Chance to hear one of the UK’s finest young string quartets
Exeter Cathedral has stood the test of time over many centuries – but it takes funds to keep it all going. Penny Adie has details of tonight’s money-raising recital
WHAT is it that makes people take Britain’s beautiful cathedrals for granted? Cathedrals are just ‘there’. They always have been and therefore seem to be part of the furniture.
You might be parking the car within sight of a fine Grade 1 listed building. But do you notice it? You might be walking across a patch of grass en route to the shops, little realising that you are gracing God’s hallowed ground on the green. At Exeter, you might nip in to Waterstones via the Cathedral Close focusing on buying the latest Harry Potter rather than wonder at the mastery of the 12th century workmen who somehow managed to put the edifice in place with no more than ropes and wood.
On all these escapades you might not have even been aware of this magnificent building that has stood the test of time for over ten centuries. It even stood as firm as a rock when faced with destruction during WW2.
Exeter’s Cathedral is one of Devon’s most significant flagships. Its presence brings thousands of visitors (40,000 adults and 15,000 children to see the ‘Moon’); its services provide solace, joy, as well as an opportunity for greeting God in whatever way suits the individual. Its beauty, its splendour – and its sheer arrogance through size, architectural grandeur and structural prowess suggest even a degree of vulgarity.
The icing on this religious ‘cake’ is however, the presence of the Choir.
Imagine walking into the Cathedral’s edifice to be greeted by an eerie silence.
How extraordinary it would seem never to have a sung service. What would it be like without seeing the choristers wearing their familiar red robes. What would the interior of the Cathedral look like without the imposing organ pipes that hit you visually as you step into the Nave?
The Choir could be described as part of the ‘furniture’; not massed produced, but with the finest piece of Sheraton or Adam.
Exeter’s choir is now one of the foremost in Britain. Its fine reputation is now attracting over 20 chorister applicants (aged from seven to nine), whereas other cathedrals are finding it hard to muster as many as three. BBC Radio 3 broadcasts are no longer a rarity. Outreach work is evermore in demand and recordings are reaching a new level.
But none of this would be possible without the 50% injection of funds from the Exeter Cathedral Music Foundation Trust in support of the cost of sustaining the Choir.
How, dare one ask, can it be that running the choir costs £360,000 per annum? On the face of it, this seems a vast amount of money – but the choir’s singing brings a huge number of visitors to the City. With this comes much needed income.
How does the money get spent? Wait for it… professional salaries for the Director and Assistant Director of Music; organist and organ scholar; chorister bursaries; sheet music; robes; organ tuning; commissions; outreach work; recordings; overseas tours – and more. This strikes me as remarkably good value!
Like all charities, ECMFT needs funds. It so happens that there is a wonderful money-raising recital to be given by the Albion Quartet tonight. Their programme of Mozart, Haydn and Dvorak will be lively and providing a chance to hear one of the UK’s finest young string quartets.
The concert begins at 7pm, with tickets available through the Cathedral’s website.