Minster Makes Music

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Edward the Confessor, the last of the Saxon Kings, succeeded to the throne in 1042. He built a small church on the original foundations of the Minster, starting in 1043.

Edward also founded a College of Secular (non-monastic) canons, nearby, known today as Dean's Court, consisting of a dean, four prebends, four vicars, four deacons, and five singing men at the minster. The minster was remodelled and rebuilt by the Normans between 1120 and 1180, to support that institution. Since then, there has always been music here, except during the commonwealth as was decreed by Oliver Cromwell.

The first mention of an organ in our records is of one being repaired in 1408. Little documentary evidence survives of the pre-Reformation tradition but following the creation of the twelve Minster Governors by Eliazbeth I the support of choral worship was implicit in their duties. Charters were also granted by James I and Charles I (in 1638).

Within three years of the Restoration, repairs began in the Minster church after it had been neglected, especially the erecting of a new loft organ for the crossing under the Norman Tower and in 1664/5 Charles II re-established the Choral Foundation which had been previously established by his father Charles I

A new organ was installed in 1664. This continued our long and distinguished musical tradition started by Edward the Confessor in 1043 with a group of singers and musicians. The King himself visited Minster at the same time. It is our desire to establish a Music Foundation to preserve and develop this tradition for the future.

Broad Objectives of the Music Foundation:

To develop music in the Minster, communicate the musical heritage to the congregation and the community, and further develop links with local schools.

Develop the ranges, sizes and abilities of the Minster choirs, seeking to involve younger people who might include young adults, teenagers, and junior choirs, and offer choral and organ scholarships as an essential element in this work.

Provide an activity for young people that is educational, social, and spiritual that will enable them to benefit to the full from the opportunities offered.

Establish regular programmes of choral concerts and organ recitals, and a range of other musical performance.

Photo by Beatrice Dopita

Encourage choristers and organ players:

To work with the Salisbury Diocese PipeUp scheme which seeks to attract young people to have organ lessons and invites them, with their parents, to regular open mornings to play church organs around the diocese.

Offer singing lessons to young choristers to encourage their continuing development.

Set up and run workshops (Two successful "Woofyt" courses have already taken place in 2022 and 2023) and education programmes on choral and organ music, offering one to one tuition.

Provide improved rehearsal facilities for the choirs with a better backstage environment (Plans are in development for a new rehearsal space).

Retain and involve more of the young leavers from the choirs eventually as a separate group, and support and encourage them; once recruitment into the main choirs is going well a younger age feeder group will be established.

Get Involved:

Photo by Beatrice Dopita

Schools:

Local schools will be an important element in the development of music in the Minster for these reasons.

Access to schools as a performance venue is very important

The developments described above will encourage greater outreach into schools and offer their pupils this experience.

In short we will provide schools and their pupils with outstanding opportunities to benefit from interest and involvement in music of this calibre.

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