Thursday, June 18, 2020

Choir Instructions from Westminster Cathedral, 1930

We are grateful to Mr Richard Hawker, the head sacristan of Westminster Cathedral, for sharing with us these photos of a book which he recently found there, “Instructions for the Choir, the Cantors, and the Hebdomadarius”, printed in 1930. Thanks also to Mr Daniel Williams, who has made the book available as a pdf which is free to download. (https://gofile.io/d/929myW) These instructions are really a perfect model of precision, written very concisely, and therefore easy to consult; anyone who has to organize a ceremony with clergy in attendance with certainly find them quite useful. It is partcularly interesting to note that instructions are given for the celebration of the full round of the Divine Office, including Matins.

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