Manchester Tour
December 2015
I knew nothing about Manchester Cathedral
where the Quiristers sang Evensong on their
first day, but what a wealth of beauty and
history it has. Dating from the 13th century
and founded as a Collegiate Church of priests
and singing men - reminding me of Winchester
College - it is also dedicated to St Mary as well
as to St Denys and St George. The Rood Screen,
with its fine medieval oak carving and gilt,
separates the intimate Quire from the more
open Nave and provided a stunning backdrop
to the boys’ evensong performance comprising
plainsong responses, the St Paul’s Service by
Howells and Laetentur Coeli by Byrd. Close
to the year’s shortest day, the west windows,
re-glassed by Anthony Holloway in 1973, were
a highlight as the darkness descended amid
the pouring rain. Quiet though the Cathedral
was on our visit, it wasn’t always so. In 1835,
as the population grew exponentially on the
back of the industrial revolution, there were
3328 marriages and 7285 baptisms in one year
alone! And in 1787 the Cathedral hosted the
first mass meeting of the campaign to abolish
the slave trade – something of which the Dean
and Verger, both of African descent, are no
doubt particularly proud.
I expected Manchester and Blackburn to be
separated by industrial estates - but as we
passed and visited the house where my father
was born in Heywood, we drove through
some stunning rolling countryside within
a stone’s throw of both cities. Blackburn
Cathedral, host to the boys’ second Evensong,
was started in 1926, when a new diocese
was created. It is a charming combination
of side aisles with wooden ceilings, painted
and bossed, which could be from any
Norman parish church, but with a modern
Nave adorned in metalwork and modern
wood furniture. The lantern spire with its
56 stunning panes of glass and aluminium
centre was completed only in 1967. But there
is still plenty of history - the north transept
containing 15 misericords dating from the 15th
century, believed to have come from Whalley
Abbey; and plenty of music too - the Cathedral
boasting no fewer than seven choirs. Choral
Evensong at Blackburn started with Malcolm
Archer’s beautiful Creator of the stars of night
- the stars being our boys, for the avoidance
of doubt! The St Paul’s Service and Byrd’s
Laetentur Coeli sounded more balanced in the
more open acoustic of Blackburn, supported
by the fresh sound of the J. W. Walker and Sons
organ, finished only in 1994 (O that Winchester
College had reeds in to match these!). Happily
there was more opportunity for us all to sing
along to Lift Up Your Heads and O come,
O come, Emmanuel. Listening to the dying
echo of the glorias disappearing up into the
extraordinary corona hanging above the altar
will be a long and lovely memory.
A very interesting weekend, with some stark
contrasts of beautiful architecture and sounds,
nestled in faded industrial largesse and
bustling Christmas activity, and surrounded
by great British countryside.
Bob Wigley, Q Parent (yr 7)
After term ended the Quiristers headed
straight to Manchester for a long weekend. The
first stop was at Old Trafford to take a tour of
all things Manchester United, including sitting
in the seat of van Gaal, and singing Once In
Royal David’s City on the pitch. Later that day
we sang evensong at Manchester Cathedral in
the heart of the city. It was a striking contrast to
step off the crowded streets full of Christmas
shoppers into the peaceful surroundings of
the 13th Century building. After Evensong
the Qs headed back out into the hurly burly of
Manchester on a Saturday night and went to
China Town for a well-earned feast.
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