posted: Monday, 2 January, 2012

As a useful by-product of providing the Twitter feed of details of services at which the choir is singing, the Cathedral's music list is now duplicated on this site. The information is copied directly from the Cathedral's website so no responsibility can be taken for the accuracy or existence of the information, rather it is a helpful inclusion for people interested in the choir's role in the opus dei.

posted: Friday, 30 December, 2011

Following the BBC's broadcast of Eucharist from Lichfield Cathedral on Christmas Day, details of television broadcasts and other radio broadcasts have been added to the site. The lists are incomplete at present, and if you have any information that needs to be added, please do get in touch by e-mail, Facebook, or Twitter.

posted: Sunday, 25 December, 2011

BBC1's Christmas Day Eucharist is broadcast live from Lichfield Cathedral, and can be watched for the next seven days using iPlayer.

posted: Sunday, 18 December, 2011

Hot on the heels of the choir's Facebook page, an experimental Twitter stream has been set up to tweet details of the choral services and information about the choir.

posted: Wednesday, 15 December, 2011

Having realised that the Cathedral's Chamber Choir and the Cathedral Chorus have Facebook pages with friends and likes, it seemed necessary to create a Facebook page (albeit unofficially) for the Cathedral Choir so people can 'Like' it too. There is also a link to 'Like' the choir in the top right hand side of each page which shows how many people 'like' the choir: it would be fantastic to see a three digit number in the box before Christmas...

posted: Monday, 21 November, 2011

As a result of changes to the Cathedral website in August 2008, the collection of archived music lists stopped abruptly. However, the data for the period from September 2008 to March 2011 has now been acquired, reformatted, and added to the archive. March 2011 is the cut off date as this is when the Cathedral's website changed hands again and the data is therefore currently, at least, unavailable for archiving.

posted: Monday, 26 September, 2011

In January 2012, the cathedral is running two choral experience days: one for boys aged 6-11 on 14 January, and one for girls aged 9-14 on 21 January.

During the days the children will learn about life as a member of the Cathedral Choir and the LCS Girls’ Choir, sing with the Lichfield Cathedral Choir during Evensong, enjoy arts and sporting activities and receive a free lunch; parents will be given a tours of the Cathedral and school.

The 2011 Choral Experience Day was a huge success with over 100 boys and girls enjoying a fantastic day of activities, concluding with a wonderful Evensong in the Cathedral. This is a unique opportunity for boys and girls to experience singing with others, to explore the Cathedral and to learn about life at the Cathedral school.

While places are free they are limited. To register for one of the January 2012 workshops, simply complete the registration form or telephone 01543 306168.

posted: Thursday, 26 May, 2011

Thanks to Colin Brownlee of In Quires and Places, details of a newly surfaced recording of the choristers from 1982, Music to Calm Thee has been added to the discography; sadly I do not have permission to put clips from any of the tracks online. Colin has also been able to provide copies of some of the broadcast choral evensongs which have duly been added to the sound archive.

posted: Sunday, 24 April, 2011

The list of choral evensong broadcasts has been updated to reflect the status of the current sound archive: quite simply, a green dot denotes a broadcast of which a sound recording is held and a red dot indicates a gap in the collection. Any informations about missing broadcasts would be greatly appreciated as it is the ultimate aim to build a complete sound archive of broadcasts to accompany the already complete collection of commercial recordings.

posted: Sunday, 2 January, 2011

Two new resources have been added to the site to start the new year. Firstly, a scanned copy of the 1875 Cathedral Statutes which related to the Vicars Choral can now be viewed here, and secondly the beginnings of a list of all the music written for Lichfield Cathedral or its choir is now available. The list of music is very much a work in progress as there are doubtless pieces missing and errors which have already crept in as a result of personal recollections. If you are aware of any details that can be added or need correcting, please get it touch so the changes can be made.

posted: Monday, 15 November, 2010

The cathedral is running another choral experience day on Saturday 22 January 2011 for children aged between 7 and 12. During the day they will learn about life as a member of the Cathedral Choir (boys aged 7-13 years) and the Cathedral School Girls' Choir (aged 10-15 years), sing with the Lichfield Cathedral Young Voices choir, and enjoy arts and crafts and sporting activities in the afternoon. The whole day is a unique opportunity for boys and girls to experience singing with others, to explore the Cathedral and to learn about life at the Cathedral school.

More information can be found on the downloadable flyer and registation form.

posted: Wednesday, 18 August, 2010

The annual update to the personnel listings has been made in preparation for the choir's return to duty on Tuesday, 7 September with a men's voices evensong.

posted: Monday, 28 June, 2010

Recent changes to the running of the Choral Foundation are now reflected on the relevant Personnel pages. At the end of the Summer term, Philip Scriven leaves his post as Organist and Master of the Choristers to become Organist in Residence at Cranleigh School in Surrey. From September, the choir will be run by joint Directors of Music, Ben and Cathy Lamb. Martyn Rawles will become the Cathedral Organist and be responsible for the cathedral organs. Full details of the changes can be read in a press release issued by the Dean and Chapter on Sunday 20 June.

posted: Monday, 18 January, 2010

A description of the choir's forthcoming tour to New York city has been added to the Tours page, and Philip Scriven writes: "It has been a while since the Cathedral Choir last crossed the Atlantic, and therefore we are very excited about the prospect of spending a week in New York City after Easter. We will be performing in some of the city's most prestigious venues for choral music (such as St Thomas' Church, 5th Avenue and the Cathedral of St John the Divine), and we will be joining forces with members of the New York City Master Chorale in a concert in St James's Church, Madison Avenue. We have also been invited to sing two concerts further afield in Connecticut - one at Christ Church, Greenwich, and the other at the First Congregational Church, Litchfield (with a 't'!), where the choir also sang on a previous tour. In between concerts and services, there will also be plenty of time to enjoy all that 'The Big Apple' has to offer and, all in all, it looks as if this is going to be a tour to remember."

posted: Wednesday, 5 August, 2009

As cathedralchoir.org.uk approaches its tenth birthday a makeover seemed both appropriate and desirable. It seems unbelievable that it was ten years ago that the idea of a choir website was born in the then usual den of creativity: the Queen's Head. Since then the site has grown to include a wealth of information, and the latest addition is the inclusion of audio clips from some of the recordings made by the choir over the past twenty years; I am still trying to seek permission from the various people concerned to include clips from some of the older recordings too.

One very important change in terms of the site is that after recent conversations with the Dean and Chapter of the Cathedral, it must be noted that the site is in no way endorsed by the Cathedral and, at their request, its content must be regarded as unofficial. Nevertheless, this does not detract from the scholarship and research that has gone into the site over the past decade and the information presented here is all thoroughly researched and, to the best of my knowledge, reflects as completely and accurately as possible the history, background and present state of the choral foundation.

posted: Saturday, 29 November, 2008

The discography has been updated to include A Lichfield Celebration!, a new release by Griffin Records of a compilation of tracks recorded between 1980 and 1985, when the choir was under the direction of Jonathan Rees-Williams, and previously released on LP by Abbey/Alpha. The list of broadcast services has also been updated to include the forthcoming broadcast in December.

posted: Thursday, 28 August, 2008

The personnel listings have been updated to show details of the choral foundation for the forthcoming academic year.

posted: Thursday, 15 May, 2008

Regent Records have released two new CDs: Choral Classics and Organ Classics. Full details can be found in the discography.

posted: Friday, 7 December, 2007

Priory Records have re-released two recordings on CD which were originally released on the alpha label. The recordings they have released date from 1981 and 1988 and the full details are available in the discography.

posted: Saturday, 3 November, 2007

The list of broadcast services has also been updated to include the most recent broadcast in October.

posted: Tuesday, 14 August, 2007

The personnel listings have been updated to reflect the members of the choir over the forthcoming academic year.

posted: Saturday, 28 April, 2007

The Lay Vicars' personnel listings have been updated to reflect recent changes in the choir.

posted: Sunday, 24 September, 2006

The new CD of Joseph Jongen's Mass, and Flor Peeters's Missa Festiva made by the Cathedral Choir and the Cathedral Chamber Choir, entitled Belgian Choral Works was launched last week. The full details have been added to the discography.

posted: Monday, 4 September, 2006

The personnel listings have been updated to reflect the members of the choir over the forthcoming academic year. A list of forthcoming concerts and recitals is now included at the head of this page.

posted: Monday, 29 May, 2006

The tours page has been updated to include the choir's recent weekend trip to Holland.

posted: Saturday, 7 January, 2006

Details of former Lay Vicars and Priest Vicars installed from 1740 onwards are now available by following the links at the foot of the relevant page: Lay Vicars arranged by stall and Priest Vicars.

posted: Sunday, 18 December, 2005

The discography has been updated to include the newly released landmark recording of Paul Spicer's Easter Oratorio in which the choristers are singing the part of the boys' choir.

posted: Sunday, 27 February, 2005

The Cathedral Choir has been invited to sing the opening recital of the 2005 Concert Series in Frankfurt Cathedral on March 11th. The programme will include works by Tallis and Sheppard, as well as Grieg, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Britten, and Tippett (who was born 100 years ago this year).

The list of current personnel has been updated to reflect a couple of changes during the year, and the list of Radio 3 broadcasts has been updated to include the forthcoming broadcast this Wednesday.

posted: Monday, 6 December, 2004

Two new CDs, one of the Cathedral Choir singing music for Advent and Christmas called Angels Rejoice!, and one of Philip Scriven playing the Cathedral organ called Piping Hot were recorded earlier this year and have now been released. The discography has been updated to include cover images and complete track listings.

posted: Wednesday, 8 September, 2004

In a long overdue update, the pages detailing the individual holders of the Lay Vicar and Priest Vicar stalls now list the names going back to the start of the nineteenth century.

posted: Thursday, 20 November, 2003

The list of broadcast choral Evensongs has been updated again and now lists services going back to 1944. There are periods such as June 1948 where Evensongs were broadcast weekly for four weeks, and February 1946 when there were three consecutive broadcasts. As mentioned previously it is the aim to get copies of all broadcasts before 1983 for the Cathedral Library; if anyone has recordings that they would be willing to loan for transferring to CD, please e-mail webmaster@cathedralchoir.org.uk.

posted: Friday, 24 October, 2003

The list of broadcast choral Evensongs has been updated and now lists services going back to 1979. This list is not exhaustive and any details people can supply about missing broadcasts would be appreciated. It is the aim to get copies of all broadcasts before 1996 for the Cathedral Library and if anyone has recordings that they would be willing to loan for transferring to CD, please e-mail webmaster@cathedralchoir.org.uk.

posted: Saturday, 18 October, 2003

Having previously said that the discography was complete, an earlier LP has come to light. Although an earlier recording had been referred to in conversation, nobody had been able to provide a copy before now and as such it was omitted from the discography. It was released in 1966 and produced from "tapes supplied by the Organist"; it would appear to have been supported by the Friends of the Cathedral. The image of the sleeve and track listing are now available online.

posted: Sunday, 26 January, 2003

In a large update of the available material, details of former Lay Vicars and Priest Vicars going back to the mid 1800s are now available by following the links at the foot of the relevant page: Lay Vicars arranged by stall; Priest Vicars.

posted: Thursday, 22 August, 2002

The site has been updated to reflect the annual changes to the Choral Foundation, and also this year's new Organist, Philip Scriven, and his assistant, Alex Mason. New photographs of the choir, former choral scholars, and former organists (to accompany their biographies) have also been added.

posted: Sunday, 18 August, 2002

Andrew Lumsden is being installed as Director of Music at Winchester Cathedral during their Evensong on Saturday 14 September, and Robert Sharpe as Organist and Master of the Choristers at Truro Cathedral during their Eucharist on Sunday 8 September.