The Heart of Cathedral Music
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The Heart of Cathedral A WIDE-RANGI 38 CATHEDRAL MUSIC Music in Leeds Thomas Leech NG APPROACH The past decade has seen an explosion in choral foundations’ appreciation of the need to work with a community wider than their worshipping congregation and feeder schools. his work comes in many excellence but on a sweeping and demonstrating the excellence admirable designs and is programme involving children across the achievable with such firm foundations. Tdoubtless enriching to all who diocese, based on the unquestionable Resident at St Joseph’s Church, take part, but I would wager that there potential to use music as an educational, Bradford Boys’ Choir sing both mass are very few institutions that place social and catechetical instrument. and vespers regularly, and maintain a school singing at the heart of their Christopher McElroy’s appointment as substantial secular repertoire for choral programme. Since January of the diocesan Assistant Director of Music concerts and competitions. In its early this year I have had the great privilege in 2004 provided the vital time resource days a thriving SATB choir might have of, and responsibility for, managing the to develop this programme, and the been difficult to imagine, but founder Diocese of Leeds’ Schools Singing result of his work is the strikingly members (now on the verge of leaving Programme - choral provision wholly impressive structure we see today. We for university) currently provide the integrated with its cathedral, with a strive to provide a service where highly core of a strong tenor and bass team. proven record of success and, I hope, a skilled professional musicians deliver The parallel Girls’ Choir fulfils a bright and sustainable future. quality singing provision that is complementary function, singing fewer Why do we see thousands of children, educationally appropriate, whether services but maintaining a busy schedule visit scores of schools, employ a playing pitch-matching games in a Year of concert and competition substantial team of dedicated staff and Three class or preparing the cathedral performances. In Huddersfield, the run - in addition to the cathedral - five choirs for broadcasts. Parish of the Holy Redeemer supports auditioned youth choirs? The heart of our music-making is two similar choirs, aspiring to the model The Diocese of Leeds stretches from found not in the glorious reverberation of the Bradford choirs, and already the densely populated heart of West of polyphony around Leeds Cathedral providing music of commendable Yorkshire to parishes in the East Riding, but in classrooms across the diocese, as quality. In addition, a boys’ choir runs in North Yorkshire, Greater Manchester our team of choral directors seek to Harrogate, drawing its members from and Lancashire, encompassing light the spark in an astonishingly extremely diverse populations. Leeds diverse range of schools. Forty-three Cathedral, hosts a substantial schools buy choral provision from the worshipping congregation, second only diocese as they do any other external to Westminster in size. Typically, the service, giving them at least thirty hours period following the Second Vatican of provision per year and access to Council (1962-1965) saw the tradition numerous performance opportunities, of chant and polyphony neglected, and from small school-cluster concerts to a culture in which the see’s music was national broadcasts. Secondary school entirely reliant on the priorities of its partners, together with two parishes, incumbent musical director, resulting help to fund the auditioned youth in very specific excellence at the cost of choirs and in addition host their a broader and sustainable programme. rehearsals. In return the schools enjoy In 2002 Ben Saunders inherited an opportunities for their gifted singers, excellent girls’ choir as he stepped into receive assistance with school worship his new role as diocesan Director of and participate in various projects - at Music. One superb choir and an the moment including most of a sixth otherwise blank slate. With only limited form rugby team preparing medieval financial resources, and without the Spanish songs for a gala concert! institutional musical tradition found in The five auditioned youth choirs many Anglican cathedrals, it was clear provide the musical pinnacle of the that a new model of cathedral music was schools system, offering lasting required, concentrating not on limited opportunities across the opportunity and closely focused primary/secondary school transition CATHEDRAL MUSIC 39 schools in the north of the diocese. Christian Charitable Trust and a Worship on Radio 4 from Holy Rosary But what of the cathedral? Since 2010 growing number of private donors, the and St Anne’s Church in Chapeltown two junior choirs, boys and girls directed project is now on a sound financial on 17 June. The children are already by Lucy Haigh, feed recruitment to two footing for at least the next three years. hard at work learning Jehan Alain’s cathedral choirs, with potential This is a great relief for everyone Messe Modale, which they will perform choristers drawn from Leeds schools involved and we are all grateful for the with the original orchestration of string participating in our singing programme, chance to concentrate on the real quartet and flute. ultimately leading to the ‘outreach’ business of the choir school: the A cursory glance at the music supplying the majority of the cathedral development of excellent singers across department roster might suggest we choristers. The cathedral choirs sing the entire school. have luxurious levels of staffing, with vespers and mass daily, Sunday to Recently, Leeds Cathedral School perhaps the largest team of full-time Thursday (one of the delights of working Choir won first prize in the Novice Class musicians employed by an English here is having something almost at this year’s Mrs Sunderland Festival in diocese. This would seriously approaching a normal weekend!), with Huddersfield. The children were more underestimate the volume of work girls’ and boys’ choirs sharing the rota than delighted to win their first trophy, created by the schools programme. Our with choral scholars and a volunteer but more significant from Choir School three choral directors average twelve adult choir of vibrant quality. Choral Director Sally Egan’s point of school sessions per week, followed by In a bold and socially radical move, view was the other prize that the choir youth choir or cathedral rehearsals/ the diocese has committed substantial won at the Festival, for ‘Choir with the services and Sunday duties. As anyone resources to developing a state-sector most Potential’. Ms Egan, a former experiencing the unpredictable nature choir school in Holy Rosary and St vocal coach at Westminster Abbey and of class music-making will know, this is Anne’s school in Chapeltown, an inner- Westminster Cathedral (and a past an exhilarating but demanding city district of extremely varied ethnicity pupil of HRSA School) says, “These schedule! We strive to play to the and one which faces much deprivation. children are bursting with potential, as strengths of our staff and attempt to The cathedral choir school project everyone knows who has the pleasure of ensure that flexibility is maintained, continues to go from strength to working with them, and it is lovely to with choral directors able to work on strength. Five months ago things were have that confirmed by other specific projects with choirs, or to allow looking financially precarious to say the musicians.” The choir will make its first us to change staff duties to make best least, but thanks to generous donations live broadcast on national radio later use of resources at any given moment. from the Holbeck Trust, Leeds this year, when they sing Morning My work sees me coordinate this 40 CATHEDRAL MUSIC success, be defined? I would hope that any of our schools would reflect on our provision and affirm that we have enriched the Catholic life of their school, both for students and staff, both in collective worship and individual prayer. We see in our schools a growing recognition of singing as a central part of human expression - although I doubt it would be described in such portentous terms! More obviously, a narrower definition of success can be measured by competition participation (a Senior Choirs Award at the National Festival of Music for Youth in Birmingham for their sings prays twice’. The majority of our ‘outstanding musicianship’ and the top primary schools have an hourly session UK choir in the senior children’s choir every week, more often than not class at the Llangollen International divided between two classes at the Eisteddfod) or the frequency with which discretion of the school and choral our choirs broadcast and record - most director. While repertoire will often recently Radio 2’s Christmas Day Sunday include relatively sophisticated and Half Hour special, several Radio 4 Daily technically demanding music, we never Services, and most recently the recording impose an alien ‘cathedral’ ideal on the of Duruflé’s complete choral works for school environment; secular repertoire Brilliant Classics. The experience we occupies at least half of our schools provide staff with leads to excellent programme, with responsibility for the work and helps us bring imagination career progression, exemplified by the overall management of staff, and spark to less readily accessible appointments of Christopher Johns as maintaining the income levels from the music. Our choral directors aren’t given Director of Music at Leicester Cathedral, school provision, and ensuring that our a set curriculum, although joint services Christopher McElroy as Director of partner schools are receiving an and concerts will often dictate a core- Music at Liverpool Metropolitan excellent and educationally relevant shared repertoire, but we are always Cathedral and, most recently, Keith service. I spend plenty of time at the conscious of the requirements of the Roberts as Head of Choral Music at St coalface, however, directing both National Curriculum, and in many Aloysius’ College, Glasgow.