The Cathedral Choir's concert in Wigmore Hall, on Monday 5 January, featured works selected by Christ Church’s Organist, Peter Holder, to showcase the sheer breadth and depth of the Cathedral’s musical history.  

The first half of the concert was rightly dedicated to John Taverner, who would have composed much of the music in the programme whilst in post as Informator Choristarum of Cardinal College between 1526 and 1530. As one arrangement flowed into another, Wigmore Hall cocooned its audience within the lyricism and warmth of early modern devotional music. 

The second half gave a taste of some of the work composed at and for Christ Church in the intervening centuries. It was a fabulous mix of rhythms, styles and moods, from the joyful Magnificat of Giles Swayne, who was influenced by a trip to West Africa, to Simon Preston’s smoothly serene There is no Rose, whose final resolution Holder made a masterclass in the rewards of perfectly timed suspense.

As the choir enters its second half-millennium, filling Wigmore Hall on a cold and unforgiving Monday evening in early January was a fitting demonstration of its enduring power.

The concert was preceded by a drinks reception for alumni and friends. Photos of the occasion are available here.

Alumni are welcome to join further events to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Choir: a concert at Christ Church on Saturday 20 June, and a performance at Carnegie Hall, New York, on Sunday 4 October.