Music at Wakefield Cathedral
Choirs
Foundation
Wakefield Diocese, formed in 1888, was originally part of the diocese of Ripon and before that of York. The Cathedral (formerly the Parish Church) dates back to Saxon times and has the highest spire in Yorkshire. The five manual organ is a highly successful example of the artistry of John Compton's extension work, allied with work by Abbott & Smith and Wood of Huddersfield.
The Cathedral Choir consists of boys, girls and lay clerks. Most of the boys are educated at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School and receive choral scholarships. They are aged from 8 to 13. Girl choristers were introduced in 1992, shortly after their introduction at Salisbury Cathedral. Aged from 8 to 18 they are recruited from various schools. The lay clerks in some cases travel vast distances in their devotion to the musical worship and liturgy for which the Cathedral is famed.
Commitments
The Choir sings choral evensong on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and occasionally Friday. Sunday sung services are the Parish Eucharist, Solemn Eucharist and Evensong. Usually the boys and girls sing separately, either by themselves or with the men. On very special occasions we can amalgamate all our resources. The boys, girls and men undertake a full programme of services, concerts, recordings and TV appearances. Recently they produced their first CD to feature the whole choral foundation. Despite the various extra activities outlined below, which enable the Cathedral's ministry and worship to be spread more widely, the Choir's primary work remains, and will always remain, the offering of the highest standards of music in the regular services of the Cathedral.
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In the 1970s the Cathedral Choir took an active part in the West Riding Cathedrals Festival (together with the choirs of Bradford and Sheffield Cathedrals). Since 1981 it has teamed up with the choirs of Ripon Cathedral and Leeds Parish Church in the Yorkshire Three Choirs Festival. The first Yorkshire Girls' Choirs Festival took place at Wakefield in 1998 (girls and men from York Minster, Ripon, Sheffield and Wakefield Cathedrals, and Leeds Parish Church).
. . . and abroad
National tours started in 1975 with a visit to Wells Cathedral (also in 1976); Winchester, Salisbury, Chichester, Portsmouth and Arundel followed in 1977, and St. Paul's Cathedral in 1980.Overseas tours started with two visits to Germany: Unna in 1979, and Braunschweig in 1981.The 1983 tour was to Le Puy in France, and three years later the choir made a return visit to Unna. The two American tours in 1991 and 1995 were to the eastern seaboard of the United States, from Boston through New York and Baltimore to Washington. A tour of Scotland in 1993 featured the music of Leighton. In 1999 the Choir visited Salzburg and southern Germany and in 2003 the venue was Rome and Tuscany. The girls have been on tour to Ely and London. Their first overseas tour with the men was to Sweden in 2001, followed by a week's residency at Chichester in 2004.
