Choral Worship Returns

Newcastle, St Albans, Bury St Edmunds, Bradford and Wakefield are the latest cathedrals to bring choral worship back into their buildings – with Newcastle taking theirs online as major renovation work prevents people from being able to access the building safely as work continues to transform it into a dynamic hub for worship and community inside and out.

More cathedrals celebrate the return of choral worship and the sound of music.

While you can’t be there in person, Choral Evensong will be available on Newcastle’s YouTube channel on Thursday and Friday evenings at 5.30pm and Sundays at 4pm. The recordings will also be available after for people to join in when they wish.

Bury St Eds Cathedral has announced that Choral Evensong will return for the first time since lockdown this Sunday (Oct 11) at 3.30pm. Places need to be pre-booked by Saturday lunchtime to ensure social distancing and keep people safe. Midweek choral evensong will continue to be live streamed at 5pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

The return of the choristers to St Albans Cathedral after six months of virtual gatherings was marked by a feature on their local BBC news channel.

And Choral Worship is now back in the cathedral every night during the week.

Wakefield Cathedral welcomed back its Lay Clerks for the first time on Sunday and they will sing every Sunday at the 11am and 3.30pm services.

Wakefield Cathedral also saw the return of its free Tuesday lunchtime concert series this week. Numbers are limited for social distancing and the concerts will be live streamed on Wakefield’s YouTube channel for those that cannot attend in person and will remain there for some time for those who want to watch it when they wish.

Bradford Cathedral also announced the return of live music after six months of silence with its first Choral Evensong this Sunday (Oct 11) and the start of its recital season next Tuesday (Oct 13) featuring award-winning, Jordanian-Palestinian concert pianist, Iyad Sughayer.

It is the first time singing has taken place in the cathedral since lockdown. The recitals will take place twice a month and are free but ticketed via the Bradford Cathedral Eventbrite page, available on the website. The concerts are free to attend in person and will be available online. Bradford Cathedral is asking people to ‘pay as you feel’ to help raise funds at this time.

Alex Berry, Director of Music at Bradford Cathedral, said:

“It is a great pleasure to be able to host concerts in the cathedral once again after six long months. We have worked hard to make the cathedral a safe and comfortable place to be, and I know that hearing live music will be a great comfort to so many people during these strange times.

“I am especially delighted that Iyad Sughayer will be opening the series – his playing is electrifying and will sound glorious in the cathedral’s acoustic.”

Visit the Bradford Cathedral website for more details.

And Chichester celebrated the return of their full choir on Sunday too – you can watch it here!