Southern Cathedrals Festival
15 - 18 July 2010
The Southern Cathedrals Festival marks its 50th anniversary in 2010 and we look forward to welcoming you to Chichester in this celebration year. The services, which lie at the heart of the Festival, will include a recreation of the 1960 Combined Evensong, which will be recorded for broadcast on Radio 3.
The music of S.S. Wesley and Robert Schumann, in their bicentenary years, is woven through the programme and offers an insight into their distinct yet parallel lives. S.S. Wesley, the renowned English church musician, provides a feast of choral favourites, as well as some excellent hymns for the congregation to sing. Robert Schumann's impact in the realm of sacred music was limited, but like Wesley, he was a prolific and skilful composer for voices. The performance of Dichterliebe in a newly-commissioned English translation by Amanda Holden, brings the best of Schumann to the Festival, and the Friday night choral concert captures his musical heritage. We are delighted that internationally renowned pianist David Owen Norris will be performing with the Choirs and presenting Dichterliebe at Pallant House Gallery; tickets will include admission to the Gallery, one of Chichester's treasures.
All of the Choir concerts this year will be performed from the Arundel Screen, with the magnificent Cathedral organ. Thomas Trotter is our celebrity organ recitalist, and other guests include Jonathan Willcocks, Richard Baker and Katie Flanaghan.
To round off the 50th anniversary Festival, Bernstein's Chichester Psalms form the centrepiece of the Saturday night concert, returning to their spiritual home, and sung by the Cathedral Choirs for which they were written.
Sarah Baldock
David Halls
Andrew Lumsden
All events take place in Chichester Cathedral unless indicated otherwise.
Tickets may be purchased:
- online
- by telephone 01243 813595
- in person from Cloisters Shop, Cathedral Cloisters, Chichester PO19 1PX Monday - Friday 10.00am - 4.00pm, Saturday 11.00am - 3.00pm
- by mail order to Chichester Tickets, The Royal Chantry, Cathedral Cloisters, Chichester PO19 1PX
Please make cheques payable to Chichester Tickets adding £2.50 for admin fee/P&P.
NB. Mail order tickets collected from the shop will incur a 50p admin charge.
Patrons of the Festival
All supporters of the Festival are warmly invited to become Patrons.
The Festival greatly appreciates the vital role Patrons play in underpinning its ongoing financial stability. The benefits of becoming a Patron include:
- priority booking for all concerts and social events
- an invitation to the Festival launch in the autumn
- an invitation to an exclusive Patron's event at each festival
By becoming a Patron you will give continuing support to the Festival in whichever Cathedral it is held. As an independent trust, the SCF receives no funding from the Chapters of the participating Cathedrals and therefore relies to a large degree on the continued enthusiasm and financial support of the Patrons.
The minimum annual subscription is £15. Cheques should be made payable to Southern Cathedrals Festival.
If you wish to become a Patron please contact the Patrons' Secretary at The Royal Chantry, Cathedral Cloisters, Chichester, West Sussex PO19 1PX or telephone Janet Bendell on 07963 919289.
