Legs 5 & 6: witnessing the value of choristership

3,000 miles, 100 choirs, 50 days, 2 wheels, many co-riders… 

Days 21-30: From Gloucester down to Truro, then along the South Coast all the way up to Arundel and Guildford 

• Distance Covered: 626 miles (running total = 1,823 miles) / 36,000 feet – the altitude of commercial jets…) 

• Choral foundations visited: 20 

• ferries taken: 3 (all in Cornwall!) 

Wowee, that was a lot of riding!  

September was always going to be one of the busier months for my Choral Adventure – timing my visits to coincide with the new academic year as I traipsed across the South West and then along the South Coast of England.  There were some very hilly miles and some particularly windy miles and, inevitably, some very damp miles! But at this stage I’m hardened to the conditions; what is it the saying? “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing” 

As well as variable meteorological conditions, visiting cathedrals and churches at this time of year afforded me a particular opportunity to encounter choirs with many fresh-faced choristers getting their first taste of life in the stalls… What a privilege to see this rite of passage in so many different places! I attended not one, not two, but three surplicing ceremonies.  From the mayhem of ‘Jane Austen Sunday’ at Bath Abbey, to the wide-eyed wonder of new probationers in Chichester, the unifying feature was a great energy as children begin to encounter stimulating choral music in spectacular and awe-inspiring spaces.  

I’ve consequently been led to reflect further on the huge value of choristerships, as witnessed on every day of my journey and which my own children are also lucky enough to benefit from back in London.

Yes, the direct benefits of a great musical education and training in singing from a young age, but also the manifold other benefits: the joy of being part of a close-knit team; finding purpose in the daily routine; learning how to interact with other children of all ages; understanding the value of good discipline and hard work; and, of course, being part of a centuries-old tradition that still lives and breathes through the sounds you make with your voice. 

In Truro I was given particularly privileged insight into this world and these benefits: first, as I joined the lay clerks and new choral and organ scholars at the pub after Evensong; and subsequently, by the most wonderful opportunity to join a session the next morning with the choristers and Director of Music, James Anderson-Besant.   

I hope this short recording gives a flavour of the energy in the rehearsal room in the crypt of Truro cathedral on what was otherwise a slightly grey and overcast morning.  The sort of morning where most children find themselves trudging reluctantly to school. And yet, for 45 minutes, these 20 or so choristers started their day with an inspiring (inspired) rehearsal with the indefatigable James, whose ability to encourage and coax ever-better singing was amazing to witness.  They left the Cathedral a joyous rabble of snatched melodies and shared jokes. 

Look at all those superlatives.  And yet, this happens on a daily basis up and down the country, so it’s perhaps not as extraordinary as all that.  But it is extraordinary and it is our responsibility to ensure that it continues to flourish. My children, all of our children and our children’s children, deserve to have this opportunity to be part of it.