On 16 December Richard Morrison wrote a thought-provoking article in The Times entitled, “Cathedral choirs are in crisis — can they weather the storm?”
He goes on to write, “They are one of the glories of British musical life, but financial meltdowns, demands for diversity and secularisation may mean the end for the choirs that thrill believers and non-believers alike.
“True or false? The choirs in Britain’s 42 cathedrals constitute one of the eternal glories of our musical life. Particularly at Christmas, when thousands of people are crowding into those magnificent, mostly medieval buildings for carol services and midnight Masses, the sound of the choirs — their precision and purity, their soaring descants, the unique blend of impeccably trained young trebles and professional altos, tenors and basses — will strike many ears as the nearest thing to angel tidings they will hear in this troubled world.
“I would say that’s all true, apart from one word — “eternal”. Their future is far from guaranteed. “Right now they are going through a perfect storm,” one senior cathedral musician says. “I’m not sure all will survive.””
You can read the full article (with a subscription) here.
https://www.thetimes.com/culture/classical-opera/article/cathedral-choirs-crisis-funding-diversity-religion-m9z22spg3
David Price, organist and Master of the Choristers at Portsmouth Cathedral, responded thus:
https://x.com/DrDavidPrice/status/1869823047743746115
“We all want the answer to be Yes.
“All Cathedral Choirs aim for excellence. Just as we celebrate and champion these tenets in sport, we should not be ashamed to demand and sustain the same in our top-level musical endeavours in church.
“For many years, the model for most cathedrals has been to work with one feeder school – whether officially the ‘choir school’ or simply a local institution. In some cathedrals this has meant choristers have also been boarders – though this is quite rare these days; many cathedrals now take children from multiple schools and varied backgrounds. But whatever the set-up, directors of music work daily with a set of children. This is the genius of English Cathedral Choirs.
“There is a delicate ecology with Cathedral Choirs. It is partly to do with frequency and pattern of rehearsals and services. In my experience, the equations of practice and performance are different for boys and girls in order to lead worship of the highest standards. It is the model that works here. This may not be the case elsewhere.
“Here in Portsmouth in the last month alone we have worked with well over 500 children to share our love of singing and church music through our partnerships with our Choir Church projects, Portsmouth Grammar School, Gabrieli ROAR and our own Cathedral Sing programme.
“But none of this partnership work can exist in isolation – it has to be rooted in what we do daily as a Cathedral Choir. We work hard to maintain our choirs of 24 boy and 20 girl choristers and a back row of undergraduate or graduate Choral Scholars alongside long term pro Lay Clerks.
“The starting point should be that a Cathedral Choir exists to help lead the worship of God. We should not be aiming to be an extension to or replacement for local music services or hubs.
“Meanwhile, some influential voices and leaders in this sector demand that there is only one new and valid model for the future, and we must all change and swiftly adapt now. But this delicate ecology of excellence, tradition and sympathetic evolution has to be fully understood before wholesale change is embarked upon. To do otherwise is anything between indifferent neglect and cultural vandalism.
“So yes, we all want Cathedral Choirs to survive. Perhaps there might be a recognition from pundits that these days a fine Cathedral Choir does not just exist in the ancient cloisters of our medieval cathedrals but also in our newer foundations who have worked with more flexible ways of building and sustaining choirs for decades. We were proud to have been selected to be the cover choir for BBC Music Magazine Christmas edition this year, on the back of BBC1 Midnight Mass in 2023. We would all benefit from honest debate about what might be gained and shared but what might be lost before we unpick a tradition of which we should be proud and is the envy of churches worldwide.”
If you would like to support your local cathedral, please visit these pages:
For Portsmouth Cathedral – Sing Joyfully
https://campaign.portsmouthcathedral.org.uk/sing-joyfully
Read a news item (Sept. 2021) at its launch:
https://www.portsmouthcathedral.org.uk/portsmouth-cathedral-news/sing-joyfully-our-new-music-campaign
For Chichester Cathedral– the Chichester Cathedral Platinum Endowment Trust for Music
https://www.chichestercathedral.org.uk/support-us/make-donation/chichester-cathedral-platinum-endowment-trust-music
Read a news item (Feb. 2024) at its launch: https://www.chichestercathedral.org.uk/news/chichester-cathedral-launches-fundraising-appeal-protect-choral-music-tradition-future
