Our Chancel Choir Residency at Bristol Cathedral

Dear St. Cat’s,

This July, members of St. Catherine's Chancel Choir — joined by a wonderful group of supporters and singing friends who came along for the adventure — crossed the Atlantic for a nine-day pilgrimage to England. At the center of it all was a week-long residency at Bristol Cathedral, where our choir stepped into the musical duties of an Anglican cathedral choir, singing Evensong every day and leading Sunday Eucharist. It was the fruit of over two years of planning and preparation, and on Sunday Sep 7th at the Parish Forum, I had the pleasure of sharing a few highlights. Below is a snapshot of our travels, along with links to photos and recordings from the trip.

The trip began in London. Following a morning rendezvous at Heathrow, we hit the ground running at our first stop at Windsor Castle - the largest inhabited castle in the world. From there, the choir traveled west to Bristol, where they would spend the next eight nights immersed in one of the great living traditions of Anglican worship.

At the heart of the trip was our residency at Bristol Cathedral, a former Augustinian abbey founded in 1142 that has served as a cathedral church since 1542. For an Episcopal parish, singing daily Evensong in a cathedral so deeply woven into the Anglican story was more than sightseeing — it was a chance to stand, quite literally, in the choir stalls of our own tradition's roots. Each day followed a rhythm both demanding and deeply prayerful: afternoon rehearsals in the Singing School and choir stalls, followed by Evensong sung beneath medieval woodwork dating to the 1500s and beside a 1685 organ whose original pipework still rings through the nave. The residency built toward a full Sunday of worship, with the choir leading both Eucharist and Evensong — a fitting close to a week spent offering our voices in a house of worship with nearly 900 years of history.

Between rehearsals and services, there was plenty of room for discovery. We explored Bristol's dockside streets and soaked in the atmosphere of a city built on centuries of maritime trade. Excursions that became trip highlights in their own right included: a guided tour through the ancient colleges of Oxford, a visit to Stonehenge on a bright and clear (and hot!) morning, and a full day exploring Wales, from the tranquil ruins of Tintern Abbey to the dramatic clifftop walls of Chepstow Castle and the lively streets of Cardiff. Every traveler, singer and supporter alike, came home with stories of their own.

By the time the group boarded the coach for Heathrow on the final morning, the choir had sung eight services in one of England's great cathedrals, walked in the footsteps of centuries of pilgrims and worshippers, and shared it all with the friends and family who made the journey alongside them.

Here is a link to the slideshow I shared this past Sunday at the Parish Forum.

Here is a link to a shared folder with a few more photos from our trip (not comprehensive, but it provides a snapshot).

And here is a link to some discreet recordings that were taken during our sung services.

Enjoy!

Chris