The
glorious heritage of church music in this country is one of its greatest
traditions. The Boys, Girls and Men at Bath Abbey continue a centuries-old
choral tradition, which plays a vital part in the music life of the Abbey
and the City. Being a Chorister combines musical education, discipline and
camaraderie, unmatched in any other setting. It is generally agreed by
educationalists that involvement in music improves academic performance.
The
Abbey has no Choir school, which enables it to draw its 24 boys, aged 8
upwards, and 30 girls, aged 11 to 18, from a variety of local schools. The
12 Choirmen come from many different walks of life and include Choral
Scholars from the two universities in Bath.
Peter King,
www.peterking.orgDirector of Music and Organist, came to Bath
in 1986 from Lichfield Cathedral. In addition to his work at Bath Abbey, Dr King
is active as a recitalist in Britain, Europe and America and, during Sir Simon
Rattle's reign as Music Director, was Assistant Chorus Director to the City of
Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. He appears as organist on several CDs and his
playing is broadcast on BBC Radio 3.
The Choirslead the Sunday Worship on a fortnightly
pattern so that every week the boys' and girls' choirs each have a free morning
or afternoon. Choirmen and Choral Scholars usually sing at both morning and
afternoon services.
The boys rehearse twice a week, after school. Choirmen
and Choral Scholars rehearse on Friday evenings. The girls rehearse, separately
from the boys, twice a week after school.
In August 2003 the Abbey Choir took part in the Three
Tenors Concert with Carreras, Domingo and Pavarotti singing to over 25,000
people in Royal Victoria Park and on BBC TV.
The Abbey Choir has recorded several CDs for further details please visit the
"Recordings"
page. The Boys' and Girls' Choirs were featured on two recent recordings of
Songs of Praise for BBC TV and a concert with the BBC Concert Orchestra,
broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on Christmas Day.
The Abbey Choir undertakes trips abroad, enjoying good
relationships with churches in Bath's twin cities: Braunschweig (Germany) and
Alkamaar (The Netherlands). Some years it
undertakes a residential week towards the end of the summer holiday, to sing
daily cathedral services. Visits have been made to Exeter and Canterbury
Cathedrals and the Girls' Choir recently visited Braunschweig Cathedral. The
Youth Choir of Braunschweig visited Bath over the weekend of 21-24 June 2002.
How do I find out more?
If you want more information, then please contact Peter
King, Director of Music.
Postal Address
The Abbey Office, 12 Kingston Buildings, BATH, BA1 1LT
