Chelmsford Cathedral
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Chelmsford Cathedral is the Church of England cathedral in the town of Chelmsford, Essex, England. The cathedral is dedicated to St Mary the Virgin, St Peter and St Cedd. It became a cathedral when the Diocese of Chelmsford was created in 1914 and is the seat of the Bishop of Chelmsford. It is the second smallest Anglican cathedral in England behind Derby Cathedral [1].
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[edit] History
The church of St Mary the Virgin in Chelmsford was probably first built along with the town 800 years ago. It was rebuilt in the 15th and early 16th centuries, with walls of flint rubble, stone and brick. There is also a tower and spire with a ring of thirteen bells. The nave was again rebuilt in the early 19th century, after it had partially collapsed. The stained-glass windows were all installed in the 19th and 20th centuries. The south porch was extended in 1953 to mark Anglo-American friendship after the World War II and the many US airmen stationed in Essex. In 1954, the cathedral was additionally dedicated to Saints Peter and Cedd. In 1983, the interior of the cathedral was extensively refurbished, with a new floor, seating, altar, Bishop's throne, font and artwork. In 1994 and 1995 two pipe organs were installed, the first in the nave and the second in the chancel.
In 2000 a sculpture of "Christ in Glory", by Peter Eugene Ball, was placed above the chancel arch.
In 2004 two further major works of art were commissioned, and are now in place: Mark Cazelet's "Tree of Life" painting in the North Transept, and Philip Sanderson's altar frontal in the Mildmay Chapel.
The Cathedral celebrates its links with Thomas Hooker, who was Chelmsford Town Lecturer between 1626 and 1629. He fled to the New World because of his Puritan views and founded the town of Hartford, Connecticut and was one of the founders of American democracy.
There is also Chelmsford Cathedral School, with its primary school.
[edit] The Choir
At Chelmsford Cathedral, there is a very experienced male-voice choir, directed by Peter Nardone, and a girls choir (the consort,) trained by Robert Poyser. In England, a decreasing number of all-male singing groups is evident, particularly because of boys' lack of interest in singing. However, Peter Nardone manages to keep recruiting new members into the treble section, despite this recent problem, and with the help of local schools, such as St Cedds, the Chelmsford Cathedral School, and Widford Lodge. Boys as young as seven and eight years of age are brought into the choir, because their voices have not "broken." The earlier they are introduced to the music, the more time they have to develop their musical skill before they will move up to the "back row" with them men (if they choose to,) who are required to have a greater capacity for sight-reading, as they have less practice at the music than the boys.
There is also a problem of getting more men to sign up for Chelmsford Cathedral Choir. At this age, people have their own jobs to think about, and arriving for a half past four rehearsal in the evening is not always feasible. Nevertheless, compared to other churches in England, this difficulty is really not that bad. At least Peter Nardone is able to round up enough singers for each service that the choir performs, so that heavenly music is produced each time in the praise of God.
The girls choir has many members between the ages of 13-20, and the Cathedral is very privileged to have a collection of people, who will give up their time in a academically-occupied part of their lives to "sing unto the Lord..." (Psalm 96 verse 1.) Being slightly older than the boys, they tackle the more challenging works of church music, such as The Wilderness by Samuel Sebastian Wesley. Robert Poyser has greatly stretched the girls with their musical ability, and just as the boys choir always performs very well, so do the girls.
[edit] A Chorister's Life In The Choir
"I joined the choir at the age of ten, which is actually quite late, if you take in account the fact that most boys join at seven, eight or nine. I have been in the choir for four years now, and every day of these four years that I have sung in this Cathedral has been enjoyable. I have had a lot of memories as a treble. I remember the early-morning practices, which enabled me to perform well at the school, because my mind had already "warmed-up." I remember the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in G of Charles Villiers Stanford, and singing my heart out in the solo. Also, I remember having laughs and jokes with a good friend of mine, who was a former Head Chorister, Peter, now an organist at Broomfield Church.
"Over the years, my voice changed, and I started singing alto with the men. I was quite nervous at first; I did not know whether I would fit in with them. But I did, and I am enjoying my time in the "back row."
"I have some people to thank. Firstly, Mr. Nardone, for his support in all my music, and also to Mr. Poyser for giving me so much encouragement. Oh, and of course, Mr. Brasier, the organ scholar, for teaching me a lot about the organ during my time here.
"I will stay in this choir as long as I possibly can; it is the best commitment that anyone can possibly have, I am sure of that. I recommend joining this choir to anyone, who is interested in singing."
Oliver - "Adolescent Alto."
[edit] External links
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