We are delighted that the tenth release in the Regent “A Year at...” series marks the first recording on Regent with Bristol Cathedral Choir, under their Director of Music, Mark Lee. The recording is a selection of choral works marking some of the main seasons of the Christian year as it is observed in Bristol Cathedral.

Music from the 17th century to the present day takes us on a European tour from Tudor England, via Austria, Spain, and France and ending in Bristol itself with the first recording of David Bednall’s anthem O clap your hands written shortly before the recording sessions as a surprise 40th birthday present for the Senior Lay Clerk, Andy Marshall, and to mark his long service to music in Bristol.

Other contemporary composers are also featured, with works by Sally Beamish, James MacMillan, and James Whitbourn.

For Easter Sunday there is Widor’s magnificent Surrexit a mortuis which demonstrates the full range of the Bristol Cathedral organ.

A choir has been singing on the site of the Cathedral since the Augustinian monastery was founded in 1140.

When the church formally became Bristol Cathedral in 1542 its statutes required that provision be made for the development and maintenance of the choir, whose role was to sing the praises of God. The passing of the centuries has modified but not destroyed the pattern. The choir consists of six Lay Clerks, four Choral Scholars, and 24 choristers (12 boys, 12 girls), who are educated at Bristol Cathedral Choir School, the first government-funded Choir Academy in the country.

The Cathedral Choir enjoys a busy schedule. In 2016/17 the choir toured Bordeaux, appeared in part on the series The White Princess (on the Drama Channel), sang live on BBC Radio 3, and most recently appeared live on BBC One on Christmas Day. In 2018 the choir will be touring Belgium and the Netherlands.