The Chapel Choir at St Cuthbert's Church, Wells

Last weekend ten intrepid members of the Chapel Choir headed to the west country, first to Wells, then Bristol, and finally, Radstock, Bath.

They visited Wells Cathedral before heading to St Cuthbert's, a large and beautiful medieval church in the centre of the city, where they rehearsed before their Lunchtime Recital, which included pieces by Edward Elgar, Cesar Franck, Roger Quilter and John Rutter. Singing in two and three parts, and helped by the church's acoustic, they produced an amazingly strong sound.

The following day they joined forces with the Schola Cantorum of Downside School and the Chapel Choir from All Hallows School to sing the Mass for Two Choirs and Two Organs by the French composer Widor. The combined forces made a big sound in the gorgeous acoustic of Downside Abbey and our choristers all earned a unique t-shirt designed especially for the occasion.

Emma and Hannah after the Recital

Later in the week, the Chapel Choir set off again - this time 16 of them, to Cheltenham College for a Prep Schools' Choral Day. They spent an enjoyable day in the school's beautiful Chapel rehearsing a variety of two-part upper-voice music and four-part choral music, and later performed a concert with the Chapel Choir from Cheltenham College. It was great to see former pupils, Polly North and Ben Rossiter singing with the Cheltenham Choir, both having previously sung in our own Chapel Choir.

Four schools took part in total, but Farleigh's choristers impressed the audience during their solo slot in the concert – the only choir to perform a solo piece. Gordon Busbridge, Director of Music at Cheltenham, was very complimentary about the excellence of the choristers from Farleigh, who have been fine ambassadors for the school. We are very proud of them.

11th May 2009