Sunday, January 21, 2007

Westminster Cathedral Choir

The choral tradition in England, assiduously maintained in hundreds of cathedrals (both Catholic and Anglican), colleges and parishes is surely one of the glories of the Church in England. Arguably the finest choir among these is Westminster Cathedral Choir. In a country where the 'competition' among church choirs is stiff, Westminster Cathedral Choir won the 1998 Gramophone Awards for both ‘Best Choral Recording of the Year’ and ‘Record of the Year’ and so became the only cathedral choir to have won in either of these categories.

Since the choral tradition was established here in 1903 by Cardinal Vaughan and R. R. Terry brought polyphony and plainsong back to London, this choir has been the liturgical pride of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. It is still the only choir in the world to sing a polyphonic Mass Ordinary every day with Gregorian chant Propers at the daily Solemn Mass at 5.30pm. It's a real treat, a spiritual lift at the eve of a busy and often stressful London day.

Thanks to Mgr Mark Langham, Dean of Westminster Cathedral and his informative and interesting blog, one can now catch a glimpse into life in a choir school and appreciate all that goes into creating beautiful music in the Liturgy, for the glory of God and the sanctification of His people:



More music can be heard at the linked pages above.

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