Two hundred and sixty-nine choristers from cathedrals and colleges across the country have joined their voices with Aled Jones and Elizabeth Watts and the current BBC Young Choristers of the Year for a special lockdown recording of Sing Forever to raise funds for the Cathedral Choirs’ Emergency Fund.
The Robert Prizeman song Sing Forever has been re-arranged by Norwich Cathedral’s Master of Music, Ashley Grote and is expected to premiere on Radio 2’s Good Morning Sunday with Kate Bottley and on Aled Jones’s show on Classic FM this Sunday.
269 choristers from 41 choral foundations – including 29 of our Anglican Cathedrals from Blackburn to York Minster – lent their voices to this project which was led and produced by the musical team at Norwich Cathedral.
Peter Allwood, who chairs the Friends of Cathedral Music, said:
“This song sums up perfectly how choristers and choir directors feel at the moment. They face huge uncertainty as to when choirs will be heard again in our great cathedrals.
“Without sung services, and without tourism, cathedrals will struggle to rebuild their income, and no longer be able to sustain the same level of musical excellence.
“We hope that the emergency appeal will be able to help in this time of need,’ he added.
Aled Jones added:
“It was a pleasure to be able to help with this brilliant project. Many choral foundations face an uncertain future so I hope this song will inspire listeners and viewers to support the Emergency Fund’.
International opera singer and former chorister at Norwich Cathedral, Elizabeth Watts said: “Singing is a massive part of the spiritual life of the nation and cathedrals provide the bedrock of choral singing plus top notch training for so many young people.
“I hope Sing Forever inspires people to support cathedrals to do exactly that in these difficult times,’ she added.
The Friends of Cathedral Music (now the Cathedral Music Trust) and the Ouseley Church Music Trust launched the Cathedral Choirs Emergency Fund to raise £1m to be able to make grants to cathedral choral foundations in need. It came after a survey showed that many choral foundations will struggle without additional funds once restrictions are lifted.
The Cathedral Music Trust and OCMT have each committed £250,000 towards the target, and the Choir Schools Association (CSA) has now joined the partnership with an equal contribution. The fund now stands just over £830k.
The Sing Forever video will be released on Sunday morning, 12th July 2020.
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