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With the foundation of the Diocese of Liverpool in 1880 the Parish Church of Saint Peter became the first Cathedral of the new Diocese, and so the Cathedral Choir was founded.
1904 marked the beginning of work on Giles Gilbert Scott’s great new Cathedral and in 1910 the first portion, the Lady Chapel, came into full use. From this date regular choral services in the new Cathedral, sung by a choir of boys and men, began. They sustained daily worship in the Cathedral Lady Chapel for the next fourteen years, after which Choral services were able to take place in the newly completed first bay of the main Cathedral in 1924, Daily choral services were maintained until the outbreak of the World War II, at which time the number of choral services was reduced.
The pattern of choral services six days a week was re-established with the boys and Lay Clerks singing each day apart from Wednesday. In September 2003, to mark the centenary of Scott’s Cathedral in 2004, the Girls Choir was founded. Between them the boys, girls and Lay Clerks of the Cathedral Choir sing seven regular choral services a week.
The choir’s prime function is to maintain choral worship during the 38 weeks of term time. There is no dedicated choir school and the boys and girls of the Cathedral Choir attend different schools across the city and diocese. The choir also sings at numerous special services and concerts, and makes broadcasts and recordings. Membership over the years has included more than 2000 boys, and a growing number of girls, many of whom have gone on to eminent musical careers.
The choir has worked with many famous musicians, including former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney who, despite having failed his audition for the choir in the 1950s, returned to the Cathedral to collaborate with with the choir several times, most notably in performances of the Liverpool Oratorio and Ecce Cor Meum.
In recent years the Cathedral Choir has travelled throughout the world giving performances at many prestigious venues, in its own right and with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra: 1993: Tokyo, New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, accompanied with Paul McCartney; 1995: Southern France concerts in LA Tour de France; 1999: Paris area, incl. St. Louis en L’Ile and Chatres Cathedral; 2000: Czech Republic - Dvorak Festival & the conclusion of Prague Spring Festival; 2001: Belgium - Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent & Malines; 2002: Catalonia Barcelona, Sitges & Monserrat; 2003: Prague; 2004: Cologne (Boys); 2004: Cologne (Boys); 2006: Venice (Boys), Cologne (Girls); 2005: Amsterdam (Boys); 2007: Riga (Boys); 2008: Cologne (Boys); 2009: Oxford (Boys), Poland (Girls); 2010: Paris (Boys), Oxford (Girls); 2011: Poland (Girls); 2012: Estonia (Boys); 2013: Carlisle (Boys & Girls); 2014: New York (Boys & Girls). |
