The 2015/16 Round-Up

ack in October we were delighted to welcome Christopher Hodkinson to the Cathedral to lead a plainsong workshop with our Cathedral Choir. Christopher is Director of Schola Gregoriana of Cambridge and Director of the Latin Schola at the Church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs in Cambridge. During the workshop, Chris gave a general introduction to the basic principles of singing chant before getting stuck into the chant for the next day’s Mass. The session has had a profound impact on the way we now approach singing plainsong and we hope parishioners have also enjoyed our new approach to singing the Introit chant whilst in the opening procession into the Cathedral at the start of Mass.

Thomas Keogh, Director of Music at Holy Cross Priory, Leicester, came to the Cathedral in October to give a short Organ Recital with a varied programme of music by Bach, Boëllmann, Bonnet and Sweelinck before finishing with the rousing Colonel Bogey March.

​Our MUSIC AT THE CATHEDRAL concert series (patron: Sir John Peace) continued in November with the first contemporary performance of John Carol Case’s Requiem for an Unknown Soldier in a new edition by Banks Music Publications, with an organ part arranged by our very own Cathedral Organist, Robert Gower. The work was sung by the Cathedral Choir (soloists: Grace Bale & Chris Foster, speaker: Dominic Goodwin). The choir were also joined by a specially arranged string quartet and oboist Anna Williams (a member of the Cathedral Choir) who performed Finzi’s Interlude.

The Solemnity of Christ the King marked the first appearance of our Youth Choir at the 11.15am Solemn Mass. Members of the Youth Choir were joined by the upper voices of the Cathedral Choir to sing Britten’s Missa Brevis. The Youth Choir also joined the Cathedral Choir (including the men!) for our Festival of Lessons and Carols with a host of new and familiar seasonal music by Darke, Howells, Whitlock and David Fawcett.

Apollo5 were given a hero’s welcome when they returned to the Cathedral in January to lead a singing workshop with the Youth Choir, Choral Scholars and local school children. It was a particular joy to have Charlotte Brosnan back with us - one of our previous Choral Scholars and now professional soprano with the group. ​

A major date in the diary is the annual Chrism Mass during Holy Week which is led musically by the Diocesan Choir and our Choral Scholars. This year, we commissioned Dorset-based composer David Fawcett (an alumnus of Nottingham University) to compose a new work specially for the choir. The piece, The Spirit of the Lord is Upon Me was rehearsed by the choir at our annual singing workshop in March and first performed during the Chrism Mass, in the presence of the composer.

We were proud to announce the appointment of Graeme Vernon as Organist Emeritus at the Cathedral on Easter Sunday. Graeme has been a dedicated member of the Cathedral music team for over 27 years and continues to lead the Parish Singers for the 10am Parish Mass each Sunday at the Cathedral. ​

​In 2015 we held a singing masterclass for our Choral Scholars with local mezzo-soprano Ruth Massey. This was an inspiring afternoon where Choral Scholars got the opportunity to work with a professional singer and receive valuable guidance and encouragement. In April 2016 we invited internationally renowned baritone soloist and composer Roderick Williams to work with our Choral Scholars and had another inspiring and entertaining afternoon working on singing technique, communication and musical interpretation.

The Cathedral choir made a return visit to Holy Cross Priory, Leicester following singing at the Requiem Mass for King Richard III in March 2015. An hour-long concert of Music in Honour of Our Lady included an emotional performance of Gorecki’s Totus Tuus along with other music by Bruckner, Caccini, Patterson, Tavener, Victoria and Rachmaninoff.

In October 2015, the church music community were deeply saddened to hear about the death of Christopher Tambling following a short but courageous battle with cancer. Chris was Director of Music at Downside Abbey until early 2015 when he took early retirement to focus on composition. Our Cathedral Organist, Robert Gower, was successor to Chris at Glenalmond College and knew him well. In tribute to him, the 11.15am Mass for the 11th Sunday of Ordinary Time on 12 June was dedicated entirely to Chris’s music. Robert played a selection of his organ music: A Scottish Lullaby, Adagio cantabile & St Vigor’s March; the choir sang his Mass of St Stephen, Cantate Domino & Ave verum corpus and the final hymn ‘How shall I sing that majesty’, with music by Kenneth Naylor (1931-1991), one of Christopher’s music teachers at Christ’s Hospital.