processed out to form a ‘Guard of Honour’ to bid Their Royal Highnesses farewell. At the West Door, one of the youngest probationer Girl Choristers, Belinda presented Her Highness with a posy before the Dean, Dr Kingston and the Lord-Lieutenant said their farewells.

It was a wonderful occasion that brought together the musical communities of both Cathedral and Cathedral School. The service marked the work of the Chorister Trust in striving to ensure that no child is barred for financial reasons from the opportunity of being a Chorister, and of course also celebrated the amazing contribution that 25 years of Girl Choristers has made to the worshipping life of Wells Cathedral.

Photographs by Bill Bradshaw
www.billbradshaw.co.uk

A Wonderful Start to the Year

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It was a delight to see such a large congregation present on Saturday to welcome back the Cathedral Choir at the first Evensong of the new choir year. The music was stirring, to say the least, with Jeremy Cole conducting the choir in performances of Herbert Howells’ St Paul’s Service and his wonderful anthem A Hymn for St Cecilia. We were also grateful to Gavin Plumley for his thought-provoking sermon.

The service gave opportunity to welcome the newest members of the Music Foundation; the ten(!) new Probationers - George, Elizabeth, Madeleine, Belinda, Oliver, Hannah, Aleksei, Sophie, Freya, and Natasha; two new Choral Scholars - Adam Fyfe (countertenor) and Horatio Carr-Jones (tenor), both of whom join David Bevan (bass) who has stayed on after joining last year; and not forgetting our new Sub-Assistant Organist, David Stevens; and the temporary Assistant Organist, James Gough. We offer them all the warmest of welcomes to Wells.

It was also a delight to congratulate the new Head and Deputy Head Choristers who all received their medals of office at the service; James and Meg, who become Head Boy Chorister and Head Girl Chorister, respectively; and Dan and George, and Carla and Sophie, who will become Deputy Head Boy and Girl Choristers.

Last but certainly not least, we offer our heartfelt congratulations to those choristers who have passed their year's probation and were admitted to the choir as full surpliced choristers - Estella, Elizabeth, Samuel, Petra, Shannon, and Ferdy. Bravo!

They're Back!

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The robes have been fitted and rehearsals have begun, all in preparation for the first Evensong of the new academic year which will take place this Saturday 7 September at 5.15pm. The choir will sing Herbert Howells’s stirring St Paul’s Service, as well as his anthem in praise of music, A Hymn for St Cecilia. The preacher will be writer and broadcaster, Gavin Plumley.

During Saturday’s service, the new members of the Cathedral Music Foundation will be formally welcomed. There is a fantastic intake of ten new Boy and Girl Choristers who will all sing in their very first service as Probationers. Six Choristers will also receive their surplices, taking them from Probationer to full Chorister status.

We are also pleased to welcome David Stevens as the new Sub-Assistant Organist, James Gough as the Temporary Assistant Organist. Adam Fyfe (countertenor) and Horatio Carr-Jones (tenor) will also join the choir as Choral Scholars for this academic year.

James MacGeoch and Meg Curl are this year’s Head Boy and Head Girl Choristers respectively, with Daniel Fawden and George Thomas taking on the role of Deputy Head Boy Choristers, and Carla Coombs and Sophie Harbridge becoming Deputy Head Girl Choristers.

Do join us on Saturday if you can for what promises to be a wonderful start to an exciting year!

Working with a Drumming Rock Star!

Stewart Copeland (centre) with the choristers and Mr Cole

Tuesday 4 June was a very exciting day for some of our choristers, who spent the afternoon filming with iconic drummer Stewart Copeland for a forthcoming BBC documentary series.

Mr Copeland leapt to fame as the drummer for the British rock band The Police, and has since gone on to compose film and video game soundtracks and written various pieces of music for ballet, opera and orchestra.

It was a great experience for the choristers and, as well as demonstrating and discussing what they do on a daily basis, they also taught Mr Copeland a thing or two about polyphony!

Playing to the camera!

Smile please!

A Roaring Success!

The choristers gave a fantastic performance on Saturday of Captain Noah and his Floating Zoo to a capacity audience in the North Transept of the cathedral. They sang with obvious enjoyment and exuberance and did real justice to Joseph Horovitz’s imaginative score. Congratulations to them all: to the many soloists, to the Senior Organ Scholar, Harrison Cole at the piano; and to Assistant Organist, Jeremy Cole for his enthusiastic conducting. The concert was a great demonstration of the choristers’ talent, skill, and expertise, and we are very grateful to all those who were moved to give so generously to the retiring collection in aid of the Trust. With your help, we continue to be able to support these talented children today and for the future.

Captain Noah’s coming to Wells!

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Captain Noah and his Floating Zoo, Saturday 4 May at 1.05pm
in the North Transept of Wells Cathedral

Admission is FREE (with a retiring collection for the Chorister Trust)

We all know how beautifully the choristers sing for the daily services but here’s a chance to hear them singing something quite different in quite a different style! Captain Noah and his Floating Zoo was written and composed towards the end of 1970, the first collaboration between librettist Michael Flanders and composer Joseph Horovitz. The work is a lighthearted oratorio on the Noah story as you’ve probably never heard it before. The musical style of the work is unashamedly eclectic and exploits all well-known types of popular music, giving our choristers a chance to show you truly how versatile they are! This short concert is free with a retiring collection in aid of the Wells Cathedral Chorister Trust.

Eggs Well-Earned!

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The choristers took part in their annual Egg Hunt in glorious sunshine after their final service on Easter Sunday afternoon. Following evensong they were released into the Camery Garden to track down their Easter treats; and they certainly deserved them after a week of wonderful singing and exceptionally hard work - twelve sung services over the course of Holy Week, all filled with the most wonderful and inspiring music.

The week began on Palm Sunday with the first performance of Philip Wilby’s An English Passion According to St Matthew. The choristers did themselves proud, as did the whole choir. Particular mention must go to the four Vicars Choral who sang the main solo roles - Matthew Minter, Stephen Harvey, Craig Bissex and Christopher Shekdrake. They were joined by Head Girl Chorister, Erin who sang a number of challenging solos in her role as Narrator. Congratulations also to the other choristers who took the other smaller but crucial solo roles: Cecilia, George, Ross, Madeline, Miranda, James, and Sophie. It was an exciting and moving performance and one that was much appreciated by the composer who was in attendance.

The choristers pictured with composer, Philip Wilby (centre), Canon Richard Cooper who assembled the work’s text, and Assistant Organist, Jeremy Cole who conducted the premiere performance

The choristers pictured with composer, Philip Wilby (centre), Canon Richard Cooper who assembled the work’s text, and Assistant Organist, Jeremy Cole who conducted the premiere performance

The choristers who took the various solo roles, pictured with Jeremy Cole and Philip Wilby

The choristers who took the various solo roles, pictured with Jeremy Cole and Philip Wilby

There were many other musical highlights as the week progressed but perhaps the most mentioned of all by members of the congregation was Finzi’s Lo, the Full Final Sacrifice which the choir sang during the Three Hour Devotion on Good Friday. It was an exquisite and deeply moving rendition of this wonderful work.

The week culminated in Easter Sunday’s three services and the choir delivered glorious performances of Mozart’s Coronation Mass, the ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ from Handel’s Messiah, Elgar’s colossal settings of the Te Deum and Benedictus, Howell’s St Paul’s Service, and Stanford’s wonderful Easter anthem, Ye Choirs of New Jerusalem. It’s no wonder that the choristers were ready for some chocolate confection after all that!

It was heartening to hear that attendance at the Easter services was up again this year and more people than ever experienced the wonderful singing of our Cathedral Choir. Congratulations once again to them all and to their conductor, Jeremy Cole, and to the organists for the week, Dr David Bednall and Senior Organ Scholar, Harrison Cole.

It should also be mentioned that it hadn’t been a week of all work and no play: as well as Sunday’s Egg Hunt, following the services on Good Friday, the choristers were treated to a Film & Pizza Night at St John’s Church, Glastonbury, courtesy of the vicar there who also happens to be a Chorister Parent!

 
 
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