The good news is that Cardinal Nichols has been supportive of most of the conclusions of the report he commissioned into music at Westminster cathedral. The choir at the Cathedral has a reputation comparable with that of the great Anglican cathedral and college choirs; it has, moreover, its own distinctive tone and style. The less good news is that he has not followed one of the most important of the recommendations.
The choir’s work and reputation was jeopardised some time ago by a decision made by the headmaster of the Choir School to allow choristers to become weekly borders, an odd decision given that in the nature of things the greater part of their work is focused on the Sunday liturgy, which inevitably means practising on a Saturday and singing on the Sunday. The head says that recruitment to the choir has become easier with the move to weekly boarding; those choristers who come from far flung parts of the country begged to differ. Formerly choristers did indeed have a day off, between Tuesdays and Thursdays; the change to free time at weekends seemed perverse.
