Latest News
from Wells Cathedral Choir
To donate and watch the concert, please visit the Wells Cathedral website HERE.
In an effort to bring the annual Carols by Candlelight concert to as many people as possible, the Cathedral Choir spent time in early December busily preparing and filming the entire concert for viewing online.
Now, after being premiered to a live audience on Thursday 10 December, you can enjoy this breathtaking performance from the comfort of your own home by clicking on the link above.
The Choir and Organists of Wells Cathedral have spent the second lockdown recording plenty of music for online offerings during Advent, ensuring that there is a much provision as possible for those who won’t necessarily be able to visit the Cathedral in person this season.
One of these projects is a set of 25 pieces for 25 days – the perfect way to count down to Christmas! A new musical gift will be available every morning throughout Advent from 9am, so don’t forget to visit daily for a festive treat!
The trailer below will give you a wonderful taste of what is to come!
The Cathedral Choir has spent time during this second lockdown preparing music for an online Advent Carol Service. The Choristers, Vicars Choral and Organists have worked hard to produce what is a wonderful celebration of the start of Advent, at a time when the hope of light out of darkness is particularly poignant for us all.
This very special offering can now be viewed here:
This year there will be one Candlelight Concert on the 10th December at 7pm, and an online version available later in December on the Cathedral website. Together, these concerts are an unashamed festive fundraiser in aid of the Bounce Back Appeal as we seek to raise £8,000 to replace a small portion of the income lost through the second lockdown.
Tickets will be available from Eventbrite HERE from 9:30am on Monday 30th November.
Look out for news of the virtual concert here on our website soon!
As we know, Christmas will be very different this year. The requirement to be socially distanced means that far fewer people can be seated at services than in previous years. Therefore, the Cathedral team must operate a booking system for most services from 20th December 2020 (Christmas Carol Service) through to 25th December (Matins on Christmas Day) to provide a safe experience and to manage expectations fairly and transparently. There will sadly be no entrance possible on the day without an online booking.
The Cathedral and Chorister Trust recognise this is far from ideal, and we really wish it wasn’t so. However, it would be irresponsible to do anything else. For the avoidance of any doubt, there is no charge per booking.
All services can be booked through Eventbrite HERE.
For more details, please see the Cathedral’s website HERE.
Choral Evensong at Wells Cathedral this afternoon marked the work of Wells Cathedral Chorister Trust. Directed by Jeremy Cole and accompanied by Alex Hamilton, the Cathedral Choir sang at full strength - Decani singing from the West End and Cantoris on the Nave Dias - and we were treated to a musical feast including works by John Rutter, Percy Whitlock, Gabriel Jackson, William Harris, and Ralph Vaughan Williams.
During the service, thanks was given for the contributions of former supporters of the Trust, including Bill Baker, Iain Ball, Hon. Vice-Admiral Sir Donald Gosling, Sir Ronald Hobson, Janet Jones, and Angus Watson.
It was a particularly special service for the family of former Chairman of the Trust, Iain Ball, as the first Choristership in his name was awarded to Boy Chorister, George (pictured above, right).
Whilst it was sad not to be able to host the usual reception afterwards, it was wonderful to see so many of the Trust’s supporters present. Arnold Wills, the present Chairman, wrote the following in his preface to the service:
“Where children are unable to take up offered places to be a chorister, often through nothing more than a lack of funding, their voices may lost forever. Wells Cathedral Chorister Trust has a large and growing family of regular and occasional supporters, who appreciate and admire our Choristers. We would like you to be part of the WCCT family so that together we can all help to ensure that there are no ‘lost voices’.
Never has this been more true than now. Please do consider supporting us. You can find out more about the work of our Trust HERE and about our regular donor scheme HERE.
I am so very pleased to invite all of our supporters to attend the Annual WCCT Evensong in Wells Cathedral. This is a difficult time as we all know, therefore the seating will be limited and we are unable to hold a reception afterwards. However, the Boy and Girl Choristers and the Vicars Choral will sing Evensong in the Nave and it will no doubt be a joyous and uplifting occasion.
We will also use this occasional to launch the first Chorister Award in Memory of Iain Ball, former Chairman of this Trust.
Also, the Trustees wish to record at the Annual Evensongs a Thanksgiving in Memory of those who have been supporters of the Chorister Trust over the years. If you wish to include names of your loved ones to be included in this, please reply accordingly to the WCCT Administrator, Hannah Unwin who is compiling a list (not to the Cathedral Administrator, to avoid confusion)
Timescales are tight but at least we now know we can hold this event.
Next steps:
If you’re able to come, please confirm the number in your party (up to a maximum of six) as soon as possible and definitely no later than Tuesday 6 October to Hannah Unwin, our new Administrator (administrator@wcct.co.uk). We also need to be aware of any wheelchair users to ensure appropriate seating. These details will be passed to the Cathedral Office with your email contact so that they can send you final arrangements before the Evensong.
If you cannot join us but still wish to help by making a donation to the Chorister Trust then please click here to visit the relevant page on our website.
Send the names of loved ones who have been supporters of the Trust by email please to administrator@wcct.co.uk
At the Evensong, the collection this year is shared with the Cathedral's 'Bounce Back Appeal' as the Cathedral copes with the current financial uncertainty.
I would always love to hear from any individuals, even just to say ‘hello, here I am’! My email address is: chairman@wcct.co.uk
I hope to see you on the day and if not, to hear from you.
With very best wishes.
Yours sincerely,
Arnold Wills
Chairman
chairman@wcct.co.uk
07808 803674
Elizabeth, one of our Deputy Head Choristers, is the winner of the Antarctica Creative Writing Competition in the age category 11 to 13 years. The competition – run by the Natural History Consortium, which includes the BBC, Bristol and Bath universities and the National Trust among its 13 members – was set up in celebration of Antarctica Day and formed part of the Festival of Nature in Bath and Bristol.
The judge commented on Elizabeth’s story: “This was an exciting and effectively structured story with a good build up and moments of tension. It is fluently written, with some lovely phrases and word choices. The writer has got involved in their topic: I can see that research has gone into creating a strong sense of place and activity. Well done.”
Elizabeth has now set her sights on the HG Wells Fiction Short Story Competition as she pursues her quest to be a published author.
Find out more about the work of Wells Cathedral Chorister Trust
On Saturday 5th of September, former Wells Chorister Harriet (Hattie) Peck married organist Robert Smith in the Lady Chapel of Wells Cathedral in a socially distanced ceremony. It was a lovely day with lots of sunshine and included a beautiful rendition of ‘Where’er you Walk’ sung by Old Wellensian, Kirsty Hobkirk. Hattie and Robert met in York where they were both members of the York Oratory choir.
Congratulations to the new Dr and Mrs Pecksmith!
Glad to be back! Photo: © Jason Bryant
Saturday saw a very special moment in the life of Wells Cathedral. After an absence of over six months, the Cathedral Choir once again sang at Choral Evensong. Carefully spaced so as to follow current guidelines, the Choir was divided into two groups - Decani singing on the Nave Dais, and Cantoris at the West End. The Choristers had been rehearsing since Thursday morning - a heart-in-mouth moment for Director of Music, Jeremy Cole, who had no idea as to what shape they would be in after such a long break. But all their previous training, maintained as best as had been possible via Zoom sessions in lockdown, had of course paid off and they were soon back in fine voice. With music by Bruckner, Stanford, Gibbons and David Goodenough, all sung to a socially-distanced capacity congregation, it was a wonderfully affirming experience for all to hear the Choir’s voices once again filling that glorious space. It is wonderful to have them back.
As is usually the case at the beginning of the academic year, the service gave opportunity to welcome the newest members of the Music Foundation; the six new Probationers - Clementine, Naomi, Michael, Alma, Stanley, and Joseph; two new Organ Scholars - François and June; and not forgetting our new Assistant Director of Music, Alexander Hamilton. We offer them all the warmest of welcomes to Wells.
Elsa joined Daniel and George to serve as Head Choristers for the coming year; and Elizabeth, Gabriel, and Shannon are to serve as Deputy Head Choristers.
For the first time three Choristers were also admitted to named Choristerships, all of which have been founded in memory of three former members of the Cathedral foundation who had a particular love of the Cathedral music. Elizabeth was admitted to the Choristership in memory of Dean Patrick Mitchell; Hannah to the Choristership in memory of Jean Lewis; and Emily to the Choristership in memory of Elsa van der Zee.
The new Probationers
The Heads, Deputy Heads and those Choristers who have been awarded named Choristerships
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 - Elizabeth, Madeleine, Belinda, Oliver, Hannah, Aleksei, Emily, Freya, and Natasha. Well done all!
The newly surpliced Choristers
Alexander Hamilton, our new Assistant Director of Music
The Choir will continue in its divided form at the weekly services for the immediate future. The Vicars Choral will sing Evensong on Mondays; the Cantoris Choristers and Vicars Choral will singing Evensong on Tuesdays; the Decani Choristers and Vicars Choral will singing Evensong on Thursdays; and the weekend’s services will be divided on a alternating basis. Full details of the services for the next two weeks can be downloaded here.
Please see below for further photographs from the service.
We are very grateful to Jason Bryant for taking these for us.
