News

Choristers Lead Holy Week Worship

As the Lent Term drew to a close and many prepared for a restful Easter break, our Choristers were preparing for one of their busiest times of the year.

Holy Week - the period from Palm Sunday to Easter Day - saw them lead worship through eight services and a concert, performing more than 50 pieces of music and bringing to life the story of Jesus’ betrayal, death and resurrection.

The week began with joyful services on Palm Sunday and a traditional picnic on Cathedral Green - a moment now captured annually with photographs to mark the Choristers' journey through the choir. On Monday, the boys sang Evensong, while the girls led music for the Diocesan Chrism Eucharist, attended by clergy from across the diocese.

Tuesday’s highlight was a concert performance of Bob Chilcott’s St John Passion, a powerful and moving work that the choir had spent the entire term preparing. The girls returned for Evensong on Wednesday, before the Triduum began on Maundy Thursday, with the boys delivering dramatic choral works including music by Schubert, Mawby and Bairstow.

Good Friday saw a historic moment as the girls’ choir performed the service for the first time in their history, singing unaccompanied music, including the Passion narrative. On Holy Saturday, choristers and their families were welcomed by Bishop Mary for an Easter egg hunt and shared lunch, a chance to relax ahead of Easter Day, when the full choir delivered two uplifting services to a packed Cathedral.

Their commitment, stamina and musical excellence across the week were nothing short of remarkable. Rehearsals are already underway for an exciting term ahead, including a National Service marking the 80th anniversary of VE Day, a joint Cathedral Choirs Evensong with Brecon and Newport, and the annual Summer Concert on 25th June.