Cathedral on song for choral history; Largest gathering since Coronation.Byline: BY BEN SCHOFIELD Daily Post Staff LIVERPOOL'S Metropolitan Cathedral hosted the largest gathering of cathedral choristers in 55 years yesterday. Choir boys Choir Boys can refer to:
It was the first time so many cathedral choristers have sung together in the UK since the Queen's Coronation in 1953. The choristers - among them voices from Liverpool's St Edward's College, as well as Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, originally the abbey church of a Benedictine monastery (closed in 1539) in London. One of England's most important Gothic structures, it is also a national shrine. The first church on the site is believed to date from early in the 7th cent. and York Minster York Minster is the largest Gothic cathedral in northern Europe and is situated in the city of York in Northern England. - lined up with 250 Merseyside primary school children to form a 400 voice choir. The elite singers are on Merseyside for the three-day Cathedral Organists' Association (CSA (1) (Canadian Standards Association, Toronto, Ontario, www.csa.ca) A standards-defining organization founded in 1919. It is involved in many industries, including electronics, communications and information technology. ) annual conference. They sang a specially commissioned piece by composer James Whitbourn, called Alleluia Alleluia, Latin form of the expression Hallelujah. Jubilate. It was a setting of Psalm 60 scored in four parts with the choristers singing the first three and the school children singing the last. Jonathan Milton, the CSA's chairman and headmaster of Westminster Abbey Choir School Westminster Abbey Choir School (WACS) is a British boarding preparatory school and the only school in the United Kingdom exclusively for the education of boy choristers. It is located in Dean's Yard, by Westminster Abbey. It educates around 32 boys aged 7-13. , told the Daily Post they were keen to bring the conference to Liverpool to tie in with the Capital of Culture celebrations. He said: "We had a fabulous concert in this most magnificent space in Liverpool. "This is the first time in recent memory a large number have got together to perform. "It's great to be able to celebrate the life and work of cathedral choristers. It's an important part of our cultural heritage and was great to celebrate in style." The choir also sang pieces by Britten, Handel and Stanford for an audience of around 500. Timothy Noon, director of music at the cathedral, said: "It is both a tremendous honour for Liverpool to be hosting these conferences this year and a terrific opportunity to highlight the amazing singing taking place nationally in our cathedrals on a daily basis." CSA is part of the National Singing Programme which the Government launched in 2007 to boost singing in primary schools. The concert aimed to highlight the work of choir schools in promoting singing in Cathedrals and, by involving some of Liverpool's primary schools, the wider community. The association represents 44 choir schools attached to cathedrals, churches and college chapels around the country, as well as a number of cathedrals without choir schools. The host choir school for this year's meeting is St Edward's College, Liverpool. John Waszek, principal at St Edward's, said: "I am delighted to be the host to this unique event. "It is marvellous to see choristers from all over the country come to join in our celebrations, and participate in this concert." benschofield@dailypost.co.uk CAPTION(S): The choristers on the steps of the Metropolitan Cathedral with James Whitbourn, centre, who composed Alleluia Jubilate especially for yesterday's event Picture: ANDREW TEEBAY/ at130508cchoristers-1 |
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